Interview with Roberta Trovarelli

In every issue our newsletter we introduce you to one of the people leading the work of our partner organizations. In this first edition, we head to Bologna, Italy, to talk to Roberta Trovarelli, Responsible for European and International projects at Legacoop Emilia-Romagna

Roberta Trovarelli has been with Legacoop Emilia-Romagna since 2009, coordinating Cooperative Development activities and overseeing International Projects and Relations. She works with Legacoop’s territorial and sectoral structures, as well as public and private partners, to promote the cooperative movement locally, nationally, and internationally through interdisciplinary development projects. Her work focuses on supporting start-up cooperatives, engaging schools, universities, and groups often excluded from the labor market, and fostering next-generation cooperatives in non-traditional sectors. Roberta has also served as a project leader for consultancy firms and as an external expert for the European Delegation in Budapest.

How would you describe Legacoop Emilia-Romagna? 

Legacoop Emilia-Romagna is the oldest cooperative association in one of the regions of the European Union – and of the world – where the cooperative movement is most advanced, contributing 18% of the regional economy. Today it represents over 1,000 cooperatives across all economic sectors, with more than 161,000 employees and a turnover of €31 billion. When including consortia and joint-stock companies controlled by cooperatives, the Legacoop Emilia-Romagna ecosystem nearly doubles in scale.

Our primary objectives are to foster the creation of new cooperatives and to strengthen collaboration among existing ones, thereby driving local economic development through principles of mutuality and solidarity. To achieve this, Legacoop-ER provides cooperatives and start-ups in its network with training, advisory services, and tailored support to enhance management, operational efficiency, and market competitiveness, while also monitoring market trends to adjust strategies and ensure sustainable growth. Furthermore, Legacoop-ER works closely with local authorities, institutions, and other partners to advance innovation, sustainability, and social inclusion.

What can you tell us about DigAccess? How would you describe it to a stranger?

DIGACCESS is a project that supports small and medium-sized Social Economy enterprises in the rural tourism sector in adopting digital tools to modernize their management and services, with the aim of making them more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities.

The project brings together a skilled partnership of experts from five European countries (Poland, Cyprus, Greece, Portugal, and Belgium), working collaboratively to promote shared goals that highlight the importance of inclusion and ensuring that the needs of all citizens are recognized and addressed.

What is this project for your organization? What is your role in this action?

Our organization enthusiastically joined DIGACCESS because it tackles three crucial challenges: driving the digital transition of small and medium-sized enterprises, a top priority for the European Union; advancing accessibility for people with physical and cognitive disabilities, an essential step toward a fair and inclusive society; and supporting the tourism sector, which is under pressure from overtourism and still often excludes or discriminates against people with disabilities.

What Italy and Emilia-Romagna, how is Agroutourism considered? Is it accessible?

Both agritourism and rural tourism in Italy—and particularly in Emilia-Romagna—have grown steadily since the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, Italian agritourisms hosted around 4.5 million guests, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, while in Emilia-Romagna arrivals and overnight stays continued to rise, especially in hill and mountain areas and in extra-hotel accommodations such as agritourisms. This positive trend shows the sector’s potential to counter depopulation, economic stagnation, and the neglect of landscapes and infrastructure, while fostering local development.

Accessibility, however, remains a challenge, often overlooked due to cultural barriers or limited resources. Still, an increasing number of forward-looking agritourism and rural tourism operators are adopting innovative solutions and training their staff to make their facilities more inclusive for people with disabilities.

The major challenges for sustainable and accessible tourism in Italy and in Emilia-Romagna largely reflect those of the tourism sector as a whole. These include low wages, limited career opportunities for workers, and the resulting high staff turnover, which undermines service quality and long-term innovation in enterprises. In rural tourism, accessibility is further constrained by a widespread lack of awareness: many operators still equate it only with removing physical barriers for people with mobility difficulties or installing accessible bathrooms, overlooking broader needs such as cognitive accessibility, inclusive communication, staff training, and the adoption of digital tools that can make experiences truly accessible to all.

How can DigAccess improve rural tourism in Italy?

DigAccess is a project designed to identify practical approaches and solutions for accessibility that rural tourism SMEs can easily adopt on their path toward greater inclusiveness. The project encourages owners and managers to take a holistic view of accessibility, ensuring that their facilities are welcoming to everyone, regardless of physical or cognitive conditions.

In particular, DigAccess highlights the use of simple yet effective digital solutions that can significantly enhance the experience of visitors with disabilities. It also helps identify and verify existing tools and practices, often little known, to promote accessibility that is both concrete and immediately applicable.

Investing in accessibility not only fosters social inclusion but also opens up new business opportunities, attracting visitors who might otherwise have been unable to enjoy the facilities and generating additional sources of income for local enterprises.

Tell us a bit more about you. What are your hobbies? What do you like to do in your free time?

Travel, travel, travel… but also read, read, read!

In just three weeks of vacation, I managed to read 16 novels. You could say the hardest part about coming back from holiday was not having enough time to devour books anymore!