Gathered around the theme of demographic change and innovative responses to it, three living labs from the RUSTIK project: Rhein-Hunsrück (Germany), North Karelia (Finland), and Monmouthshire (UK) came together on June 5th to present and exchange ideas on shared challenges in the heart of Koli National Park, Finland.
This event aimed to disseminate the results developed within these real-life laboratory of the project and trigger peer-to-peer discussions.
Simo Rautiainen, a doctoral researcher at the University of Eastern Finland and the Karelian Institute, set the scene by introducing the host region North Karelia and outlining its demographic challenges over the period 1980 to 2024.
These three Living Labs, regional innovation hubs that experiment with real-world solutions to rural issues, then presented their unique, locally adapted approaches to addressing demographic specificities. Despite the geographical distance, many common patterns emerged.
Svea Thietje and Achim Kistner, both working within the Rhein-Hunsrück Living Lab, presented ongoing initiatives aimed at strengthening the region’s demographic resilience. They highlighted two key challenges: out-migration among young people aged 18 to 25, and the gap between supply and demand in the training and apprenticeship market.
Their Living Lab’s approach to addressing these challenges involved analysing mismatches in the apprenticeship landscape and improving alignment through a series of actions: organizing focus groups, co-designing surveys, and conducting interviews with both young people and employers (including agencies, job centres, and local administrations).
They shared the following key achievements:
- Created a well-founded database on the needs and obstacles faced by both young people and employers in relation to apprenticeships and vocational training.
- Ensured that young people’s voices were heard and considered in discussions around training.
- Created new networks and revived old ones, fostering dialogue among stakeholders.
- Attracted political attention — both at the district and regional levels — and initiated discussions with policymakers based on the findings.
In North Karelia, Aura Liski, project Manager at the Regional Council of North Karelia, presented a survey aimed at collecting data on the integration of immigrants in the region. The data is intended to help municipalities improve their integration services and better support the successful settlement of immigrants, given that the latest reform of the 2025 Integration Act, which made municipalities responsible for promoting the integration of immigrants, lacked the tools and data to evaluate and develop their integration services.
The survey was developed and launched in spring 2024 and has since been expanded to other municipalities in the region. An improved version of the survey is currently being prepared through a multidisciplinary collaboration with regional stakeholders.
Finally, Demelza Jones, Research Fellow at the University of Gloucestershire and representative of the Monmouthshire Living Lab, highlighted how a survey incorporating emotion-based questions on belonging and aspirations, combined with geo-referenced data and secondary datasets, enabled deeper insights and allowed for meaningful local-level comparisons.
In the context of Monmouthshire, which is marked by an ageing population as well as challenges related to housing, employment, and transport, this experimental approach provided valuable understanding of the needs and expectations of younger residents in the region.
Beyond the sharing of achievements, successes, and challenges, the panel discussions also revealed a strong desire to continue these initiatives beyond the timeframe of the project, as some of the results have proven to be valuable tools in themselves for other stakeholders.
