Webinar on Fostering Resilience in Rural Communities

Sharing experiences from an innovative training and capacity-building programme for voluntary and professional rural development practitioners.

This EU-level webinar on Fostering Resilience in Rural Communities took place on Tuesday 23 January 2024. It was attended by some 160 active participants.

The event was organised as part of the REBOUND project and presented key concepts and models of rural resilience, on the ground practical experience based on case studies, as well as tools and practices to foster rural resilience. It included a substantive contributions from two panels of experts and many of the participants, including discussion and comparisons between rural and urban contexts.

Speakers and panellists of the webinar included:

• Claire Jordan, (AEIDL, European Association for Innovation in Local Development)
• Shane O’Sullivan, REBOUND Team (TUS – Technological University of the Shannon)
• Niklas Nienaß, Member of the European Parliament and the Regional Development Committee (Greens/EFA)
• Aude Bourgeois, ELARD (LEADER France and mayor of Ploeuc-L’Hermitage)
• Peter Ramsden, EU urban expert (LDnet)
• Kathy Walsh, KW Research & Associates (Ireland)W Research and AssociatesKW Research and Associates
• Sara Mikolič, REBOUND-Team (University of Ljubljana)
• Maria João Rauch, EU Consultant in Local Development & SDSN Portugal network manager (LDnet)
• Joanna Storie, EU rural expert (LDnet)
• Urszula Budzich-Tabor, REBOUND Team (AEIDL/LDnet)
• Alistair Adam Hernández, REBOUND Team (AEIDL/LDnet)
• Isa Tuuri, LEADER-CLLD project worker (Leader Pohjoisin Lappi, Finland)
• Barbara Florjančič, development agency worker (Razvojna Agencija Sora)

The webinar presentations are available on the REBOUND project website – click HERE.

This event was organised by LDnet on behalf of AEIDL and the other REBOUND partners and was open to all those interested in rural issues and community-led local development.

Background information on the REBOUND project

The inter-territorial project REBOUND is supported by the EU through ERASMUS+. It pursues an action-research approach to promoting rural community resilience. Since February 2022, REBOUND has examined the theoretical foundations of rural resilience, analysed 18 case studies, and developed and piloted a training and capacity-building programme on Rural Community Resilience. A one-day showcase of the training and capacity-building programme was delivered in November 2023 and its content and results are presented HERE.

The REBOUND partners are TUS Ireland (lead partner), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), ADRIMAG (LAG – Portugal), Development Agency Kozjansko (LAG – Slovenia), O’Keeffe Social Research (Ireland) and AEIDL in association with LDnet.

For more information about REBOUND, click HERE.

Draft Agenda

Moderator: Urszula Budzich-Tabor, REBOUND Team (AEIDL/LDnet)

Facilitation of audience participation: Alistair Adam Hernández, REBOUND Team (AEIDL/LDnet)

15h30 – 16h45  Part I – Enhancing the understanding of Rural Community Resilience

Welcome and introduction | REBOUND – Fostering Resilience in Rural Communities
Claire Jordan (AEIDL, European Association for Innovation in Local Development)

Presentation of national reports and case studies | Understanding, fostering and reflecting on Rural Community Resilience
Alistair Adam Hernández, REBOUND Team (AEIDL/LDnet)

1^st Panel discussion | Relevance and usefulness of the concept of Rural Community Resilience,  including comparison to urban settings

• Brendan O’Keeffe, REBOUND Team (O’Keeffe Social Research)
• Thibaut Guignard, President of ELARD (LEADER France and mayor of Ploeuc-L’Hermitage)
• Peter Ramsden, EU urban expert (LDnet)

16h45 – 17h00  Short break

17h00 – 18h00  Part II – Developing skills for community resilience: the REBOUND accredited training course

Presentation of the REBOUND training course in outline | Overall framework, syllabus, methods, accreditation, etc.
Shane O’Sullivan, REBOUND Team (TUS – Technological University of the Shannon)

Presentation of selected elements of the course |Brief insights into the topics and tools
Joanna Storie, EU rural expert (LDnet)

Participant experiences and testimonies from …

• Finland: Isa Tuuri, LEADER-CLLD project worker (Leader Pohjoisin Lappi)
• Slovenia: Barbara Florjančič, development agency worker (Razvojna Agencija Sora)

2^nd Panel discussion | Policy implications and future perspectives to foster Rural Community Resilience

• Sara Mikolič, REBOUND Team (University of Ljubljana)
• Niklas Nienaß, Member of the European Parliament and the Regional Development Committee (Greens/EFA)
• Maria João Rauch, EU Consultant in Local Development and SDSN Portugal network manager (LDnet)

Closing remarks | Lessons learned and the way ahead
Shane O’Sullivan, REBOUND Team (TUS – Technological University of the Shannon)