Highlands Community Manager

updated at 2026-01-27 12:00

Transnational Meeting & Public Event

📍 Pontremoli (MS), Italy – Lunigiana, Tuscany
📅 29 January – 1 February

Project: HiCoMa – Highlands Community Manager (Erasmus+)
Grant number: 2023-2-ES01-KA210-VET-000182584
Coordinator: CREA – Centro Ricerche EtnoAntropologiche
Local partner: Start Working Pontremoli
🌐 www.hicoma.eu

ABOUT THE PROJECT (brief)

HiCoMa is an Erasmus+ project aiming to train and connect Community Managers for rural and mountain areas, strengthening skills in facilitation, participatory governance, local development, and transnational networking.

The project involves European territories sharing similar characteristics: inner areas, often rural or mountainous, affected by population ageing, depopulation, and service reduction, but also rich in social innovation, cultural heritage, and community-led development practices.

PARTICIPATING TERRITORIES

• Pontremoli / Lunigiana (IT)

• Sovramonte – Feltre area (IT)

• Mancomunidad Xarpolar (ES)

• Lipănești – Prahova County (RO)

PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

🟠 29 JANUARY – ARRIVAL & FIRST VISIT

Arrival of participants

• Arrivals throughout the day

• Accommodation in apartments / local facilities

• Internal HiCoMa meetings (if needed): location to be defined

• brunch 

17:00  First Local Visit – Exploratory Walk

Activities

• Exploratory walk in the historic centre

• Guided by a representative of the association organising the Disfida dei Falò di Pontremoli, the traditional competition of bonfires

• Informal introduction to the territory, local community, and practices

🎯 HiCoMa value

• First contact with the local context

• Informal territorial reading

• Group building

🌙 EVENING – 18:30 COMMUNITY EVENT WITH START WORKING PONTREMOLI

Location: Bar La Lanterna, Pontremoli (MS)

Activities:

• Public presentation of the HiCoMa project to the local community

• Dialogue with members of Start Working Ponrtemoli  

🥂 Networking apericena

• Project participants

• Local community

• Associations and stakeholders

🎯 Objective

• Activate relationships, contacts, and future collaborations

🍽️ 20:30 DINNER  Trattoria Da Norina

🟠 30 JANUARY – INSTITUTIONAL & COMMUNITY DAY

🏛 9:30 MORNING – HERITAGE & IDENTITY 

Activities

• Visit to the Museo delle Statue Stele Lunigianesi

• Visit to the Castello del Piagnaro (Pontremoli)

🎯 Transnational connection, these sites symbolically dialogue with:

Cova de l’Or (Beniarrés, Spain); Museo MuVAR – Museo dell’Uomo di Val Rosna (Sovramonte, Italy); Piscu Pottery Museum (Ciolpani, Ilfov County, Romania)

🏛 MORNING INSTITUTIONAL MEETING

Format: official institutional meeting Location: Municipality of Pontremoli

Participants

• Authorities of the Comune di Pontremoli

• Mayors and representatives of partner municipalities

• HiCoMa project representatives

• Start Working Pontremoli representatives

Contents

• Brief presentation of HiCoMa

• Exchange among territories

• Role of local administrations in inner and mountain areas

🍽️ Lunch: 13:00  Osteria San Francesco e Il Lupo 

🧠 AFTERNOON 16:00 - 18:00 – PUBLIC CONFERENCE & NETWORKING

HiCoMa Public Conference (working Language ITALIAN)

Location: Stanze del Teatro Rose – Comune di Pontremoli (MS - Italy) 

Structure

• Institutional opening

• Presentation of the HiCoMa project

• Guests from Comune di Pontremoli 

• Case study: Project “Hands and Minds”, revitalises Pontremoli’s historic centre through arts and crafts workshops, 

• Case study: Start Working Pontremoli

• Research presentation: 4th Report on Digital Nomadism in Italy
  (Associazione Italiana Nomadi Digitali ETS)

• Kidpass.it presentation of Kidpass Tourism, redefining family tourism as an active, educational, and value-based experience

• Public Q&A

🍽️  20:15 Dinner Trattoria da Bussé (Set Menu)

🟠 31 JANUARY – TERRITORY, PROJECTS & FUTURE

🚶 Narrative Urban Walk

Time: 10:15 – 12:30

Format

• Slow walk with thematic stops

• Storytelling focused on:

  • local shops

  • reactivated spaces

  • urban voids

  • experiences of return, residence, and work

Local voice: Start Working Pontremoli

🎯 HiCoMa value:  Learning by walking;  Direct link between space, economy, and community

🍽 LUNCH – INFORMAL RELATION BUILDING

Time: 12:30 – 14:30 Caverna dei Nani

Suggested format

• Mixed tables (partners/guests / local actors)

• Local, identity-based menu (testaroli, torte d’erbi, local products)

👉 Suggestion: soft thematic tables (work, youth, territories, digital)

15:00  FREE TIME 

🔥19:00  EVENING – RITE & COMMUNITY

6. Bonfire of San Geminiano

Time: from 19:00

Participation in the traditional San Geminiano bonfire, held near Ponte della Crësa along the Torrente Verde, celebrating the patron saint of Pontremoli.

