Michael Dower a great champion of rural communities, leading light in rural development, long-standing friend and member of LDnet, passed away on 7 November 2022. On Saturday 22 April 2023, the Michael Dower Award for European Rural Resilience will be launched in his honour at an event dedicated to his life and work, in the […]
Other LD events & activities
JRC Webinar Series – Future of Cities
RSA Europe is working with the EU Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) to deliver a webinar series on the Future of Cities. This series focuses on The Future of Cities report which identifies challenges influencing the future of cities in Europe and beyond. It also presents several perspectives from which to look at resolving these […]
Local development beyond Europe: UN resolution on the promotion of social and solidarity economy and the localisation of SDGs.
At its 66th plenary meeting on April 18, 2023, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution “Promoting the Social and Solidarity Economy for Sustainable Development” (A/77/L.60). The resolution provides an official definition for the Social and Solidarity Economy and acknowledges that it can contribute to the achievement and localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals. […]
RSA Annual Conference 2023: Policies and Planning for People and Places
The 2023 RSA Annual Conference will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia between 14–17 June 2023 and is entitled “Transforming Regions: Policies and Planning for People and Places”. Planning is well underway. Registration is due to open in January 2023, and proposals for special sessions or abstracts can be submitted now. More information HERE.
Maria Nowak (1935 – 2022)
Maria Nowak who has died on 22nd December 2022 at the age of 87 single handedly changed the path of micro credit in Europe. Born in Lviv (then in Poland) in 1935 Maria survived the war and the destruction of her family home and went to live in France as hostilities ceased at the age […]
Smart Rural 21 Final Conference in Sopot/Gdańsk (PL): Encouraging encounters
Under the autumnal sky of the vintage sea resort of Sopot adjacent to the Polish coastal metropole of Gdańsk a noteworthy event took place on October 17th and 18th 2022: The final conference of the European pilot project on Smart Villages, Smart Rural 21, having been organised in the premises of the Grand Hotel, where […]
European Rural Parliament 2022 – Resilience to Crises, Security and Solidarity
Report, Joint Declaration & Workshop (Does anyone listen?) The fifth meeting of the European Rural Parliament took place in Kielce, Poland, from 12 to 15 September 2022. The European Rural Parliament is a process aimed to strengthen the voice of rural communities in Europe, to promote self-help, solidarity, exchange and cooperation between rural communities and […]
Grant applications for the Fourth Underground4value Training School (6-10 February 2023, Malta)
The COST Action CA18110 – Underground Built Heritage as catalyser for Community Valorisation is issuing a Call for Applications for its Fourth Training School, managed by the University of Malta, which will be held in Mellieha (Malta) from February 6th to 10th, 2023. Structured in lectures and tutored research teamwork modules, the school will focus […]
InDaLE project – Innovative public service provision in rural areas: Closing event 13 December 2022
Innovative public service provision in rural areas: Mutual learning between Germany, Sweden, Austria and Scotland The InDaLE research project In many structurally weak and sparsely populated rural regions of Europe, demographic change coupled with unstable local finances are pushing public services to the brink of their feasibility. With this, the quality of life in such […]
Handbook of Territorial and Local Development Strategies launch
Inspiring experiences and future opportunities The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has recently published a “Handbook of Territorial and Local Development Strategies”. It is addressed to both managing authorities and to strategy owners and other local stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of CLLD, ITI or other territorial instruments, especially in non-urban areas. […]
RSA research funding opportunities
The Regional Studies Association (RSA) provides a range of research funding opportunities to suit different career stages. Forthcoming grant and award deadlines: 2022 Small Grant on Pandemics, Cities, Regions & Industry This scheme aims to support a discrete piece of regional studies and/or regional science research on the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) on regions, […]
Rural Pact: European and local leaders join forces to make local communities stronger
The Rural Pact conference, 15-16 June 2022, brought together EU, national, and regional politicians along with local authorities, social and economic stakeholders in a participatory event that reflected the rural vision’s ambition and bottom-up character. It sought to engage participants in designing the governance of the Rural Pact and gather commitments for the achievement of […]