Ansó is a village in the Huesca Pyrenees, whose municipality is part of the Western Valleys Natural Park, an area of great biodiversity and cultural heritage. Currently, it has 407 registered inhabitants , and its economy revolves around livestock farming, services, and moderate tourism. Ansó has also been declared a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC) for its architecture and has received the CONAMA Foundation's Sustainability Award.

Smart Rural 21 Call

The deadline for submitting applications for the European Smart Rural 21 call for proposals closed on May 11th. A total of 736 applications were submitted across Europe . Spain was the European Union country with the greatest representation, with a total of 224 applications. For Jon Aguirre Such, of Paisaje Transversal—the Spanish auditing firm selected by the European Union to oversee and advise the national applications—this large number of participants "is a clear indicator of both the interest generated by the project and the need for towns and rural areas to promote smart strategies that allow them to confidently address the challenges and problems facing the less populated areas of our country."

Requirements to become a “smart village”

A rural town or city wishing to qualify as a "smart village" must meet the following characteristics:

► Have support, ideas and inspiration

► Have leaders committed to developing and implementing a smart village strategy

► Have the relevant human capacity to mobilize for and by the smart village process

► Have guaranteed certain basic technical capabilities :

► Sufficient broadband connectivity

► Have some initial ideas, flagship projects or completed planning activities on which the smart village process can be built

► Candidates should be open to knowledge sharing and cooperation with other villages and stakeholders.

Ansó has easily met these requirements: it has presented a solid candidacy, with a strong political and civic commitment, and also meets the requirement of being a town located more than 45 minutes from a nearby center with more than 50,000 inhabitants (Pamplona). Its selection as a European "smart village" will allow it to consolidate projects it had already initiated, such as the establishment of broadband, the development of renewable energy, and the recycling of materials.

All these qualities make Ansó a rural community that implements measures to retain and attract people to live and work in its area, which is, ultimately, the primary objective of a "smart village": to curb depopulation and make rural living attractive.