In The Role of ICT in Maintaining Social Cohesion: Understanding the Potential of Digital Incentives for Social Networks in Rural Areas, Rita Helena Phillips (Educational Sciences, Alpen Adria University) examines the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in preserving social and community relationships during the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In ‘We Are Here Our Hearts Are There’: Rurality, Belonging And Walking Together, Henna Asikainen (independent artist) and Ruth McAreavey (Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, UK) present their findings from a series of collective walks taken with diverse groups of migrants to encourage a greater sense of belonging in rural spaces.

In Eliminating Stereotypes: Villages as Desirable Spaces for Partying among Spanish Youth, Laura Pavón-Benítez, Nuria Romo-Avilés (both Women and Gender Studies, University of Granada, Spain), José Manuel Álvarez-Montoya (Social Anthropology, Basic Psychology and Public Health, University of Pablo de Olavide Sevilla, Spain), and Penélope Sánchez-González (Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Granada, Spain) contrast the discourse and assumptions that young people have regarding sociocultural opportunities for social life  in Spanish villages, specifically leisure activities in the form of partying and local festivals.