SMILE Incubator - Social Media Leadership Incubator for Danube Region
Many rural regions in the Danube area are facing serious challenges due to outmigration, brain drain, and aging populations. In response, the SMILE Incubator – Social Media Leadership Incubator for the Danube Region was launched in April 2025.
The project aims to equip young people from remote rural areas with the skills and tools they need to become active leaders in their communities.
The project supports Specific Objective 4.2 of the Danube Region Programme, which seeks to strengthen institutional capacities for territorial and macro-regional governance. SMILE contributes to this goal by promoting youth participation and leadership, building a broad cooperation network, and developing capacity-building tools that leverage the power of social media.
Project Focus
Assessing youth participation and leadership potential in rural areas
Building a transnational cooperation network involving academia, civil society, SMEs, and media
Developing practical tools to strengthen youth leadership via social media
The project places special emphasis on the use of social media as a powerful channel for civic engagement, enabling young people to raise their voices and drive change in their local environments.
A Strong Transnational Partnership
The SMILE Incubator is implemented by a diverse and well-balanced consortium of 20 partners from all 14 Danube Region countries. It is led by the School of Advanced Social Studies (Slovenia), and includes universities, research centers, NGOs, and development agencies – including our foundation, which actively contributes to achieving the project’s objectives.
📎 Learn more: https://interreg-danube.eu/projects/smile-incubator
Project period: 01/04/2025 - 31/09/2027
Lead partner: School of Advanced Social Studies (Slovenia)
Project partner:
Faculty of Information Studies in Novo mesto (SI)
Rudolfovo Science and Technology Centre Novo mesto (SI)
Foster Europe, Foundation for strong European regions (AT)
Center for Civil Society Promotion (BA)
Research Centre “Regional and Global Development” (BG)
Rochester Institute of Technology Zagreb (HR)
Metropolitan University Prague (CZ)
Steinbeis 2i GmbH (DE)
South Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency
(HU)|NGO OIKUMENA (MD)
Association for Responsible and Sustainable Development (ME)
Babeș-Bolyai University (RO)
Danube Area Research Center (RS)
University of Economics in Bratislava (SK)
International Institute for Regional Media and Information (UA)
ASPs: Stadt Wien/EU-Förderagentur GmbH (AT)
KDMFÜ Közép-Duna Menti Fejlesztési Ügynökség Nonprofit Korlátolt Felelősségű Társaság (HU)
Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia (AMTS) (SI)
Romanian Institute For Research On National Minorities (ISPMN) (RO)
Project Budget: €1.960.000
ERDF budget: 80.00%
Co-funded by: European Union through the Interreg Danube Region Programme.