In Fresagrandinaria, Tufillo, and San Giovanni Lipioni, three days of dialogue and shared vision. The focus on ESIRA and the dialogue with the Region pave the way for the revision of Law 25/2015.
Three days to connect, engage, and build common visions.
The 2025 edition of the Festival of Community Cooperatives of Abruzzo, titled “We are villages for the country,” confirmed the strength of a grassroots network that continues to grow and, step by step, is managing to gain recognition even at institutional levels.
In Fresagrandinaria, Tufillo, and San Giovanni Lipioni, there was a genuine atmosphere of participation. Communities coming together, hands interwoven, words turning into projects: the festival highlighted just how strong the desire is to inhabit these villages—not merely to defend them, but to regenerate them, together.
The focus on ESIRA: a laboratory of ideas for inner areas
Among the most significant moments was the second day, dedicated to the ESIRA project—the European programme for the sustainable development of inner (rural/marginal) areas—on which Abruzzo’s community cooperatives are actively engaged in a concrete dialogue. This session gave voice to a shared idea: community experiences are not isolated initiatives but rather models of local development capable of engaging with European programming and influencing public policy.
From network to law: grassroots recognition
During the meeting, the presence of Regional Councillor for Productive Activities, Industrial Research, Internationalisation, and Labour, Tiziana Magnacca, marked a key milestone. For the first time, the network of community cooperatives was able to bring its contribution directly to the attention of the Abruzzo Region, opening an institutional dialogue that was both concrete and constructive.
And results did not take long to materialize.
Just a few days after the Festival, on October 29, the Regional Council approved the revision of Law 25/2015—the law that, ten years ago, had for the first time formally recognised community cooperatives as a model for territorial development.
A grassroots law, now updated precisely thanks to the journey and commitment of those who, over the years, have kept the villages alive through work, passion, and the ability to innovate without losing authenticity.
“We are not merely celebrating a regulatory milestone, but a vision becoming structure, a hope becoming law,” reads a statement by Borghi IN Rete.
“Community cooperatives have proven that caring for the territory is not about nostalgia, but about a shared project and everyday responsibility.”
An Abruzzo that grows together
From the Festival to the Regional Council, the Abruzzo of community cooperatives has shown itself to be a voice capable of having an impact.
A voice that speaks of living villages, people who choose to stay, and experiences that bridge tradition and future.
Now more than ever, that “We are villages for the country” resounds as a collective commitment: to continue building together, so that places may be shaped by the people who inhabit them.
By Emanuela Pomari (Borghi IN and ESIRA MAP member)
