ERCA as a platform for the LTVRA

Description

ERCA will engage its membership of national rural movements to promote the Pact at national, regional and local levels. Therefore ERCA follows a process to involve our members in the Rural Pact. The first step in this process was organising a web-event on the Long Term Vision for the EU Rural Areas, the Rural Pact and the Rural Funding Toolkit November 22-2023, organised in cooperation with DG Agri and the Joint Research Centre.

In January 2024, ERCA conducted a survey of its members, which provided a good insight into their wishes regarding the further development of ERCA as an advocate for rural areas, and the contribution members themselves wish to make to this. 

On this basis, ERCA developed a training and development program for its members and opened it up to other partners in the Rural Pact and beyond. The first step was the web-event “LINK: about youTH and me” – December 11 2024 - about youth-involvement: How can young people be part of the policy-making process on the local, national and/or European level?  (See report). 

In 2025, web events are planned on Volunteering in Rural Communities (March 28), Health Service Access and Transport (October 31). One of the web events could be committed to the Declaration on the future of rural areas and rural development policy in the European Union. 

Connecting National Rural Parliaments: Most ERCA members organise a National Rural Parliament. As far as possible, ERCA tries to participate in and/or contribute to these Parliaments. Vanessa Halhead as co-organiser and Tom Jones as speaker participated in the Scottish Rural Parliament and Rural Youth Parliament in Scotland in early 2024. 

Vanessa Halhead participated in the Swedish Rural Parliament in May 2024. At the Dutch National Rural Parliament in November, all ERCA members were invited to participate in a stream of the OECD-session about Rural Proofing, led by ERCA’s Vice-President Ben van Essen.

ERCA is strongly involved in the development of the Rural Pact. ERCA was part of the Rural Pact Preparatory Group, since June 2023 ERCA is a member of the Rural Pact Coordination Group. ERCA is also promoting the Pact at national levels, such as the process to build a National Rural Pact in the Netherlands. 

ERCA- is involved in many policy networks, including: the EU CAP Network Assembly/ Civil Dialogue Groups on CAP Strategic Plans and Horizontal Matters, and Environment and Climate Change and Sub Group on Leader and CLLD. ERCA contributes to many related conferences and events, such as the 2th Rural Pact Conference “From vision to action: Empowering rural areas for the future” in 2025.  

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Number of people

300

Number of projects

16

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