Leader+ Observatory Seminar ‘The Legacy of Leader+ at local level: Building the future of rural areas’ April 2007 Cap Corse, Nebbiù è Custera, Corse, FRANCE Mini-plenary G - Case Study: LAG Sauwald, Austria “Complementary pathfinder/incubator/niche programme” Thomas Müller European Commission

LAG Sauwald Austria Passau Germany Austria

LAG Sauwald Structure General assembly – all LAG partners&members THEMATIC TEAMS Represent variety of the region BOARD mayors – president - others LAG MANAGEMENT LAG Manager - employees President

LAG Sauwald Example Treetop Walking  The idea came from „top down“  It got initiated from „bottom up“  Plan: visitors/year  Achievement: visitors first year, second year!  Area was overrun by tourists  LAG Sauwald re-oriented itself to become a complementary tourism board  LAG started process for developing a professional tourism board, starting

LAG Sauwald Other Projects…  …in which the LAG first took a leading function  Panorama Road (over five villages)  Riding and walking paths (promoted by the association „Verein Sauwaldwege“)  „Sauwalderdäpfel“ (group of potatoe farmers, carrying out an action 2 project; marketing activities in combination with tourism and regional PR)  „Treasure hunter“ – knowledge management (assisting a team of volunteers, providing and maintaining a web portal)  …  …and then aimed at seting up self-organising structures

 It‘s better to take a leading function than to lose a project.  To bring an area to dance is really hard work, but it‘s worth to do it!!!  You can measure the success of Leader by the extent to which it was possible to enhance local identity  Provide inputs „top down“, support all activities, but all in all – to make it work for a long time - it has to be a „bottom up“ process. LAG Sauwald Final statement