On 11 June 2020, the Galician MAP in Spain organised its first meeting (online) with all members of the group, to start discussions on the future of rural areas in the region of Galicia. The organisers approached the meeting from a two-step perspective: discuss the current issues and think about the future.
The first session focused on identifying the main challenges and trends in the area, underlining issues such as the demographic shift, lack of basic services, land use conflicts, forest fires, rural women inequalities, among others. The importance of consolidating the agricultural and forestry sector was also emphasized. A second session introduced a visioning exercise, for members to discuss the probable and desirable future of rural Galicia for the next 20 years. The discussions resulted in much optimism from MAP members that the future of rural areas could look bright as long as certain negative trends are reversed through public policy interventions.
The next step will be to prepare a document with the outcomes of the meeting and circulate it to the members for their feedback and further contributions. A new meeting is planned for September, with the hope that this time, members will be able to meet face-to-face.
Find out more about the Galician MAP in Spain by clicking here!