RURITAGE Final Conference – 9 &10 June 2022 at UNESCO, Paris
As a way of celebrating the achievements of RURITAGE project, the conference “Sustainable Rural Regeneration in the European Agenda” was held on the 9 and 10 of June 2022 at UNESCO. The conference gathered practitioners and international experts from the European Commission and EU funded projects, as well as the rural communities participating in the project. It included an interactive workshop on rural future scenarios, discussions with leading European researchers and practitioners and an information session for Member States.
The conference kicked off with a welcome speech by Mr. Kristof Vandenberghe, UNESCO’s Chief of Section for Earth Sciences and Geoparks, who highlighted the Organization’s role in building a culture of dialogue amongst civilizations, cultures and peoples and how heritage has the potential to be a universal value that promotes that dialogue. He highlighted the success story of UNESCO Global Geoparks, which combine conservation and promotion of local natural and cultural heritage with the direct involvement of local communities, fostering sustainable development and advancing economic growth.
Professor Simona Tondelli followed, underlining how the project was able to successfully gather dozens of partners from across Europe and beyond under a common banner, using cultural and natural heritage to regenerate rural regions. Presenting the audience with a summary of RURITAGE project methodology and results, such as the de facto improvement of the rural regions that participated in the project; the digital platform RURITAGE Resource Ecosystem and the knowledge sharing and dissemination actions that accounted for 26 public webinars, two summer schools and hundreds of digital actions, Professor Tondelli stressed how other rural areas of the world could benefit from an adapted RURITAGE methodology.
After the two welcoming speeches, it was time for the 19 RURITAGE regions, both Role Models and Replicators, to show the audience how the project changed the landscape for the better in 3-minute presentations.
The morning sessions ended with presentations by Francisco Barrientos from CARTIF, who developed the monitoring platform of the project; Professor Rosa Tamborrino from the Polytechnic University of Torino who presented the RURITAGE Resource Ecosystem and by James Donlon and Eunan Cunningham from WestBic that gave an insight on the exploitation and long-term strategy for RURITAGE.
In the afternoon, RURITAGE participants attended an interactive workshop organized by the Centre for Systems Solutions. The workshop was aimed at better understanding the possibilities for EU rural areas to cope with changing conditions. Working in parallel groups, participants explored the future consequences of several scenarios and, based on their choices, developed policy proposals to promote resilience in the rural space.
Social simulations (a type of serious game) bring together participants with diverse backgrounds and values to interact in a shared, safe environment. In this simulated reality, participants take on specific roles, representing different
sectors: e.g. research, administration, business, and NGOs. They have an opportunity to experience new points of view and concepts. Together, they creatively experiment, tinker, and test new ideas, then instantly learn about the outcomes of their decisions.
10 June AM: EU Rural Regeneration Workshop
In the morning of the 10 June, several rural development projects funded by the European Union gathered in a round-table discussion to present their strategies and results to EU regional and national stakeholders and exchange views on the potential uptake of RURITAGE innovative solutions in other EU territories.
Moderated by Aitziber Egusquiza Ortega, Senior Researcher at TECNALIA and leader of one of RURITAGE’s work-packages; the first round table had the participation of Andrea Gioseffi, AURORAL Chief Editor; Antonella Fresa, INCULTUM Communication & Dissemination Manager; Igor Pucarevic, Be.CULTOUR National Project Coordinator and Daniel van der Velden, DESIRA PhD researcher. The session opened with Claudia de Luca, Junior Assistant professor at the University of Bologna who presented community-based regeneration case studies in RURITAGE. RURITAGE participants gave their testimony on being part of the project and what changes occurred in their regions. Although each region faces specific challenges and implemented their own regeneration plans, a common idea was expressed by all: being part of a community, a network of regions with similar issues, empowered them and made them feel that it is possible to overcome the challenges. Many participants praised the project for providing a common place to share knowledge and co-create solutions.
