PREPARE Gathering 2010
30 August to 3 September 2010 in Macedonia
- to provide rural civil societies with an opportunity to discuss and express views on the current challenges of rural development in Europe and beyond it;
- to create a space for exchanging experience and ideas, in particular to stimulate an exchange between rural actors from those Central and Eastern European countries which are already EU members, and those which are preparing for accession, especially from the South Eastern European region;
- to promote dialogue between the public, private and NGO sectors.
A series of “Travelling Workshops” – study visits of small groups focusing on good practices in sustainable, rural development initiatives in Macedonia;
Programme and registration form are available here:
Programme
Registration form
Invitation
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PREPARE Gathering 2009
PREPARE Gathering 2009
30 June to 4 July
Rural Economic Recovery and EU Enlargement in South-Eastern
focusing on involvement of civil society in the new member states, accession countries and new neighbour countries
PREPARE – Partnership for Rural
The PREPARE Gathering 2009 is a linked series of events in Croatia and Slovenia, aiming to bring together representatives of civil society, public and business sector, primarily from Central and South-Eastern Europe (SEE), on the issue of rural development. The main objectives are:
- to provide opportunity to rural communities to discuss and express views on the current challenges of rural development in
- to create a space for exchanging experience and ideas, in particular to stimulate an exchange between rural actors from those Central and Eastern European countries which are already EU members, countries in accession and those preparing for accession, especially from the SEE region;
- to promote dialogue between the public, business and civil sectors.
The planned events comprise:
30 June (or 1 July by 8:30 a.m.): participants arrive to Stubicke Toplice (near
July 1: a series of “Travelling Workshops” – study visits of small groups focusing on good practices in sustainable, bottom-up rural development in
July 2: a conference in
July 3-4: PREPARE Gathering in
- presentations of situation in countries, discussions on potential and needs of rural civil society, building of rural networks and strengthening cooperation between EU member countries, accession countries and neighbouring countries from the SEE region;
- exchange of ideas for future action of the PREPARE programme, with particular attention to the SEE region.
Throughout the event, the participants will be accommodated in Stubicke Toplice, a spa
PREPARE Scholarships - second edition!
Candidates (trainees and host organisations applying separately or together) should submit their applications by March 31, 2009.
The exchange programmes can take place by the end of November 2009.
Information for candidates:
Potential trainees and potential host organisations can apply separately or together. The selection of trainees and host organisations will be done on the basis of information provided by the candidates according to the requirements specified below. The selection will be made by a Committee nominated by the PREPARE Organising Group.
- be actively involved in rural development as animator, organiser, trainer or adviser to a rural community or rural development NGO;
- have professional experience with rural development: additional experience in voluntary work would be desirable;
- a letter of intent, describing their commitment and interest in participating in the PREPARE Scholarship programme;
- a short “action plan” of activities to be undertaken by the trainee following the Scholarship visit, showing how the knowledge and skills he/she obtained will benefit the trainee’s community or organisation;
- a short CV;
- two recommendations from rural organisations which know the candidate and can confirm his/her commitment to rural development;
- if neither of the two recommendations comes from the PREPARE partner organisation in the candidate’s country, the opinion of the partner should also be attached.
- short description of rural development projects and programmes implemented in the last 5 years (at least three projects should be listed, with information about their objectives, budget and number of personnel involved);
- name and function of the person (or persons) in the organisation who would facilitate and monitor the learning process of the trainee, with a written commitment (signed by the authorised representative of the organisation) that this person(s) will be available to the trainee for at least 12 hours per week during the Scholarship period;
- a short CV and description of tasks of the person(s) who will facilitate and monitor the learning process;
- languages in which this person(s) will be able to communicate with the trainee;
- if the recipient organisation is not the PREPARE partner in a given country, opinion or recommendation by the partner organisation is required.
See below for a short summary of the trainee exchanges carried out in 2008.
PREPARE response to the CAP Health Check proposal
1. PREPARE Partnership for Rural Europe is a partnership of two pan-European NGOs and ten national rural movements or networks committed to the well-being of rural communities, particularly in the new member states and accession countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
2. We welcome the Health Check of the CAP, while noting its limited scope vis-à-vis rural development.
3. Purposes of rural development. We note the statement in the Explanatory Memorandum of the Health Check that:
“The strengthened rural development policy supports the protection of the environment and rural landscapes and creates growth, jobs and innovation in rural areas, especially those which are remote, depopulated or heavily dependent on agriculture.”
We strongly support this statement of purposes. However, we believe that the current Health Check proposals will not assist the strengthening of national efforts to achieve these purposes.
4. Funding of rural development. We welcome the proposals for increased modulation from Pillar 1 to Pillar 2, as part of the trend towards a true Rural Development Policy in which agriculture plays its important role in partnership with all players of an integrated rural economy. However, we note with discontent that modulation as suggested now will bring no benefits to the New Member States until at least 2012. These new member states need increased rural development funding from other sources if they are indeed to achieve the purposes quoted at paragraph 3 above.
5. Maintenance of farming throughout the EU. We welcome the commitment expressed in the Health Check to maintain farming throughout the EU, including the less productive lands and the smaller producers. We note and welcome the exceptions which are proposed in order to help farmers in marginal areas, or small producers generally, such as retention of coupled payments for suckler cows, sheep and goatmeat, as well as retention of direct payments to small farmers in member states whose agricultural sector is mainly composed of very small holdings.
