LEADER Region Hermagor, Carinthia, Austria
Since 2014, the municipalities of Lesachtal, Kötschach-Mauthen, Dellach, Kirchbach, Hermagor-Presseggersee, Gitschtal, St. Stefan, Freitritz i.G., and Weissensee have been collaborating within the LEADER-Region Hermagor to strategically and innovatively address existing and future challenges such as demographic change, mobility and accessibility, structural change in agriculture, and the economic development of the region. The intermunicipal cooperation follows the guiding principle “Thinking and Acting in Functional Spaces“.
The region, located peripherally in a long, narrow valley, borders East Tyrol to the west, the political district of Spittal an der Drau to the north, the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia to the south, and the district of Villach Umland to the east. The topographical location presents a challenge for the development and accessibility of the region. However, due to its location and natural environment, the region is a popular tourist destination both in summer and winter. The majority of the LEADER municipalities are heavily influenced by agriculture. Through a comprehensive participatory process, the municipalities, in collaboration with citizens as well as internal and external experts, have developed a clear regional vision for the future. The integrated regional development planning is based on the future themes of “Mobile Region,“ “Youth in the Region,“ “Vital Region,“ “Social & Sustainable Region,“ and “Innovative & Cooperative Region“. Projects such as the Apprenticeship Academy to secure the economic location, or the Slow Food Academy to strengthen regional value chains between trade, agriculture, and tourism contribute to the sustainable and resilient development of the region.
To find answers for the future, the Hermagor region also cooperates successfully and exemplary with national and international partner regions beyond geographical borders. The potentials that arise across borders with the neighboring LEADER regions Open Leader and Euroleader in Friuli-Venezia Giulia are developed within the CLLD approach “HEurOpen“ and further developed in a dedicated strategy plan according to the cross-border added value. The LEADER-Region Hermagor is a remarkable example of how several municipalities can develop visions together and become more vital through cooperation.
Presenting the region as an area with attractive employers, strengthening the workforce potential, and thus retaining young people in the region are central objectives of the LEADER-Region Hermagor. Therefore, various innovative and future-oriented projects have been implemented and are ongoing in close collaboration with local and regional businesses.
For project development and implementation, the regional working group “ARAM“ (Attractive Region for Attractive Employees) was established, which has succeeded in incorporating the diverse needs of various stakeholders. In addition to corporate and cross-company measures such as quality coaching, targeted knowledge transfer, and raising awareness of the importance of good employer-employee relationships, an employee card with various offers such as mobility, leisure, and nature experiences was introduced. These discounts and inclusive services provide attractive offerings and serve as an incentive for future employees.
Particularly innovative is the establishment of a dedicated “Apprenticeship Academy“ under the motto “Knowing and Learning from Each Other,“ which aims to enhance the dual education and training of skilled workers with higher quality and social competence. This represents an investment in the personalities of young people, creating enormous added value for businesses and thereby strengthening both the economic location and the human potential of the region as a whole.
With the goal of promoting regional food production and supply as well as creating awareness for sustainable health care, the Hermagor region was established as the world‘s first Slow Food Travel Region.
As such, it focuses on increasing cooperation between tourism, agriculture, and food processing, creating innovative ideas for sustainable hospitality and gastronomy, and promoting a healthy food culture. As a clearly communicated brand, it offers an attractive culinary, leisure, and travel experience for both locals and guests. At the same time, it increases knowledge about the origin and quality of food, enhances appreciation for it, and, consequently, raises the value of regional agriculture.
As part of HEurOpen, the cross-border LEADER cooperation with the northern part of Friuli Venezia Giulia, two projects were implemented that also focus on this theme: “Slow Food Without Borders,“ which promotes cross-border exchange between producers, and “Tour del gusto“, which involves excursion trips using e-mobility to selected Slow Food Travel partner businesses.
The Slow Food Academy, founded in 2023, also offers an extensive interactive educational program on topics such as food sovereignty, mindful handling of food, fair prices, and much more. Lectures and workshops are held at various locations throughout the region.
To develop into a particularly sustainable living and working environment, as well as an exemplary climate-friendly tourism region, and to optimally strengthen climate and nature protection and environmental awareness, the LEADER-Region Hermagor developed a bundle of measures on various ecological topics related to climate, environmental, and nature protection. Numerous small and larger projects, many of which are interconnected – particularly in the areas of energy and mobility – were implemented. The clear and defined goal is to achieve climate neutrality by 2040 at the latest, while simultaneously enhancing the quality of life and recreation for both locals and visitors and measurably increasing resilience.
The measures and implementation concept was jointly developed by 29 organizations and companies, with all participants also being held accountable for achieving the goals. One of the central components is the use of renewable energy: for example, all ski lifts and snowmaking systems are now powered 100% by green electricity, there are well over 750 photovoltaic systems in the region, including 25 photovoltaic systems with attached e-charging stations for tourism businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as 45 additional e-charging stations for the more than 200 electric vehicles already in use. The producers of renewable energy from various regenerative sources are grouped into several energy communities.
Mobility and accessibility are overall key aspects of regional development in the LEADER-Region Hermagor and are therefore also a central part of the project. In addition to the mobility center that has existed for 20 years, “smart mobility“ is being promoted and developed. The offer is aimed at both locals and guests in the region and includes free use of various mobility services such as bike buses, alpine shuttles, event buses, hiking buses, ski buses, free rides on S-Bahn lines in Carinthia, a station shuttle system for the “last mile“, the introduction of digital stop displays, the digitization of the entire public transport system, and the introduction of the e-car sharing project FRED, which has proven successful as a tourist product but is also used by locals, and the social mobility service – a barrier-free on-demand transport service.
Supplementary projects have been realized in the field of waste reduction, and 12 audits on resource conservation have already been conducted. A blackout plan for the region, including a checklist for businesses, has been developed, and a training course on Green Finance, including the creation of a Green Finance Guide, has been implemented. Finally, specially trained “nature ambassadors“ are tasked with raising awareness and facilitating knowledge transfer.
Evaluated: 2024
