Interregional workshop in Spain under the Coop4RURALGov project
In the period of 25th-27th of September 2024 an Interregional workshop within the frame of the Coop4RURALGov project „Rural Proofing. Cooperation for better sparsely populated rural, coastal and mountain focused governance“ took place in Olite from Navarra Region and Madrid, Spain.
This workshop aimed to improve governance processes and implement rural proofing mechanisms that take into account the impact of legislation, projects and initiatives in these areas, and thus ensure equal rights for citizens living in these areas and redress economic, social and territorial disparities.
On the first working day, the workshop was held in the City Hall of a village called San Martin de Unx in the region of Navarra.
After welcoming the partners, the „VIVID“ project was presented. „VIVID“ (Wine, Viticulture and Depopulation) is a rural innovation laboratory based on wine, viticulture and depopulation. It is promoted by the Fundación Emplea and the San Martin de Unx Town Council.
Afterward, the participants were informed about the context of the session, the facilitating team was introduced and the objectives of the day were clarified. In addition, the key elements of the approach were discussed. Participants worked on the key element of “rural proofing” concept, drafting the first version of the “Manifesto for Rural Proofing”.
The event continued on the second working day with a coordination meeting in which all partners took active part. The activities were summarized and the workshop was concluded.
On the last working day, a seminar on Rural Proofing in the Spanish Congress of Deputies was organized by the project partners. There were several sessions with different topics in them during that seminar:
- Ruralizing the laws. The general framework
- ‘Rural Proofing’. The practical vision
- Rural Proofing: what are we doing in Spain?
Participants in these sessions initiated a debate on the topic of rural proofing with some interesting feedback, comments and questions coming from the participating stakeholders. At the end, the participants visited the building to get to know its history.
