Scotland’s rural movement - the recording and outputs from the 2021vSRP Session on 8th March 2021
Session curated by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), the James Hutton Institute and Professor Mark Shucksmith and chaired by Dr Jane Atterton, Manager of the Rural Policy Centre at SRUC. ___________________________________________________________________________
Democratic innovations such as citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting and the Rural Parliament itself are presenting new platforms for communities to come together and collectively shape policy development and implementation. This SRP session explored ways of strengthening the collective agency of rural and island communities under the banner of a ‘rural movement for Scotland’.
Delegates heard from the following presenters:
- Phil Raines, Scottish Government Head of Rural Economy and Communities
- Vanessa Halhead, Honorary President of Scottish Rural Action and Coordinator of the European Community Alliance (ERCA)
- Professor Mark Shucksmith, Professor of Planning, Newcastle University and Trustee of ACRE – Action with Communities in Rural England
- Petri Rinnie, President of the Village Action Association of Finland (in Finnish: Suomen Kylätoiminta ry or SYTY)
Breakout room discussions focused on the following questions:
- What should be the purpose of a rural movement in Scotland?
- Who should be involved in a rural movement in Scotland?
- What should a rural movement in Scotland do and how can its impacts be measured?
- How should a rural movement in Scotland be facilitated and resourced and by whom?