How can digital innovation help strengthen rural communities, support sustainable agriculture, and create new opportunities for young people?

These are some of the questions that will be explored during the MALTESE Final Event, taking place on 25 June 2026 at the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA) in Birkirkara, Malta.

The event is being organised by PAMEA (Austria) SEMABLU (Malta) and SELFHOOD (Hungary) in collaboration with AcrossLimits. This will bring together stakeholders from across Malta's rural, agricultural and innovation to showcase the achievements and impact of the MALTESE initiative.

Throughout the project, partners have worked to empower rural communities through digital innovation, entrepreneurship, capacity building and collaboration. The final event will provide an opportunity to share the results achieved, highlight lessons learned and discuss how these outcomes can continue to support rural development in Malta beyond the project's lifetime.

Participants will have the opportunity to discover a range of innovative digital solutions developed and tested through the project, including the JackDaw Chatbot, E-Market platform, SMART irrigation technologies and collaborative mapping tools. These solutions aim to help rural stakeholders make more informed decisions, improve efficiency and strengthen local agricultural ecosystems.

The event will also feature practical insights and success stories from participants who took part in the project's activities, including presentations from the winners of the MALTESE Pitching Competition. Their experiences will demonstrate how innovation, entrepreneurship and fresh ideas can contribute to a more resilient and sustainable rural future.

In addition, project partners will present key achievements related to capacity-building activities, stakeholder engagement, circular agri-business development and the promotion of youth leadership within rural communities.

The programme will conclude with an interactive stakeholder discussion exploring the legacy of the MALTESE project, opportunities for future collaboration, and how the project's tools and methodologies can be sustained, replicated and expanded in Malta and beyond.

The event is open to farmers, young entrepreneurs, innovators, policymakers, educators, researchers, rural development practitioners and anyone interested in the future of agriculture and rural communities in Malta.

Event Details

Date: 25 June 2026
Time: 09:30 – 13:00 CEST
Venue: MDIA, Twenty20 Business Centre, Birkirkara, Malta

Registration : Fill in form here

Agenda: View it here

Join us as we celebrate the achievements of the MALTESE project and explore how innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurship can help shape the future of rural Malta.

Follow the project on the MALTESE website
https://maltese-project.eu/, and / or social media: Facebook & LinkedIn.

Funding acknowledgement
The project PoliRuralPlus has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101136910.

Disclaimer
Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.