Project partner Kulturland organised the RURALIZATION Summer School (4th-8th July), a week for consortium partners to meet and plan the next actions of the last phase of the project. This phase focuses on defining tools to create and implement local regulations. These tools will be developed in line with the findings of the previous stages of the project.
The Summer School took place in the town of Hitzacker (Germany), bringing together project partners from XCN, Terre de Liens, CNRS, UNICAL, Shared Assets, UWR, De Landgenoten, Kulturland, and Consulta Europa. This event was also a great opportunity to engage with local farmers and rural projects in the area.
There were also a series of field trips, organised by Kulturland, where we had the chance to meet local newcomers and learn about their own experience. For example, we visited Hitzacker Dorf, who have the objective of building a village for 300 people: for young families, newcomers and refugees, and for older people. Their project has a perspective for living and working in rural areas.
We also had the chance to converse with Sigrun from Wendlandleben, an agency that supports people who want to settle in the Wendland area. We learnt about the agency´s work and the specific needs and obstacles faced by newcomers. Our last field trip was to visit Hofladen, where we could discuss with one of the farmers about his experience as a newcomer.
All in all, the Summer School was a successful event that served to define the project´s next steps and learn first-hand knowledge about newcomers´ experiences that will enrich RURALIZATION´s research.