However, we believe that these measures alone will not ensure the long-term viability of the rural communities in these areas. We urge Member States to commit themselves to support strong local development strategies in such areas, implemented through measures which may include:
- direct payments, using the exceptions mentioned above;
- agri-environment payments, recognising the high quality of ecosystems biodversity and landscapes that have been created, and are maintained, by traditional farming systems;
- support to semi-subsistence farmers, focused on supporting their economic viability, rather than their competitiveness in a pan-European sense;
- exceptions, where appropriate, from the application of EU hygiene and other standards for the production and processing of local products;
- support, through Rural Development Programmes, but also through other public programmes such as those co-funded through the ERDF and the ESF, for the strengthening and diversification of rural economies, social facilities and infrastructure, and for improving the quality of life of the whole rural community.
We believe that such an integrated approach at local level is essential in order to prevent a vicious cycle of out-migration, depopulation, further loss of services, decline in bio-diversity and landscape quality, and the adverse impact upon the cities of mass migration from rural to urban areas. Local development of this kind can contribute to all three of Europe’s prime missions – competitiveness, cohesion and sustainability.
6. The ‘new’ challenges. We note the emphasis in the Health Check upon the ‘new’ challenges of climate change, renewable energy, water management and biodiversity. We accept that these are indeed among the priorities of the EU, although they are not really ‘new’ and are partly the result of unsustainable farming practices. We accept the potential, stated in the Explanatory Memorandum, for action through the RD programmes to address these priorities. However, we would like to point out that these challenges need to be addressed across the whole range of EU programmes, notably the Regional and Social Funds, research and development, as well as programmes and capacity building specific to energy, climate, water management and biodiversity. In this wide policy context, rural development policy is indeed (as stated in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Health Check) only ‘one of the possibilities to deal with these challenges’.
7. Maintaining the rural populations. We are gravely disappointed that the crucial challenge of maintaining the rural populations has not been mentioned in the Health Check. We believe that sustainable development of rural areas needs, above all, policies that would support the maintenance or creation of new sources of income for the rural people, both within the agricultural sector and outside it.
We are convinced that the people living in rural communities, who have to meet these challenges in their daily life, need much better support through capacity building and specific education, as well as opportunity to truly participate in the planning and implementation of RD programmes and projects. We believe that the LEADER method is in this context the best practice and needs to be used to strengthen rural communities in shaping their own future.
Thus, we urge for a stronger coordination and complementarity (not limited to ‘demarcation’) between measures and activities aiming at rural development and those linked to the cohesion policy, which can significantly contribute to improved livelihoods of the rural populations.
PREPARE response to the CAP Health Check proposal (PDF)
Summary of results of the first trainee exchange programme “PREPARE Scholarships”
The idea of the exchange programme arose through contacts of PREPARE with its national partners and the perceived need to develop human resources and ensure better exchange of experiences within the PREPARE group of countries. It was supported by Fondation de France through Forum Synergies, a partner in PREPARE.
The first exchange programme was announced in late 2007, when the potential participants and hosts were invited to submit their profiles and work programmes. The interest was not very high, mainly due to the lack of language skills on both sides (trainees and hosts) and the short period within which the exchange had to be carried out. The second issue can be dealt with in the next round of scholarships, but the first one will remain a barrier to a more wide-spread use of this instrument.
Three pairs of trainees+hosts were approved:
- a trainee from Estonia visiting a Local Action Group in Finland,
- a trainee from Romania visiting the Slovakian Rural Parliament (the Slovakian partner in PREPARE);
- and a trainee from Serbia also visiting the Slovakian Rural Parliament.
The three exchange programmes have been successfully completed:
- Mai Kolnes from the Estonian Village Movement Kodukant visited the Finnish LAG Keski Suoment Kylat ry from the 14th to the 28th of March, 2008;
- Zsuzsanna Incze from Civitas Foundation for Civil Society in Romania visited the Slovakian Rural Parliament from the 26th of February to the 10th of March, 2008;
- Danijela Stajic from the Educational Centre in Leskovac visited the Slovakian Rural Parliament from the 14th to the 23rd of May, 2008.
The three trainees (young women actively involved in rural civil society) were received in organisations which are carrying out numerous projects dealing with rural development. In each organisation there was someone nominated to look after the trainee and ensure that the learning process was smooth. The trainees participated in the normal activities of the host organisations, but they also took some time to get acquainted with project reports and documents. The number of field visits in which both of them participated is quite striking and it shows that the host organisations really made efforts to show the trainees a wide range of projects and to enable them to meet various actors and communities.
The trainees prepared their work programme in advance and they looked for specific answers to questions which would be relevant to their communities. In the Romanian-Slovakian case the main focus was on the preparation of the Slovakian rural areas for Leader (which, in the framework of EU funding for 2007-2013, is new both to Slovakia and to Romania; however, in Slovakia many preparatory activities and Leader-type actions have already been carried out). In the Estonian-Finnish case the main focus was the organisation of village activities and the preparation for training of village leaders. The Serbian trainee was particularly interested in work with community leaders and local governments.
It should be noted that all three trainees state clearly that the goals of their visits have been fulfilled and that they obtained the information and experience they were looking for. They also indicate in their reports concrete ideas on how to utilise this information and experience in their everyday work at home. The fact that the trainees note differences in organisational style and culture of their host organisations compared to their home country seems to indicate that they got a good understanding of the local conditions and have benefited from the exchange also as a cross-cultural experience.
There were some (very few) negative aspects of the exchange: in the Romanian case the main barrier is limited communication in Slovakia because of the language; in the Estonian case the learning possibilities were limited because the host organisation in Finland did not receive grant for a project which it was hoping to show to the trainee. However, the overall impression of the exchange was in all cases very positive, and the hospitality and good organisation by the hosts was highly appreciated.
All three trainees wrote full reports describing activities and visits carried out on each day, as well as a summary of their main learning points. They also provided the full list of expenses and all the receipts, tickets and other financial documents in original to the PREPARE Coordinator.