Rural Futures Conference

‘The more uncertain the future, the more difficult it is to anticipate – and the more important it becomes to anticipate’. An old truism, but it seems to apply well to the current state of rural affairs.

These are exciting, if turbulent times in rural development. Across the world, and not least in Europe, those who live and work in the countryside are facing challenges in the shape of changes in public attitudes; increased pressure for development to be sustainable in all senses of the word; and new policies and governance systems that reflect those altered priorities. In spatial and economic planning, we increasingly see rural areas regarded as appendages to urban settlements rather than as distinct and distinctive. At the same time, opportunities are presenting themselves (often with bewildering speed) in areas such as bio-energy, information and communication technology, and community development. Multi-discipline, multi-sector approaches to rural issues are catching the collective imagination after a slow burn of some decades, though practice inevitably lags well behind the vision.

Our 2008 conference will reflect these and many other issues in contemplating ‘rural futures’ – futures in the plural, since there can be no one unique scenario. It will provide an opportunity for sharing contrasting visions of rural life, work and environment, while at the same time exploring the resulting conflicts, compromises, and pitfalls: ‘dreams, dilemmas and dangers’. We are remaining true to principles embodied in our successful 2006 conference, aiming for an event which crosses boundaries between:

Disciplines (social sciences, natural sciences, arts and humanities, economics, engineering, health and social work, etc)

Communities of practice (involving academics, public- and private-sector professionals, voluntary workers and rural citizens), and

Geographical arenas (local, regional, international).

The fine detail of the programme will depend on many factors, not least the contributions of conference attendees in the shape of lectures, workshops, performances, video-conferences and other activities. The broad structure will, however, be determined by three main themes:

Connecting communities to the countryside

Sustainable solutions

Making it happen

In addition there will be three cross-cutting themes:

Constructing the future: foresight and visioning

Art, culture and society: new perspectives on rural futures

Information, communication and technology: promises, opportunities and dangers

Our headline speaker will be Dr Jan Douwe van der Ploeg, Professor of Rural Sociology at Wageningen University in The Netherlands, and a distinguished commentator on rural issues with a truly international reputation. Each theme will have a keynote speaker, chosen for his or her proven ability to challenge and to provoke debate, as well as a high reputation as a public speaker. We are currently inviting the submission of abstracts for papers, and outline proposals for workshops and other events, with a deadline of 29th October 2007.

We are very grateful to the Commission for Rural Communities and the South West Regional Development Agency for their generous support: both organisations have been very influential in the development of the conference themes, and will be further involved in development and operation of the event.