🎯 Symbolic value

• Non-formal closure;  shared meaning-making; collective memory of the event

🟠 1 FEBRUARY – DEPARTURES

Morning EARTH MARKET ( Mercato della Terra) IN PONTREMOLI

• Visit to the local market, organised in collaboration with Slow Food Italy, takes place monthly and showcases the flavours of Lunigiana. Enjoy traditional cooking demonstrations, tastings, and opportunities to meet food experts.

Afterwards, there will be time to prepare for departures, say farewells, and begin your return journey.

BUDGET & PRACTICAL NOTES

Due to the limited budget allocated to events within the project framework, food, beverages, and accommodation are at participants’ own expense, except for specific moments explicitly offered by the Italian delegation.

🔹 Final Note 

This meeting is designed as a hybrid experience combining:

training – exchange – community – territory

with a strong focus on:

• experiential learning

• informal relationships

• meaningful networking

• building a European network of inner and mountain areas

Comunità che innovano: a Pontremoli il primo convegno internazionale degli Highland Community Manager

Pontremoli al centro dello sviluppo delle comunità: primo convegno internazionale degli Highland Community Manager

Pontremoli, 27 gennaio 2026

Il Comune di Pontremoli ha concesso il proprio patrocinio al primo Convegno internazionale degli Highland Community Manager (HiCoMa) , cofinanziato dal programma Erasmus+, che per alcuni giorni trasformerà la “Porta di Toscana” in un laboratorio europeo dedicato alla rigenerazione delle aree rurali e montane, in un dialogo transnazionale che comprende cittadini, aziende e istituzioni d'Italia, Spagna e Romania.

L’evento, organizzato dal Centro Ricerche EtnoAntropologiche e da A2030 ODV Social Innovation designers  in collaborazione con l’Associazione Start Working Pontremoli APS, riunirà amministratori locali, rappresentanti dei comuni spagnoli di Beniarrés e della Mancomunidad de Xarpolar, del Comune di Comuna Lipănești (Romania), i partner di progetto e operatori culturali e turistici.

Pontremoli, borgo medievale della Lunigiana e tappa storica della Via Francigena, oggi è sempre più un luogo dove storia, cultura e natura dialogano con nuove forme di abitare e lavorare: turismo lento, produzioni locali, ma anche smart worker e nomadi digitali. Il patrocinio al progetto HiCoMa riconosce il valore strategico degli Highland Community Manager nel sostenere partecipazione, coesione sociale e sviluppo sostenibile nelle aree interne.

Il programma prevede incontri di lavoro internazionali, visite e momenti di confronto con gli attori locali.

 Il cuore dell’iniziativa sarà però la conferenza pubblica di venerdì 30 gennaio, alle ore 15.00 alle Stanze del Teatro della Rosa, aperta a cittadinanza, associazioni e operatori. Qui oltre alle attività del Comunque di Pontremoli e di ANCI Toscana, verranno illustrate le attività del progetto HiCoMa, le iniziative future e il caso di studio Start Working Pontremoli, nato come progetto no profit contro lo spopolamento e oggi punto di riferimento per chi lavora da remoto, con uno spazio di co-working nel Palazzo Comunale.

Tra gli ospiti: Marianna Vianello, CEO di Kid Pass srl media partner di HiCoMa, presenterà in anteprima Kidpass Tourism, nuova piattaforma dedicata al turismo consapevole, offrendo uno sguardo su come Pontremoli possa diventare una destinazione family-friendly. 

Alberto Mattei, fondatore dell’Associazione Italiana Nomadi Digitali, presenterà il 4° Rapporto sul Nomadismo Digitale in Italia, che evidenzia la trasformazione da turisti di passaggio a residenti temporanei e le opportunità che il lavoro da remoto apre per piccoli comuni come Pontremoli e per la Lunigiana.

Il convegno si inserisce nel percorso del progetto HiCoMa che tra maggio e ottobre 2025 ha realizzato un corso di alta formazione transnazionale per Community Manager delle aree rurali e montane. Coinvolti 90 esperti in Europa e nel mondo, organizzate 20 tavole rotonde tematiche, formato oltre 100 partecipanti e analizzato più di 50 casi di studio Tutti i materiali prodotti sono disponibili sulla piattaforma www.hicoma.eu 

Il progetto HiCoMa. Un grande risultato reso possibile dal lavoro congiunto di: Fabio Malfatti e Francesca Grisot del Centro Ricerche EtnoAntropologiche APS (CREAaps) come project manager e responsabile scientifico della compagine italiana in partenariato con A2030 ODV,  di Alberto Lorente Saiz, referente dei progetti europei per il partner capofila spagnolo CREA360 e di Anamaria Moisa di Asociatia Se Poate, Romania, come responsabile della formazione.

