RURAL PACT CONFERENCE

The past 15th-16th of June 2022 the European Commission brought together 300 EU, national, and regional politicians along with various stakeholders for its Rural Pact Conference. The purpose of the event was to engage these participants in designing the governance of the Rural Pact and gather commitments for the achievement of the long-term vision for the EUā€™s rural areas.

The conference, which took place in Brussels, engaged all levels of governance and rural stakeholders and increased the visibility of rural areas. The participants were encouraged to implement their vision through breakout sessions on various topics, where they indicated how they could contribute to achieving the goals of the vision. The inputs and outcome of these parallel sessions were collected and later assessed in a high-level roundtable, where the speakers outlined the next steps to be taken in the work programme of the Rural Pact.

Dr. Titus Bahner (Kulturland) was present on behalf of RURALIZATION, and PhD researcher Maarten Koreman (TU Delft) moderated a session titled ā€œRural youth as leaders of changeā€. This session explored rural aspirations for 2040 from different angles and presented youth led initiatives and actions supporting generation renewal and positive rural demography.

The Rural Pact Conference was a great opportunity for RURALIZATION to engage with local/regional policy makers and stakeholders that can be addressed in co-creating WP7 policy conclusions.

You can find more information about the Rural Pact Conference and livestream recordings of the the parallel sessions here.