FAO, along with its partners in Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan, is taking action to accelerate the digital transformation of agriculture and rural areas through the Digital Villages Initiative (DVI). 

Join us for the “Digital Villages in Action in Europe and Central Asia” virtual event, where we will launch DVI actions in eight countries, bringing together policy actors, stakeholders, partners, and beneficiaries. The event will be held on Zoom on 18 May 2023, from 09.30 to 12.00 (CEST) with English-Russian interpretation. 

DVI is a corporate initiative of FAO that aims to convert at least 1000 villages around the world into Digital Villages. With DVI, FAO is supporting a digital rural transformation process to address agrifood systems’ challenges and improve the livelihoods and resilience of rural communities.  

The vision of DVI in Europe and Central Asia is to empower every rural community to utilize digital technologies, leveraging their local strengths. It takes a participatory approach, co-creating interventions with rural communities to enhance their capacities and build resilience, ensuring long-term sustainability. Additionally, DVI aims to foster linkages and cooperation across villages and institutions through "DVI twinning", encouraging the exchange of knowledge, best practices, and technology transfer at the national, regional or international level.  

During this event, high-level officials and technical experts will share their vision for promoting DVI in their respective countries. Additionally, it will showcase past achievements, interim results, and best practices in digital agriculture that provide solid grounds for the implementation of DVI. The event will also feature a live session from the field in Uzbekistan's future Digital Village Novkent, where FAO brings IoT smart devices into smallholders’ greenhouses, develops digital literacy, and stimulates innovation.