On 28 January 2026, 15 participants joined the INSPIRE co-creation workshop in Moate, Westmeath, which focused on discussing and planning for the new Smart Village Lab in Ireland.

INSPIRE’s Irish Pilot Leader, The Wheel, deployed the workshop and familiarised the local community with the concept of a Smart Village Lab, which is a local space where people come together to find practical ways to improve everyday life and social inclusion in their community. It helps people work together on local challenges, using shared ideas, skills, and simple tools to make community life better.

In this workshop, local challenges such as transport, employment opportunities and language barriers were identified.

Later this year, our pilot partner will try to address some of these challenges through small pilot projects in Moate.

We look forward to seeing how the Smart Village Lab can test out these solutions. Stay tuned!