"Hello there, Peter Danielsson – who has been the governor of Skåne County since November 2025!"
"QUESTION" "The rural areas of Skåne already contribute significant societal values today – from food and energy to community, innovation, and preparedness. How do you view the role of rural areas in Skåne's future development regarding sustainability and resilience, and what needs to work better for them to be vibrant places where people truly choose to live and work?"
"The role of the countryside is" "completely central to a county like Skåne. It is of utmost importance that we engage the entire county and that we drive development even in areas outside the major cities.".
"Our county should" "be an example of how to include both city and countryside, thereby utilizing all the fantastic societal values and the engagement that exists throughout Skåne.".
"This includes, for example," "food and energy supply, both of which are prioritized areas for the County Administrative Board of Skåne, not only from a sustainability perspective but also now with a clear focus on preparedness in the event of a crisis or war. For both of these issues, the countryside plays a crucial role.".
"The development within" "these areas is important not only for sustainability and preparedness but also for increased growth, reduced unemployment, support for more local services, and increased security in rural areas.".
"Unfortunately, there are" "still challenges. We see a negative trend regarding population development and centralization that seems difficult to break. I am thinking of the tendency with the increasing gap between western and eastern Skåne, where the population decline and growth reduction hit harder in the eastern part.".
"Here, research and innovation" "also play a role. It is not enough just to identify negative societal trends; we must also be able to act on these and dare to think in new ways.".
"I am currently working" "on developing the County Administrative Board's cooperation with Region Skåne, as they are responsible for issues related to regional development and public transport (the latter also plays a significant role in developing a vibrant countryside).".
"QUESTION" "Leader Skåne Mitt Nordväst works with locally led development where sustainable ideas grow from the place itself. How do you view the role of the Leader method moving forward, as a link between local initiatives and the County Administrative Board's regional mission?"
”"For us at the County Administrative Board of Skåne" "the cooperation with Leader areas is important. From the very beginning, we have had a close and valuable partnership with the Leader offices, a collaboration characterized by mutual support in everything from regional issues to advocacy work at national and EU levels.".
"We have also achieved" "concrete results through various projects. A concrete example of the value of Leaders is engagement for youth, which is both unique and crucial for the future of the countryside.".
"The breadth of the Leader offices impresses" also, since there is experience of multi-fund solutions, a broad network and above all the unique bottom-up perspective which is the very core of the Leader method.
Our good collaboration is important for the broader rural development in the region, and rural development is something I hope we can further develop together through even better coordination between programs and actors.
We see an opportunity in developing our efforts at different levels so that they ultimately strengthen each other and we then have a whole where our respective roles complement each other, from strategic planning (where we grant investment and cooperation support) to the local anchoring of the Leader offices.”