The European Commission is currently reforming the Leader funding for rural development, and the decisions may directly affect the operations of villages in our region, the start-up of businesses and the well-being of communities. The continuation of Leader activities is not a given \u2013 Finland will soon decide what opportunities local development will have after 2027.<\/p>\n
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In recent years, the Liiveri Development Association has enabled dozens of projects in Ilmajoki, Jalasj\u00e4rvi and Sein\u00e4joki that have had a visible impact on the everyday lives of residents.<\/p>\n
Although individual Leader projects are often small, their collective impact on residents and villages is significant. Community service, volunteering and private funding multiply the impact of public money at the local level.<\/p>\n
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Leader activities are not just about project funding \u2013 they bring shared activities to the region, strengthen community spirit and offer low-threshold opportunities for entrepreneurs. Leader's strength is its locality: a board consisting of local residents makes project decisions based on the region's own needs and starting points.<\/p>\n
The new chairman of the board of Liiver, who is involved in several associations Mari M\u00e4ki-Karvia<\/strong> understand the importance of support in association activities.<\/p>\n \u2013 Large investments or development work cannot often be financed with one's own funds. Leader support has enabled many associations and companies to operate in rural areas. Leader support has diversified the services in the area. For example, in Ilvesjoki, Kurika, a village association project brought fiber optic to the village, one of the first to do so. M\u00e4ki-Karvia says.<\/p>\n \u2013 Leader activities have an impact on many different levels, so now is the time to speak up for Leader and highlight the development made possible with support.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Leader has been mandatory for EU member states for 30 years and Finland has spent a mandatory minimum amount of funding on it, 5 % of rural funding. In the current funding period (2023\u20132027), this means 230 million euros in public funding. In the future, Finland will decide on the extent of funding for Leader activities.<\/p>\n Leader activities cover 99% of Finland's area. There are 2.5 million Finns within the scope of Leader activities. That is why its significance is visible in everyday life; in villages, municipalities and people's lives. Finland's 53 Leader groups do impressive work on behalf of all of Finland.<\/p>\n Leader groups are the most important funding partner for rural municipalities. 298 municipalities participate in Leader activities, which also co-finance the activities. When a municipality invests one euro in development work, its leverage effect is sevenfold locally. This is because, firstly, in addition to the municipal euro, the activities are also financed by the EU and the Finnish state. In addition, project implementers contribute self-financing, volunteer work and corporate funding.<\/p>\n When deciding the future of funding, it is not about individual projects, but about the continued vitality of the entire region \u2013 whether the villages will remain vibrant and whether small businesses will continue to receive support for their growth.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Additional information:<\/p>\n Sinikka Koivum\u00e4ki, Executive Director of the Development Association Liiveri ry<\/p>\n sinikka.koivumaki@liiveri.net<\/p>\n 040 513 1824<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The European Commission is currently reforming the Leader funding for rural development, and the decisions may directly affect the operations of villages in our region, the start-up of businesses and the well-being of communities. The continuation of Leader activities is not a given \u2013 Finland will soon decide what opportunities local development will have after 2027. Small grants have big impacts In recent years, the Liiveri Development Association has enabled Ilmajoki, Jalasj\u00e4rvi and Sein\u00e4joki [\u2026]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":21444,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11,12,13,14,15,29,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tiedotteet","category-kylat","category-nuoret","category-yritykset","category-yhteisot","category-kansainvalisyys","category-liiveri","category-uutiset"],"yoast_head":"\nDecision-making is transferred to Finland<\/h2>\n