• Organised by Rural Pact
  • CET
  • English
  • Online

This Good Practice Webinar will showcase policies and initiatives strengthening rural resilience and preparedness in the face of environmental, economic and social challenges.

Through practical examples from across Europe, it will explore how rural communities are building resilience through climate adaptation, preparedness for climate-related risks and efforts to strengthen energy resilience. It will also examine the role of community capacity, cooperation and collective action in both areas. These factors can help reduce vulnerabilities and strengthen preparedness.  

By promoting peer learning and exchange, the webinar will inspire the transfer of approaches that can reinforce the capacity of rural communities to adapt to change and prepare for, respond to and recover from shocks and crises.

Draft agenda

English language

Draft agenda

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Objectives 

  • Explore how rural communities can strengthen resilience by adapting to longer-term change, reducing environmental, energy and social vulnerabilities and building their capacity to anticipate risks and prepare for shocks and crises; 

  • Showcase practices and innovative approaches to climate adaptation and preparedness for climate-related risk and strengthening energy resilience, including how community capacities, cooperation and collective action can help reduce vulnerabilities and strengthen preparedness; 

  • Foster peer learning and exchange on transferable approaches that strengthen local capacities, social capital and collective action, helping rural communities adapt to change and prepare for, respond to and recover from shocks and crises. 

The webinar is targeted at local, regional and national public authorities, civil society organisations, community organisations, development agencies, energy communities, organisations working on climate adaptation and disaster risk management. It also welcomes researchers, project implementers and promoters of rural resilience and preparedness initiatives, as well as other public and private actors involved in rural development, community engagement and territorial governance. 

Background 

Resilient rural communities are those that can adapt to longer-term change and anticipate, withstand and recover from economic, environmental and social shocks and crises while maintaining the essential services, social relationships and local capacities on which people depend.  

This capacity is increasingly important as rural areas face more frequent and severe climate-related risks, energy vulnerabilities, and socio-economic pressures that can affect people's livelihoods, access to essential services and quality of life. These challenges can interact and reinforce one another, making resilience an increasingly important consideration for the long-term development of rural areas.

Preparedness is an important component of rural resilience, particularly in anticipating risks and strengthening the capacity of communities to deal with shocks and crises before they occur. It depends not only on emergency planning and physical infrastructure, but also on strong local capacities and social capital, effective governance and cooperation, citizen participation, community and volunteer networks. These elements can help rural communities reduce vulnerabilities, maintain essential functions during periods of disruption, and respond to and recover more effectively from crises. 

The European Union is placing increasing emphasis on resilience, including preparedness, across its policies and initiatives. The long-term vision for the EU's rural areas identifies resilience as a key objective for the future of rural Europe, while the Preparedness Union Strategy promotes a whole-of-society approach to strengthening Europe’s capacity to anticipate, prepare and respond to crises.  

This is complemented by EU action on climate adaptation and preparedness for climate-related risks and on strengthening energy resilience. The EU Anti-Poverty Strategy brings an important social dimension to these challenges, highlighting how energy price shocks and climate impacts can disproportionately affect vulnerable households and how access to essential services, including energy and transport, can be particularly challenging in rural areas.  

Strengthening rural resilience therefore also requires attention to social vulnerability and to ensuring that vulnerable people and households are able to cope with and adapt to change and disruption. 

Useful links 

Additional info

Organiser

Rural Pact Support Office

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