63. Leader Gotland Rural Gotland has its open farming landscape with fields, meadows, enclosed pasturelands, forest pasture and coastal meadows. Its features include hills, weathered, erosion shaped stones known as rauks, stony fields covered by a thin layer of vegetation, alvar (limestone shingle), sandy beaches and fishing villages. The island is used as a recreational area for both tourists and the local inhabitants and the countryside has a very diverse business sector where a large number of fields are represented. Cultural life on Gotland is very extensive, with both national and regional institutions, active local voluntary associations as well as a wide range of training courses at different levels and in different subjects. Local design is well known throughout Sweden, which is reflected by the fact many creative and professional people, as well as those with cultural interests, have chosen to settle here. Around 36,000 people live in the Leader Gotland area, which comprises Gotland Municipality excluding the town of Visby.
Our vision
Gotland will be a sustainable society with a strong local commitment. Agricultural and forestry companies as well as other rural entrepreneurs will be able to collaborate with respect to common needs and conditions for local development and the business sector. The latter will be undergoing
diversification, while employment prospects along with a higher quality of life for rural inhabitants, while a sustainable use of all rural resources is being promoted.
Our priorities • Improving agricultural and forestry competitiveness: enhancing the degree of processing and production, strengthening micro-companies and stimulating new solutions for renewable energy. • Improving the environment and rural land areas: stimulating new collaborative solutions within sustainable land, water and energy use as well as developing new energy solutions. • Improving the quality of life, widening the business base and promoting the development of the rural economy: stimulating cross-sectoral collaboration within rural development and developing new activities within the housing and experience sectors, innovative housing and service formats, new financing solutions and focusing on target-group oriented efforts with regard to young people.
www.leadergotland.se
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