MATILDE and not the Roald Dahl one

While I am visiting the first villages in Spain, I also do some more research. I came across a fascinating European project from 2020–2023: Migration Impact Assessment to Enhance Integration and Local Development in European Rural and Mountain Regions, or MATILDE for short. Together with Claude (my new AI friend), I read the research report: The Impact of Social and Economic Policies on Migrants in Europe. Spot on!

Can you successfully repopulate areas experiencing rural decline with migrants?

The project examined regions in no fewer than 10 European countries, including Aragon in Spain. That's where I am now. Teruel is part of Aragon. Needless to say, it's not all rosy. But there are things that do work.

Today's question is: can you successfully repopulate areas experiencing rural decline with migrants? You can imagine this doesn't work if it's the only starting point. It only works under certain conditions. A few interesting conclusions and recommendations:

Without work, you can't put down roots

In Aragon, migrants settle in areas with expanding sectors (pig farming, care, logistics) — not because the government sends them there, but because the labour market draws them in. In Aragon, it was literally said that the regional development of recent decades "cannot be explained without the contribution of the foreign population." The downside is that migrants here are often overqualified for the work they do. This also applies to the Netherlands, by the way.

Scotland is a positive surprise on the list. A fact: three out of four anaesthesiologists in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland are migrants. Ninety percent of veterinarians in Scottish abattoirs are non-British. If those people leave, hospitals and slaughterhouses close for the entire community.

Get the services in order first

Migrants don't save rural services — they need them. Schools, healthcare, public transport: these must be in place before people are asked to come. Italy has set up a national strategy (SNAI) for its inland areas, with €90 million for access to basic services. This means that as a municipality you need to invest in services. So not: there are no more facilities because everyone is leaving. But: we create facilities so that we attract people to settle here. For that you need the goodwill of local officials, like the mayor here in Mora de Rubielos, who arranged for an extra bus.

Children connect

The most striking finding from Scotland: refugee families with school-age children integrate the fastest and with the least tension. Children at school are the most powerful bridge between a new population group and a local community.

Bottom-up and with the heart in the right place

The successes in the report are almost always local in nature — a mayor who is personally involved, a welfare organisation that can respond quickly, a volunteer network that provides transport. Top-down policy that assigns migrants to rural municipalities without local input consistently leads to failure.

In the end, it's the volunteers, social workers and officials with their heart in the right place who keep things on track. There should be more attention and funding for that, I think.

Integration works both ways

Several countries in the project emphasise that integration doesn't work if it is expected solely from the migrant. The receiving community also needs to be prepared, informed and involved. Sweden showed that unexpected placement leads to resistance; Scotland showed that preparation through the New Scots strategy leads to broad support.

The Netherlands could perhaps learn from this. Right now, for example, if there are plans for an asylum seekers centre, everyone panics. Surely this could be done differently… with better information and preparation, for instance. Not just through meetings at the town hall or at the local community centre. Go and visit a village where things are going well. Tell the stories. Just a thought. I simply feel that it can be done differently by involving residents in a different way throughout the whole process.

So… does it work or not?

After ten countries and hundreds of interviews, the answer to whether it works is: it works, but only under certain conditions, and as a solution to rural depopulation on its own it does not work.

Well, I've learned something today. And hopefully you have too.

If you'd like to read more about MATILDE, go to https://www.eurac.edu/en/projects/matilde