Un ringraziamento particolare va al Comune di Pontremoli per il patrocinio e il sostegno alle politiche innovative di sviluppo locale, e a Start Working Pontremoli APS per il grande supporto nell'organizzazione del convegno.

Il progetto HiCoMa – Highland Community Manager (KA210-VET-E475A14E) è cofinanziato dall’Unione europea. Le opinioni espresse riflettono esclusivamente il punto di vista degli autori. L’Unione Europea non può essere ritenuta responsabile per le informazioni o le opinioni espresse.

Informazioni e contatti

Per aggiornamenti sul Convegno e sul corso HiCoMa:
Sito web del progetto: www.hicoma.eu

Organizzazione in Italia

Fabio Malfatti - Centro Ricerche EtnoAntropologiche APS  cell +39 389 3224662  fmalfatti@creasiena.it 

Francesca Grisot - A2030 ODV – Social Innovation Designers  cell. +39 388 428 7907  team@a2030odv.com 

Progetto Highland Community Manager
info@hicoma.eu        www.hicoma.eu |  LinkedIn  |   Facebook   |   Instagram

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download Programma 

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Communities that innovate: in Pontremoli, the first international conference of Highland Community Managers

Pontremoli, 27 January 2026

Pontremoli will host the first international conference of Highland Community Managers (HiCoMa), co-funded by Erasmus+. The event will offer opportunities to network, share strategies, and develop collaborative solutions for the regeneration of rural and mountain areas. For several days, the 'Gateway to Tuscany' will become a European hub, bringing together citizens, businesses, and institutions from Italy, Spain, and Romania in transnational dialogue.

Centro Ricerche EtnoAntropologiche and A2030 ODV – Social Innovation Designers, in collaboration with Start Working Pontremoli APS, organise the event to bring together local administrators of Pontremoli, ANCI Toscana, representatives of Beniarrés and the Mancomunidad de Xarpolar (Spain); representatives of Comuna Lipănești (Romania); project partners; and cultural and tourism operators.

Pontremoli is a medieval village in Lunigiana and a historic stop on the Via Francigena. History, culture, and nature now embrace new ways of living and working: residents and visitors benefit from slow tourism, access to local products, and supportive conditions for smart workers and digital nomads. By granting patronage to the HiCoMa project, the administrators of Pontremoli recognise the need for Highland Community Managers to drive community participation, foster social cohesion, and advance sustainable development that supports economic vitality and well-being in inner areas.

The programme includes international working sessions, field visits and opportunities for dialogue with local stakeholders. The heart of the initiative, however, will be the public conference on Friday, 30 January, at 3:00 pm in the rooms of the Teatro della Rosa, open to citizens, associations and local operators. Alongside the activities of the Municipality of Pontremoli and ANCI Toscana, the conference will present the work carried out by the HiCoMa project, future initiatives and the case study Start Working Pontremoli, launched as a non-profit project to counter depopulation and now a reference point for remote workers, with a co-working space inside the Town Hall.

Among the guests: Marianna Vianello, CEO of Kid Pass srl and media partner of HiCoMa, will preview Kidpass Tourism, a platform for responsible, family-oriented tourism, showcasing how Pontremoli can become family-friendly. Alberto Mattei, founder of the Italian Digital Nomads Association, will present the 4th Report on Digital Nomadism in Italy, which highlights the transition from tourists to temporary residents and the opportunities remote work brings to small towns like Pontremoli and Lunigiana.

The conference is part of the HiCoMa project, which, from May to October 2025, delivered international training for Community Managers in rural and mountain areas. HiCoMa involved 90 experts across Europe and beyond, organised 20 roundtables, trained 100+ participants, and analysed 50+ case studies. All materials are available on www.hicoma.eu.

The HiCoMa project is the result of a strong collaborative effort by Fabio Malfatti and Francesca Grisot from Centro Ricerche EtnoAntropologiche APS (CREAaps), as project manager and scientific lead of the Italian partnership in collaboration with A2030 ODV; Alberto Lorente Saiz, EU projects officer for the Spanish lead partner CREA360; and Anamaria Moisa from Asociatia Se Poate, Romania, as training coordinator.

Special thanks go to the Municipality of Pontremoli for its patronage and support of innovative local development policies, and to Start Working Pontremoli APS for its crucial contribution to the organisation of the conference.

The HiCoMa – Highland Community Manager (KA210-VET-E475A14E) project receives co-funding from the European Union. Only the authors express the views and opinions. The European Union cannot accept responsibility for any use whatsoever of the information or opinions contained herein.

Information and contacts

For updates on the Conference and the HiCoMa course:

Project website: www.hicoma.eu

Organisation in Italy

Fabio Malfatti – Centro Ricerche EtnoAntropologiche APS

Mob. +39 389 322 4662 – fmalfatti@creasiena.it

Francesca Grisot – A2030 ODV – Social Innovation Designers

Mob. +39 388 428 7907 – team@a2030odv.com

Highland Community Manager Project

info@hicoma.eu – |  www.hicoma.eu | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram 

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Detailed Agenda

Travel Pack