Digital Divide in Rural Areas: DESIRE Project Final Conference Held in Angers

ANGERS (France) – The final conference of the European project DESIRE (Digital Education Skills In Rural Europe) took place on December 11th in Angers. The event marked the culmination of an international cooperation journey aimed at combating the digital divide in rural territories and promoting inclusion through education.

A Bridge Between France and Italy
The project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ program, involved close collaboration between French and Italian actors. Coordinated by the Fédération Régionale Familles Rurales des Pays de la Loire, the partnership included the Departmental Federation of Maine-et-Loire and, representing Italy, the Pixel association and the Pegaso network from Florence.

The central objective of the initiative was twofold:
To foster the sharing of experiences between institutional and associative actors.
To strengthen the skills of digital mediators, both salaried staff and volunteers.

Results Presented: Concrete Tools for Inclusion
During the conference, the main results (deliverables) of the joint work were presented and are now available in English, French, and Italian:
A collection of best practices for digital education specifically for rural zones.
An online toolkit designed for digital mediators operating in isolated areas.
All materials are accessible via the official project platform: desire.pixel-online.org.

Comparison and Future Perspectives
The event in Angers was also a crucial moment to analyze the differences and similarities between the two countries. Although both share programs of similar duration and offer free access for users, structural differences emerged: while France relies on dedicated national funding for mediators, Italy is currently benefiting more from "Next Generation EU" funds.

Particular interest was sparked by the French model of "itinerant vans" (mobile units), identified as an ideal solution for reaching the most geographically isolated people and revitalizing digital mediation points. For the partners from Tuscany, the meeting was an opportunity to study the strong territorial anchorage of Familles Rurales and the involvement of volunteers—a model that could be successfully replicated in Italy.

The conference confirmed that, despite organizational differences, transnational cooperation remains the key to developing innovative pedagogical tools and ensuring no one is left behind in the digital transition.