Workshops on discussing Smart Innovation Package, part of the SMART ERA project for rural areas in Europe, a community-led project funded by the EU under Horizon + Program
On April 10 and 11, 2025, two meetings were held in the villages of Brestovo and Karpachevo to present a proposal for the introduction of technology for remote health services in the villages of the Devetaki Plateau. This was the main direction outlined by the members of the Devetаki Plateau Association at the Conference of the Future, held last year in Lovech, when the main problems and challenges facing local communities in the nine villages were outlined. This is a consequence of the search for modern technological solutions to improve access to health services in the villages of the Devetaki Plateau and is part of an innovative package that will be implemented as an activity under the international project Smart Era. The meetings were organized by the association, which, together with the Municipality of Sevlievo, is working on the project and represents the Devetaki Plateau Pilot Region.
At the meetings, the organizers presented the proposal to the gathered citizens and members of the association, representatives of the villages from the Devetaki plateau, located in the municipalities of Lovech and Letnitsa, for whom the innovative package of products and services will be developed. Various aspects of the idea were discussed, taking into account the point of view, needs and professional experience of all those present. The proposed approaches were met with enthusiasm by the people in the community. The methodology of a digital co-design toolkit was used for the discussions and the holding of the meeting, and interesting and relevant proposals were made for adding products and services to the package, such as an application and lectures on naturopathy, guidelines for healthy eating and exercise, lectures and other methods of psychological support, an application for ordering medicine, developing an algorithm to notify a neighbor or а mayor in the event of an accident. The meeting was beneficial for all participants and became the basis for planning subsequent steps to realize the set goal, namely initiating meetings with general practitioners and preparing a task with specific parameters and goals.