Thread by @ruralinterfaces

🔛 DAY 2 of the final #SHERPAconference is here! 🙌

And we start with @occs13 and Elodie Salle from @Ecorys welcoming attendees and introducing the agenda of the day.

🌄 Mario Milouchev from @EUAgri is opening the second and final day of the final #SHERPAconference thanking the many platforms engaging in the project and implementing the #RuralVision.

🗣️ "It’s time to think outside of the box"

🎯 It’s time to discuss participatory budgeting and how #SHERPA can contribute with recommendations for future #rural policy. Our project coordinator Olivier and Elodie from @Ecorys are setting the scene.

Stay tuned! 👂

📢 And now @gbrunori from @PagePisa Barbara Soriano @CEIGRAM, Harriet Bradley from @IEEP_eu, and Živilė Gedminaitė-Raudonė and Rita Lankauskienė from LCSS will be presenting their pitches on building stronger, connected, resilient, and prosperous #rural areas 🌄

🗣️ "#Rural areas are at the forefront of suffering from and tackling #climate change", says @HarrietFBradley from @IEEP_eu, while prof @gbrunori from @PagePisa stresses 💡 the need for #digital and interconnected #rural areas.

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🔝 Živilė Gedminaitė-Raudonė & Rita Lankauskienė from LCSS shed light on the significance of prosperous rural areas, emphasizing the key 🔑 role of young people "as a pool of talent".

⬇️ However, the provision of education and professional training is weak in many #rural areas.

⚡️ Ready for another panel discussion?

To comment on the pitches #Rural Cooperation - Investment - Skills - Communities, now on stage:

🔸 Vanessa Halhead @ErcaRural
🔸 Mario Milouchev @EUAgri
🔸 @BoeleKlaus @CoR_EU
🔸 Dominique Barjolle @ETH_en
🔸 @e_stavropouloss @EUScienceHub

📡 "We need to invest in #WiFi, but we must also invest in training for people to be able to use it", says @e_stavropouloss from @EUScienceHub noting that his mother in Greece 🇬🇷 has excelent WiFi, but no #skills to properly use it.

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📢 Vanessa Halhead, from the #SHERPA EU MAP and @ErcaRural, emphasises the need to prioritise the challenges faced by #rural communities.

🔑 #Resilience, democracy, connectedness, and participation are identified as key factors in addressing these challenges.

💰 Dominique Barjolle @ETH_en highlights the importance of investing public funds in building #resilience within rural areas.

🌾 Meanwhile, @BoeleKlaus @CoR_EU underscores the need for robust #digital infrastructure to support #rural areas & ensure the efficiency of food chains.

What a morning! But we need a small break for a coffee ☕

We’ll be back shortly for more important discussions here on the final #SHERPAconference.

👂 STAY TUNED!👂

📢 We are back at the final #SHERPAconference! At the stage to discuss #rural cooperation, investment, skills, and communities:

👉 Monica Tudor @iea_ar
👉 Dominique Barjolle @ETH_en
👉 Iwona Woch - LAG Zielone Bieszczady
👉 @sam_feret from @CIHEAMIAMM

🗣️ "Investments must prioritise rurality, creating opportunities for local diversification & supporting non-farming activities in #rural areas," says Monica Tudor @iea_ar

⏫ She also emphasizes the importance of improving accessibility to integrate remote areas.

📢 Monica Tudor highlights the role of #digitalisation in closing the rural-urban gap and enhancing access to services and markets for people in #rural areas.

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Dominique Barjolle @ETH_en reinforces the importance of investments in #skills:

🗣️ "#Education, training, knowledge sharing are all important in the transition to a bio-based economy" ♻️

#SHERPAconference

💪 @sam_feret from @CIHEAMIAMM mentions the importance of building #solidarity networks in local/rural communities to prevent population decline, strengthen #resilience and promote work-life balance.

During the #SHERPAconference, 👥 participants emphasised the need of listening 👂 to local communities when it comes to funding and initiatives.

🌄 #Rural communities must be listened and, above all, decide for themselves which policies and initaitives fit their needs.

🍲 It’s LUNCH time! 🍲

We’ll be back for an afternoon full of discussions at 13.45. We’ll be waiting for you at the final #SHERPAconference.

⏰ And now for the last afternoon of the final #SHERPAconference, in-depth discussions on Science-Society-Policy interfaces. We start with Jorieke Potters from @WUR on how to effectively design, support and run MAPs.

Anne-Liisi Mändmets from MAP Estonia 🇪🇪 emphasised the significance of face-to-face interactions among members.

🎯 The main objective of MAP Estonia is to foster the creation of new well-paid and competitive jobs in #rural areas.

How to effectively design, support and run science-society-policy interfaces? Jorieke Potters from @WUR has something to say.

🗣️ "Common purpose and high degree of flexibility and diversity are needed, or rather fundamental".

🔝 "Bringing people together to solve problems & face challenges is really fruitful, but it requires time and space," says @RefsgaardKaren from @Nordregio.

She acknowledges that some MAPs expressed concerns about their influence & felt distant from decision-makers in Brussels 🇧🇪

When it comes to science 🧪 "it’s wonderful to bring together people devoted to specific topics," shares @RefsgaardKaren from @Nordregio reflecting on her experience with the Danish MAP 🇩🇰

🗣️ "I believe we really created something through understanding"

📢 Valeria Fantini @ALDAeurope: "Civil society can hold governments accountable, but are also their major allies on the implementation of measures"

👆 @alex_roub @EUAgri noted that #SHERPA is an experience for participatory democracy, enabling civil society to have an impact.

🇪🇺 "Amidst the diversity of the EU, we also share numerous similarities and common perspectives," highlights Leneisja Jungsberg @Nordregio.

🔝 Initiatives like SHERPA provide valuable platforms to foster consensus-building & bridge gaps across different regions & stakeholders.

🗨️ Isolina Rodríguez @ecoagrasoc comes from a village in Galicia 🇪🇸 with about 2⃣0⃣ inhabitants. The challenges her community faces are many, but through #SHERPA they found ways to discuss such issues and produce recommendations 🤯

Olga Kriezi from the #SHERPA MAP Central Greece 🇬🇷 shared the experience of her MAP and the need to seek external expertise and actively listen to MAP members. By fostering 👥 dialogue and engagement, people were engaged and motivated, and outcomes were presented to members.

⌛️ The final #SHERPAconference is coming to an end, but before, we have Pascale Van Doren from @EURuralPact sharing insights on how the #RuralPact can build on SHERPA experiences.

According to Pascale Van Doren, the #RuralPact serves as a "formal space and framework that fosters collaboration among national, regional, and local governments, civil society organisations, businesses, academics, and citizens." 👥

@EURuralPact #SHERPAconference

And to close these 2⃣ exciting days of the final #SHERPAconference, Professor Peter Midmore from @AberUni says that "it’s fundamental to insist and never give up on defending the importance of #rural areas" 🌄💪

⌛️It's a WRAP-UP! Thank you all for joining the final #SHERPAconference🎉

2 days of sharing inspiring examples & fruitful discussions are over, but the journey towards a better future for #rural areas is just beginning!

Thank you for your presence during these 4 years ☺️👏