The Finnish ERUDITE partners, Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia (a Core ERNACT Region) and Economic Development Agency of Suupohja Region, have been active in promoting the project and creating new possibilities for digital pilots in the region. There has been plenty of publicity in the local newspapers of the ongoing processes of gathering good practices around Europe and bringing usable and concrete examples back home. Later this year the South Ostrobothnian partners will put all the experiences in a regional Action Plan, that will ensure the continuation of digital development work after the project itself has ended.
Together with another regional project, 'Digital Countryside' the Finnish ERUDITE partners have launched a mobile video call service pilot, targeted for the elderly. The pilot uses a locally developed platform Anvia Akkuna, provided by the national internet service provider Elisa Oyj. This platform works on Android tablets and also enables other service providers to participate in creating content. One good example of this wider collaboration is the local Suupohja church organisation, whose vicar live-streamed a short service to the nearby senior care homes earlier in June.
In addition there will be more similar pilots starting this Autumn around the Suupohja region.
About ERUDITE
The aim of this project, that started in April 2016 and will end in March 2020, is to assist rural and more marginal urban regions across Europe to develop, design, implement and improve digital services that capitalise on the potential offered by High Speed Broadband Networks and catalyse regional innovation capacity. In that way, it is possible to enable public administrations, business, third sector organisations and citizens to better deliver sustainable economic and social benefits from a digital single market and support long-term territorial prospects.