As part of the SECreTour project, Zavod ID20 and Arctur organized a webinar that brought together experts, practitioners, and enthusiasts. The focus was on digital nomads, and especially the question of how digital nomadism and remote work can become tools for revitalizing rural and heritage-rich communities.
Rural areas across Europe face depopulation, economic decline, and fading cultural identity, yet they offer what digital nomads seek most: authenticity, nature, and meaningful connections. With proper infrastructure, community involvement, and strategic vision, such destinations can be transformed into vibrant hubs of creativity, productivity, and cultural exchange.
The event featured three outstanding speakers, who through their practices and research demonstrated how mobility, heritage, and sustainability can shape a new future for Europe’s countryside.
Katarina Kotnik
Katarina Kotnik presented Workation Bovec 2025, the first organized program for digital nomads in Bovec. The initiative was born out of the need to revitalize the town after the ski resort closed. Through a combination of hospitality, local partnerships, and authentic experiences, Katarina succeeded in attracting 21 participants from different countries, who together created a lively community. The program included sports activities, culinary workshops, and collaboration with local residents, showing that digital nomads can contribute to extending the tourist season, creating new jobs, and keeping young people in rural areas.
Andreea Rusu
Andreea Rusu shared experiences from more than 15 European coliving spaces for digital nomads, showing how carefully designed communities can attract and retain nomads in the long term. She summarized her insights into five pillars: infrastructure, integration into the local community, planning for long-term development, co-creation of value, and networking with other initiatives. She emphasized the importance of stable internet, accessibility, involving local residents in projects, and creating shared events and knowledge exchange between locals and nomads. In her view, successful rural revitalization is based on collaboration, trust, and a sense of belonging that such communities can foster.
Anna Maria Kochanska
Anna Maria Kochanska presented key findings from the Horizon Europe R-MAP program, which studies the impact of remote work on cities and rural areas. She highlighted challenges such as housing availability, mobility, and legal frameworks, which often lag behind the reality of digital nomadism. In her recommendations, she stressed the short-term need for collecting data on remote work trends, medium-term investment in digital infrastructure, and long-term development of appropriate policies and legislation. In her opinion, the future of rural areas is closely linked to the development of flexible workspaces, hybrid work models, and legal solutions that will enable the sustainable integration of digital nomads into local communities.
Countryside as a Hub for Creatives
The webinar showed that digital nomads are not just a trend, but an opportunity for the strategic transformation of rural areas in Europe. By combining infrastructure, cultural heritage, and community vision, rural destinations can become attractive hubs for creative individuals from around the world. The event offered a rich exchange of ideas and practices that can inspire policymakers, tourism developers, entrepreneurs, and researchers in designing a sustainable future for the countryside.
