Lessons from Denmark
What brings rural areas together? Can tourism be managed with clear boundaries to protect the landscape while still allowing enough growth to sustain the local economy? Could clean energy become a driver for local development?
These were some of the topics discussed at the international conference on tourism and infrastructure capacity, held on the rural island of Kythira, Greece, on 16.–17. October 2025.
On Kythira, most of the land is commonage, collectively owned by the island community. Large parts were leased and cultivated in the past but have remained unused for decades. The island faces the same challenges as many other rural areas: depopulation, abandonment of primary sector activities, and summer tourism becoming the main driver of development, placing local infrastructure and resources under strain. Yet, the commonage is primarily managed according to a preservation principle, leaving little room for local development.
At the conference, Alexis Chatzimpiros from the Samsø Energy Academy presented the example of the island of Samsø, Denmark and discussed the RECET project. He highlighted elements that can foster community engagement around the clean energy transition in rural areas, particularly through inclusive energy planning, public participation, and local benefits. He also held bilateral meetings with stakeholders interested in learning from the experiences of other rural areas on how to support rural communities in integrating renewable energy solutions while boosting local economies. Knowledge exchange, capacity building, and cooperation between islands and remote rural areas as well as practical examples and lessons that can be adapted to different contexts were highlighted as very vaulable. Lessons from the RECET project will be shared with the municipality of Kithira, the scientific committee, the local community and the participants.
