Report from a steering group meeting

The Rural Network steering group has had a meeting. It is always good and important to have the opportunity to discuss and see challenges from different perspectives. The steering group includes representatives from, among others, Leader, the Swedish Board of Agriculture, the County Administrative Board, SLU, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and the Swedish Rural Development Fund.

This time the focus was on the youth perspective. Just landing on the definition of ”youth” turns out to be a whole other topic – within Leader we usually start from MUCF*’s definition of 14–25 years. But in the LRF youth organisation, young people are between 16–36. While the Agricultural Fund for Sweden’s support for young farmers includes entrepreneurs up to 40 years of age… Never has it been so clear that age is just a number – and that every important discussion must begin by ensuring that everyone is based on the same facts.

One of the exercises in the workshop on the youth perspective was to assess the work of our own organization with young people's participation. It went like this - most of us end up talking a lot ABOUT young people but less WITH young people. It is also a challenge to get it right - no one wants to sit as a representative with the sole mission of providing their youthful views on every single issue. We reflected on the fact that all boards should consist of people with different backgrounds, different knowledge and experiences and of course a spread of ages.

”"Is it so bad that there is no room for a new generation in our rural areas?"”

One of the major challenges facing rural areas across Europe is demographics – is it so bad that there is no room for a new generation in our rural areas? According to a report from MUCF, young people aged 16–25 living in rural areas feel more excluded from society than those living in cities. We don’t want it that way – and we can’t have it that way. In November, the Rural Network is launching a campaign to showcase the wealth of innovative, sustainable and, not least, important jobs that exist in rural areas: The best of the best.

We who work with Leader knows that there is room for everyone in rural areas and the best, most sustainable projects are developed and implemented together – regardless of age, everyone contributes their perspective and unique skills.

Ann-Charlotte Thornblad. Business Manager Leader Skåne Mid Northwest & MittSkåne Development

Would you like to know more about the Rural Network? Read more here

*MUCF is the abbreviation for the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society Affairs. Read more here:  Read more here