BIOSTARS opens a call to support young innovators in rural areas

The European project BIOSTARS, in which CTA participates as a member of the consortium, has launched the BIOSTARS Youth Innovators Call, an initiative aimed at identifying and supporting young people with innovative ideas or early-stage projects capable of contributing to more sustainable, resilient and dynamic rural territories across the Mediterranean.

The call is open to individuals aged 35 or under, as well as teams led by at least one person aged 35 or under, including students, researchers, young entrepreneurs, innovators and informal groups. Applicants must reside in, or be economically or operationally active within, one of the six BIOSTARS territories located in Greece, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Spain and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Projects may be at the idea, prototype or early business stage and should address areas such as rural innovation, bioeconomy, sustainability, circular economy, renewable energy, sustainable food systems, nature-based solutions, digital innovation, youth entrepreneurship or social innovation, with the potential to generate a positive environmental, social and economic impact in rural areas.

One Territorial Youth Innovator will be selected from each BIOSTARS territory. The six selected participants will receive the BIOSTARS Youth Innovators Pack, which includes access to training resources, mentoring and mini-incubation support, as well as dedicated sessions coordinated by CTA on European funding opportunities and communication. They will also become BIOSTARS Youth Ambassadors, gaining visibility through the project's communication channels and joining a transnational network of young rural innovators.

The application deadline is 31 October 2026. Click here for more information.

The selected innovators will also be invited to present their projects at the BIOSTARS Final Conference in Sarajevo, expected to take place in May 2027, where an international jury will select the BIOSTARS International Youth Innovator.

With this call, BIOSTARS seeks to empower a new generation of rural innovators, strengthen collaboration across Mediterranean territories and support promising ideas that can contribute to the sustainable transformation of rural communities.