• The aim of the awards is to identify and highlight good practice cases developed under the CAP umbrella to facilitate the exchange of agricultural and rural knowledge.
• The theme of this year's awards is "Boosting capacities for agriculture and rural areas."
• These awards follow the path of the "Rural Inspiration Awards" sponsored by the European Network for Rural Development until last year for four editions.
• The National Rural Network (RRN), as the entity responsible for selecting and sending applications to Europe, is organizing a day with the different territories on June 22 to explain and collect projects for the awards.

The new European CAP Network has just launched the ARIA 2023 Agricultural and Rural Inspiration Awards , the successors to the Rural Inspiration Awards , which recognized the best examples of good practice in rural areas to highlight their value and facilitate awareness of effective rural development strategies under the former Rural Development Programmes (RDPs).

These new awards—expanded under the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023-2027 and which for the first time brings together the two pillars, agriculture and rural development—once again aim to identify and share good practices , but this time, developed under the umbrella of the CAP. This will multiply the number of opportunities to inspire peer learning and encourage the replication of results among CAP stakeholders.

Theme and categories

This year's theme is "Boosting skills for agriculture and rural areas" as 2023 is the "European Year of Skills" . Submitted projects must be supported by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and/or the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) , and must be in line with the values and objectives promoted by the European Union's Long -Term Vision for Rural Areas and the Rural Pact . Projects funded under the 2014-2022 CAP that showcase lifelong learning and empower people to support innovation and competitiveness will be particularly highlighted.

The 4 categories established for submission are:

1. Smart and competitive agriculture: CAP-funded projects that contribute to developing a smart, competitive, resilient, and diversified agricultural sector that guarantees long-term food security.
2. Environmental protection: projects that protect the environment: improving biodiversity, climate change, sustainability, green economy, etc.
3. Socioeconomic fabric of rural areas: CAP initiatives that strengthen European rural areas in innovative ways: digitalization, resilience, inclusion, and business development.
4. Rural Stakeholder Skills: For innovation actions that strengthen people and businesses in rural areas through green and digital transitions.

As in other years, a Popular Vote Award will be awarded alongside these categories, determined by an online voting system.

How to participate?

The NRN is the entity in charge of selecting the best projects submitted in each of the listed categories in Spain. To this end, its Territorial Antennas will call on all rural entities in each of the territories in which they operate. To explain the competition in detail and gather the best possible projects to submit to the European CAP Network, the NRN is organizing a workshop on June 22nd .

The contest rules are found in this link . The 24 selected candidates will be announced in November 2023.