National good practice competitions in Spain and Slovenia
National Networks (NNs) can be involved in the organisation of competitions celebrating best practices in agricultural and rural development. The Spanish and Slovenian NNs share their experience.
The collection and dissemination of good practices in using Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funding is a key task of the National Networks (NNs), which sometimes feeds into competitions celebrating the best practices.
Following the recent 5th NN meeting, which focused on the identification, collection, analysis and dissemination of good practices, some NNs agreed to share more details about their experience. After a previous into experiences in Poland and Lithuania, this article focuses on national good practice competitions co-organised by the NNs in Spain and Slovenia.
Spain
The Spanish Network is actively involved in promoting awards and events organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
In 2022, the Spanish Network selected rural youth-related projects to be presented at the 6th National Fair for the Repopulation of Rural Spain - PRESURA 2022. The initiative provided visibility to, and helped disseminate, a variety of successful rural youth-related activities (including arts, sports, leisure and social participation), active at different territorial levels, on different topics and using different funding sources. The initiative aimed to stimulate the creation of new associations and encourage youth participation in projects that have a favourable impact on communities in rural areas.
Since 2010, the Spanish Network has also been actively involved in the promotion of the Annual Rural Women Awards. This year’s edition is currently underway, and the awards ceremony will take place on 15 October 2025, on Rural Women Day. The purpose of the competition is to distinguish new, excellent, original and innovative projects and actions that recognise the work and role of women in rural areas, as well as to promote women’s inclusion in the local labour market.
The competition celebrates excellence in agricultural activities, fishing or aquaculture, diversification of economic activities in rural areas, and communication; it also includes a special recognition of women's careers in rural areas and rural fishing areas.
For the NN, these initiatives are a great way to identify the projects and then disseminate them through its communication and social media channels to make them known to the largest possible audience. They are also a vehicle to collect the contacts of new stakeholders to involve in the Network's activities.
Slovenia
EU project, my project is a national campaign organised by the Slovenian Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development to show the actual impact of European funds on the quality of life to the widest possible audience.
The 2025 edition is currently underway, and a 2026 edition is already being planned. All the ministries that manage European funds participate in this joint project, with the Slovenian CAP Network being actively involved since 2019.
The competition includes projects funded from different European funds: European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Cohesion Fund (CF), European Social Fund (ESF) or European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), and Just Transition Fund (JTF)). There are no specific categories, but projects have to prepare a detailed presentation, explain how the project has contributed to the development of the local countryside and agriculture and explain why a project is innovative.
The Slovenian Network is involved in the preparation of the application forms, the follow-up with the applicants and the selection of shortlisted projects. The winners are then selected through a vote by the general public. The Network also works on a day-long event, open to all, where the shortlisted projects can present themselves through workshops, interactive exhibitions, cultural or sports activities and other entertaining activities.
Working on this competition helped the NN identify and promote interesting EAFRD projects through various communication channels and establish collaborations with the projects. They also made contact with the general public as well as specific audiences and established collaboration with other funds (beyond EAFRD).
The Slovenian CAP Network is also actively involved in the European Association for Rural Development and Village Renewal competition.
