The Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aegesen, has announced in the Senate the publication of the resolution to finance the projects of 40 local entities and non-profit associations that will train 110,000 people in rural areas.
The Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, has announced that the ministry she heads has published the final resolution of the line of aid for the Digital Rural Challenge Programme.
‘On this occasion, 40 local entities and non-profit associations have benefited, and in this case, these 21 million that come from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, will allow approximately 110,000 students to have new skills in the digital environment,’ said the Vice President before the Senate’s Commission on Depopulation and Demographic Challenge.
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Ecological Transition grants 21 million euros in aid for digital skills in rural areas
The Rural Digital Challenge Programme seeks to promote the development of digital training initiatives for the inhabitants of rural areas, with a special focus on the most vulnerable groups in rural areas: the elderly, the unemployed and children and young people.
The aim is to promote the acquisition of basic digital skills by citizens, so that they can operate with confidence and security when communicating, getting information, carrying out formalities or solving problems in the digital environment. A programme that complements the progress made in terms of the digital divide between cities and towns, which has been reduced by 36 points since 2018.
‘The digital divide with cities has gone from 42 points in 2018 to 6 in 2024. This is a success story for the country, a necessary condition for creating opportunities in rural areas. And, with the Conéctate35 satellite coverage programme, promoted by Hispasat, rural broadband coverage is 100%. At last, rural areas have universal coverage. In just a few years this government has taken the figures from 38% to 100%’, Aagesen highlighted.
The beneficiaries of the final resolution announced by the Vice-President include 10 local entities – provincial councils – and 30 non-profit associations that will provide training in basic digital skills in rural environments and demographic priority areas and, specifically, in municipalities with a population of 5,000 inhabitants or less, or municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants, when the actions are carried out in smaller local entities and municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants with scattered population centres, as long as the actions are carried out in these centres.
The Provincial Council of Badajoz, the Fundación Universidad Empresa de la Región de Murcia, the Provincial Council of Ourense, the Provincial Council of A Coruña and the Unión de Pequeños Agricultores are some of the entities that receive the largest funding to deploy their projects, with grants of up to 750,000 euros.
The training will be provided before the second quarter of 2026, paying special attention to young people, women, the unemployed and the elderly. Thus, through the implementation of this programme, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge expects to train a total of 110,000 students, which represents an increase of 22% over the targets set in the Recovery Plan, which includes a commitment to train 90,000 people.