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Highlight: New LAG event

Some 300 ‘new’ Local Action Groups (LAGs) attended an ENRD event which provided training on the efficient implementation of Local Development Strategies and best practice regarding transnational cooperation (TNC). The event entitled "Leader as a driver for Rural Europe: workshop for new Local Action Groups", was held in Brussels, on 19-20 January, 2011. Members of the ENRD Leader sub-committee were also represented at the event.

Participants learned how the Leader method has been implemented by LAGs in different Member States and were given a real insight into the value of cooperation and networking through interaction with other LAGs. On a practical level, the event also afforded LAGs to find potential partners, with similar interests or project ideas for TNC. In addition, participants experienced cooperation on-site, mentoring and assistance regarding different project phases, as well as project and partnership management.

Speaking to the ENRD Contact Point after the event, the newly elected President of the European Leader Association for Rural Development (ELARD) Petri Rinne said: “I’m really happy that the ENRD organised this [event] for new LAGs because Leader has been extending so quickly, particularly in new Member States. So, for many, this was the first time they got to feel part of this European Leader family and realise that there are many others also living in rural areas in Europe, working towards the same goal”.

Of course the linchpin for the event was the promotion of the Leader method. Speaking on Leader, Commissioner Dacian Cioloş spoke optimistically about its place in future agricultural policy after 2013: "Local Leader-type initiatives will remain at the heart of rural development policy. Our objective is not only to reinforce such initiatives, but also to expand upon them, as much as possible, in the organisation and structuring of local agriculture and the development of local products". Click here for further information.

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