“The most important lesson learned was that Rural Regeneration isn’t just about implementing a well thought action plan, it is about changing our mind-set. Through RURITAGE we realised that a lot of problems could be transformed into opportunities and that’s what we’ve been trying to do and the lesson we will keep”
- Gianluca Vagnarelli - Comune di Appignano del Tronto
The second session, moderated by Philippe Pypaert, Programme Specialist at UNESCO, had the participation of Arianna Pasa, Research Programme Officer in the DG AGRI European Commission; Olivier Chartier, SHERPA Project Coordinator; Alexandru Matei, Senior Officer at ICLEI Europe and Matteo Rosati, Programme Officer from the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe.
"We need a mentality shift as to what rural areas are. We need a realistic, informed understanding of what rural areas actually are--the positive and the negative. We need a mentality shift in terms of vision, and the value they can bring beyond their areas."
-Alex Matei, ICLEI Europe
The afternoon of the 10 June was dedicated to a round table on rural regeneration aimed at UNESCO Member States. Moderated by Kristof Vandenberghe, UNESCO Chief of Section for Earth Sciences and Geoparks, the opening remarks were given by Abou Amani, Director of the Division of Water Sciences, Secretary, Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), UNESCO, who addressed the urban-rural divide, the great challenges posed by population imbalance and how UNESCO sites are leading in demonstrating that it is possible for rural areas to overcome adversities.
“The COVID19 pandemic crisis exacerbated the consequences of a number of longstanding challenges faced by rural areas. Despite this, outstanding examples of resilience came from UNESCO sites, many in rural areas. We saw the UNESCO Global Geoparks creating participative platforms to enable the exchange of services such as shopping for the elderly or repairing computers for remote workers and developing online purchasing platforms to enable residents to consume locally. We learned about the communication materials on the use of marine resources for medical purposes, produced in UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserves and we saw the UNESCO World Heritage Sites streaming live tours and creating virtual visits so that people could still celebrate the beauty of this unique heritage.“
- Abou Amani Director of the Division of Water Sciences, Secretary, Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), UNESCO
Noëline Raondry Rakotoarisoa, Director of the Ecological and Earth Sciences Division, UNESCO, gave an overview of the important role the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme is playing in protecting ecosystems and enhancing the relationship between people and their environments; and Jyoti Hosagrahar, Deputy Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC), explained how the WHC seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world. Khalissa Ikhlef, Programme Specialist of the Indigenous and Local Knowledge Section, UNESCO demonstrated how the UNESCO’s Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems programme (LINKS) promotes local and indigenous knowledge and its inclusion in global climate science and policy processes. Abou Amani, Director of the Water Sciences Division, UNESCO, focused on the importance of water resources for rural communities around the world. Ariana Pasa, Research Programme Officer representing the DG AGRI European Commission and Simona Tondelli, Vice Rector of the University of Bologna and RURITAGE Project Coordinator, were also among the speakers.
“Most of the Biosphere Reserves are located in rural regions which means that they suffer from the same problems that many rural regions around the world experience: an aging population which is decreasing, issues with infrastructure, particularly access to healthcare and education, and of course land use and environmental issues which we try to tackle through the MAB programme “
- Noëline Raondry Rakotoarisoa, Director of the Ecological and Earth Sciences Division, UNESCO.
During these two days, in the speeches and interventions of the various participants, a common idea can be highlighted: heritage in all its forms, enables social cohesion and well-being, fosters socio-economic development and has the potential to enhance the long-term benefits of economic activities and change the face of rural regions across the world.
The conference also demonstrated that, although we do not currently hold a magical solution to the several issues rural areas are facing and a “one-size-fits-all” methodology is very unlikely to be successful, there is one thing experts agree on: the action of the market is not enough and government-led policy interventions are needed to mitigate the decline of rural areas. That is why UNESCO’s major programmes and activities – Man and the Biosphere, International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme, International Hydrological Programme, Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Disaster Risk Reduction – and the action of the European Commission, through the funding of several rural development programmes such as RURITAGE, are essential steps to face this challenge.
