Rosa Ysabel Piñeiro Boullosa
I wanted to visit Anda CoWork because I was already familiar with Anceu, and this occasion represented an excellent opportunity to continue exploring possible collaborations and future synergies. The idea of being part of coworking spaces, both urban and rural, seems to me fundamental to understanding how we can support each other and grow as a community. These spaces not only provide an environment conducive to innovation and creativity, but also foster a support network that benefits all members, regardless of their geographical location.
This meeting also presented a valuable opportunity to strengthen our national network within the European Creative Hubs Network (ECHN). The exchange of experience and knowledge between network members has a direct impact on building a strong community that can support coworking spaces across the country, both in urban and rural environments. It is a collaborative exercise that allows learning from each other and generating innovative proposals for each local context.
During my visits to Anda CoWork in Granada, my main focus was to learn how an urban coworking space works from the inside. My aim was to identify ideas and best practices that we could apply to the rural coliving and coworking spaces we manage at Anceu. For the first few days I observed closely how they build community, how they design the physical space to encourage interaction, how they organise events and how they engage with the local environment. This kind of direct observation is crucial for adapting the best strategies and creating a collaborative and stimulating working environment, even in smaller localities far from large urban centres.
In addition, I took the opportunity to explore Granada's creative hubs, especially those focused on culture and the creative industries. These visits were especially enlightening, as they helped me to understand how these spaces dedicated to cultural innovation work, and how we can implement similar elements in our rural centre in Anceu to foster a similarly creative and dynamic environment. It is important to understand how a city like Granada, with its rich cultural tradition, combines the modern with the historical to create an environment conducive to creative entrepreneurship.
One of the objectives of my visit was to share our experiences in Anceu, both the achievements we have made and the challenges we have faced. This exchange of information and experiences allowed us to enrich our vision and take away fresh ideas that we can surely apply to our rural projects. It also gave us the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with Anda CoWork, another step towards creating a solid and collaborative network that favours both urban and rural coworking spaces. Each of these exchanges contributes to building a stronger community, based on cooperation and innovation.
On the last day at Anda CoWork, Friday, during a breakfast with people from the community, I also had the opportunity to meet other members and participate in several presentation sessions and verbal presentations. The entrepreneurs who presented their projects not only shared their ideas with us, but also opened a space for dialogue, which allowed for a constant flow of ideas and proposals. It was a dynamic and participatory environment, which promoted knowledge sharing and the creation of links between participants.
One of the most striking aspects of the visit was the diversity of ages among the coworking members. However, despite the generational differences, they all shared a common interest: a commitment to creativity, innovation and social entrepreneurship. This homogeneity in terms of interests, despite the disparity in age and career paths, was one of the most striking and enriching aspects of the experience.
At the event, I had the pleasure of coinciding with three young people from the University of Granada who presented an interesting project related to rural women. It was an inspiring proposal that undoubtedly opened new perspectives on how to connect urban work with the needs and potential of rural communities. This kind of initiatives reinforce the importance of generating inclusive and collaborative spaces that foster the empowerment of all parties involved.
Without a doubt, this visit to Anda CoWork was an extremely interesting, enlightening and eye-opening experience. It allowed me to gain valuable lessons on how to strengthen our coworking community at Anceu, while enriching my perspective on the future of coworking spaces in both urban and rural environments.
And, of course, I didn't miss the opportunity to explore the wonderful city of Granada. I escaped to explore the emblematic Albaicín neighbourhood, enjoyed the beauty of Motril, marvelled at the majesty of the Alhambra and strolled through the streets of the city, with its lively terraces and corners full of history. The city surprised me in ways I did not expect and reminded me how important it is to enjoy the environment while living an enriching professional experience.
