The Rural Pact conference brought together EU, national, and regional policy makers along with local authorities, social and economic stakeholders in a participatory event that reflected the rural vision’s ambition and bottom-up character.
This on-site event engaged participants in designing the governance of the Rural Pact and gathered commitments for the achievement of the long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas. To do so, the conference:
- Engaged all levels of governance and rural stakeholders
- Involved participants in implementing the vision
- Increased the visibility of rural areas and seek to amplify the voice of rural communities
Plenary and breakout sessions alternated to ensure maximum interaction at this event. Live streaming was available for plenary sessions only. More information about the agenda and the conference here.
The ENRD Contact Point supported the organisation and moderation of two sessions:
Revitalising rural areas
This session focused on practical actions needed to boost vitality and viability of rural areas facing population loss, building on the insights and outputs emerging from the ENRD Thematic Group on Rural Revitalisation.
Rural youth as leaders of change
In this session rural aspirations for 2040 were explored from different angles: young farmer, entrepreneur, activist and youth worker. Youth led initiatives and actions supporting generation renewal and positive rural demography were presented and fed into the broader participatory discussion on youth engagement in the Rural Pact.
