Plenary 1: Progress since the 4th ERP 2019 based on the outputs from the 4th ERP in November 2019. Findings and subsequent actions at EU and national levels. Reports from the European Institutions and ERP Partners.

Welcome Moderator: Tom Jones OBE – President, European Rural Community Alliance, ERP Steering Group

Report from the European Institutions:

• Mihail Dumitru – Deuputy director-General DG AGRI
• Wallis GOELEN – DG REGIO, Senior Adviser to the DDG

Report from the European Rural Parliament

• Goran Šoster – PREPARE Partnership for Rural Europe, ERP
• Marion Eckardt – ELARD European Leader Network for Rural Development, ERP

Report from the European Rural Youth Parliament

• Ardit Frroku – European Rural Youth Parliament

Report from ERP National Partners

• María José Murciano Sánchez – Spanish Network for Rural Development REDR
• Monika Slaninova – Slovak Rural Parliament VIPA SK
• Petri Rinne – Finnish Village Movement Association SYTY

Plenary 2: The Changing context – Changes since 2019 which set a new context for rural areas

Moderator: Prof. Mark Shucksmith – Director of ERCA, Trustee of Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE), Newcastle University

Insights from research and innovation on future trends

• Alexia Rouby – DG AGRI Research and Innovation Unit

Covid-19 – implications for rural communities and policy

• Jose Enrique Garcilazo – Head of Regional and Rural Policy Unit, OECD

Climate change – rural impacts, local action and policy

• Prof. David Miller – SHERPA Horizon Project, James Hutton Institute Scotland

Questions and Answers

Breakouts: The Key Issues – Thematic groups to identify key issues for the coming period

Plenary 3: Looking to the future! Where are the new directions and how do we engage with these, including at the 2022 ERP?

• Moderator: Goran Šoster – PREPARE Partnership for Rural Europe, ERP Steering Group

1. Climate change – communities as instruments of transition

• Leader: Michael Dower – Dorset Climate Action Network, England
• Speaker: Davie Philip – ECOLISE
• Reporter: Ema Križanová – Slovak Rural Youth Parliament

2. Localism – local empowerment and governance

• Leader: Ben van Essen – Dutch Association of Small Towns and Villages
• Speakers: Lambert van Nistelrooij; Wiet van Meel, Netherlands
• Reporter: Artemis Pana – Scottish Rural Action

3. Youth – role in local development and policy decisions

• Leader: Tomáš Harant – European Rural Youth Parliament, LAG Naděje
• Speaker: Siobhan Gallagher – Rural Youth Europe
• Reporter: Leotrim Gërmizaj – Network of Organizations for Rural Development of Kosovo, PREPARE, ERP

4. EU Neighbouring Countries – relationships with the EU

• Leader: Petar Gjorgievski – Balkan Rural Development Network
  Speaker: Keith Harrison – Action with Communities in Rural Kent, ACRE
  Reporter: Evelina Azizaj – Albanian Network for Rural Development

5. Digitisation – digital divide, just transition

• Leader: Hartmut Berndt – BAG LAG, Germany
• Speaker: Philip Donner – Livantiira Village Society, Finland
• Reporter: Aleksandra Todorovska – Rural Development Network of RM

6. Wellbeing economy – Circular economy

• Leader: Virginja Setkiene – Lithuanian Rural Communities Union
• Reporter Anita Selicka – Latvian Rural Forum

7. Tourism – benefits, impacts and community led solutions

• Leader: Iro Tsimpri – Achaia Development Agency, Greece
• Reporter: Brendan Mulry – Irish Rural Link

 Questions and Answers

Conclusions: Main findings and next steps for ERP and its Partners

• Moderator: Vanessa Halhead – European Rural Community Alliance, ERP Steering Group
• Tom Jones – President of ERCA
• Aris Adlers – President of PREPARE
• Marion Eckardt – President of ELARD

Questions and Answers

Welcome to the 5th ERP in Poland

• Piotr Sadłocha – President of the Polish LAG Network

Final conclusion Michel Dower