Date of event: 8 Nov 2022
Address: Online
On 8 november 2022, SHERPA and POLIRURAL will organise a webinar on “Effective mechanisms to address new governance challenges in European rural areas”, as a side event of the European Week of Regions and Cities. This online event will present new governance challenges that the rural regions of Europe must address in this time of almost continuous disruption.
The opening address by Samuel Vican, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic, will introduce the issue and explain the scale of the challenges that rural regions now face. This will be followed by a series of case studies on how these challenges can be addressed based on achievements of the EU funded POLIRURAL and SHERPA projects.
Marieta Okenková, former member of the accession negotiations team of the Slovak Republic and Gabriel O’Connell, CEO of Monaghan Integrated Development in Ireland, illustrate what can be achieved by the application of an approach to Regional Foresight that was developed and piloted in the POLIRURAL project. Karen Refsgaard, research director at Nordregio in Denmark, and Samuel Féret, mayor of the village of Arzal in France, illustrate the role that Multi-Actor Platforms developed in the SHERPA project can play, in support of planning and programming for rural regions.
The event will be moderated by Anita Seļicka, Director of the Latvian Rural Forum, council member of the European LEADER Association for Rural development, member of the steering group of the European Rural Parliament, expert member of the LTVRA working group on Rural Proofing and Rural Revitalization, and coordinator of the POLIRURAL Foresight initiative in Latvia.
Presentations
15:00 – 15:10: Opening address by Samuel Vlcan, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic.
15:10 – 15:20: Introduction on both projects by Anita Seļicka, Latvian Rural Forum.
15:20 – 15:55: Case studies on the use of foresight to make and implement a vision for rural areas
- Case Study 1: National vision for more attractive rural areas by Marieta Okenkova, former member of the Slovak accession treaty team and current lead on a POLIRURAL supported Regional Foresight exercise.
- Case Study 2: A SHERPA Multi-actor platform at regional level, take-aways for piloting EU projects in rural areas with rural people by Samuel Féret, mayor of a French village and SHERPA Multi-Actor Platform (MAP) Monitor of two French SHERPA MAPs.
- Case Study 3: Planning for a vibrant rural future by Gabriel O’Connell, CEO of MID the integrated development organisation for County Monaghan in Ireland, and lead on a POLIRURAL supported Regional Foresight exercise.
- Case Study 4: Sustainable Land Use – key for the Green Transition: Denmark Learnings by Karen Refsgaard, research director at Nordregio and MAP Facilitator of the Danish SHERPA MAP.
15:55 – 16:25: Panel Discussion
16:25 – 16:30: Conclusion
Moderation: Anita Seļicka, Latvian Rural Forum