Women from rural areas across the European Union (EU) are encouraged to apply for the Women's Academy for Rural Innovation programme in Spain next month.

The six-day programme is designed to empower women from rural areas to acquire the skills needed to shape the digital age from their own villages.

Women of all ages and walks of life living in rural areas within the EU can apply until Tuesday, September 27.

The successful applicant will win a full scholarship to participate in the inaugural edition of The Women’s Academy for Rural Innovation, which will take place in the Castilla y Léon region of Spain from Sunday, October 23 until Friday, October 28.

Under the programme, 15 participants - each from a different EU member state - will learn from top experts and renowned public figures, exploring entrepreneurship in a rural setting.

Participants will have the chance to get first-hand experience of technologies and innovations that can be applied in women's rural area and working life, along with advice on how to set up a small-medium enterprise (SME).

The Women’s Academy for Rural Innovation is a part of Huawei’s broader educational initiative ‘European Leadership Academy’, which is designed to advance digital inclusion and female empowerment.

Women must be encouraged to take an active role in fostering growth and building a sustainable future, according to the European Leadership Academy. It stated:

The programme will focus on business sustainability, local growth in a global world and a forward-looking vision for rural communities. During the six-day event, participants will:

"Women in rural areas still face structural challenges that unfairly prevent many of them from unleashing their full potential. The rural setting presents women with a double hurdle; in addition to the gender gap, they also need to overcome the urban-rural divide in order to progress.

"This is also an obstacle to equal opportunities in the EU. That is why The Women’s Academy for Rural Innovation has been created," according to the European Leadership Academy.