Smart Villages in the EU and Beyond

Anna Visvizi, Ph.D. is Associate Professor, Deree College - The American College of Greece, and Visiting Researcher at Effat University, Saudi Arabia. Her expertise covers issues relevant to the intersection of politics, economics and ICT. Miltiadis D. Lytras, Ph.D. is Research Professor at Deree College - The American College of Greece and Visiting Researcher at Effat University, Saudi Arabia. His expertise covers cognitive computing, information systems and technology enabled innovation. György Mudri is agricultural engineer, specialising in biotechnology. He is Advisor to Mr Tibor Szanyi, Member of the European Parliament. His expertise covers rural networking, LEADER, the rural development legislation and the EU smart villages concept.

• Chapter 1. Introduction: Smart Villages: Relevance, Approaches, Policymaking Implications Chapter 2. Integrated Approach to the Sustainable EU Smart Villages Policies; Gyorgy Mudri and Christiane Kirketerp Chapter 3. Smart Villages Revisited: Conceptual Background and New Challenges on the Local Level; Oskar Wolski and Marcin Wójcik Chapter 4. Towards a new sustainable development model for Smart Villages; Raquel Pérez-del Hoyo and Higinio Mora Chapter 5. The role of LEADER in smart villages: An opportunity to reconnect with rural communities; Enrique Nieto and Pedro Brosei  Chapter 6. Precision Agriculture and The Smart Village Concept; Daniel Azevedo Chapter 7. Energy diversification and self-sustainable smart villages; James K. R. Watson Chapter 8. The Role of Smart and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Smart Villages Concept; Szanyi-Gyenes XeniaChapter 9. Smart Villages in Slovenia: Examples of Good Pilot Practices; Veronika Zavratnik, Andrej Kos and Emilija Stojmenova Duh Chapter 10. Smart Village Projects in Korea: Rural Tourism, 6th Industrialization, and Smart Farming; Jonghoon Park and Seongwoo Lee Chapter 11. Smart villages and the GCC Countries: Policies, strategies, and implications; Tayeb Brahimi and Benaouda Bensaid Chapter 12. Conclusions: Smart Villages: Mapping the Emerging Field and Setting the Course of Action; Miltiadis D. Lytras, Anna Visvizi and Gyorgy Mudri

Through 12 essays and case studies, engineering and other specialists from universities, think tanks, advocacy groups, and institutions in Europe, Saudi Arabia, and Korea discuss smart villages in rural areas in the European Union and elsewhere, focusing on the issues of the village as an ecosystem, microcosm, community, and people; the value added by information and communication technology; and the application of effective policymaking. They examine various issues related to the debate on smart villages, including the concept and its evolution in the European Union, its application, and implications at the local level and for rural development; policymaking actions and strategies, including a sustainable development model based on resilience, the role of LEADER (Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l'Économie Rurale) in smart villages, and precision agriculture; issue and policy areas like energy diversification and self-sustainable smart villages and the role of small and medium-sized enterprises; and case studies of Slovenia, South Korea, and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.