09 de February de 2017
Nearly 100 attendees addressed inclusive rural development and its prospects at this conference organized by the RRN at the suggestion of CERMI.
08/02/2017
On February 8, the "Inclusive Rural Development" workshop was held, organized by the National Rural Network (RRN) and the Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities (CERMI). Organizations dedicated to the inclusion of people with physical and cognitive disabilities, local action groups, and those responsible for social and rural development policies in the autonomous communities participated.
The event, which included sign language translation and simultaneous subtitling, focused on people with disabilities as agents of change and transformation in rural areas and highlighted the importance of implementing measures and policies that promote inclusive rural development. According to a CERMI survey, there are one million people with disabilities living in rural areas.
The objectives of the event were to provide an up-to-date overview of the situation of these people in rural areas and the programs available for their integration; to share successful experiences and best practices; to propose future joint actions; and to serve as a platform for exchanging knowledge and experiences.
The event featured more than 20 speakers from various organizations and sectors and was structured into four panels: one on disability in rural areas, two on best practices, and a fourth where several innovative projects in territorial cooperation were presented. It concluded with participatory workshops on avenues for cooperation between social and disability organizations and stakeholders involved in rural development, such as the National Rural Development Network (NRN), local action groups, and autonomous communities.
The Director General of Rural Development and Forestry Policy, Esperanza Orellana Moraleda, stated that "disability faces a double challenge when the person lives in rural areas, where depopulation, lack of employment, and inadequate service provision are acute." She also emphasized "the need to overcome this situation of vulnerability and improve the quality of life of people with disabilities by including initiatives aimed at their social and labor inclusion in rural development policies." Along these lines, she recalled the Ministry's selection of "Good Practices in Rural Development and People with Disabilities" during the 2007-2013 programming period.
CERMI highlighted the potential that the disabled community represents for rural development and discussed various avenues for rural development as sources of employment for this group, such as accessible tourism associated with green routes or environmental projects focused on the cultivation of native seeds or other environmentally friendly products. A website explaining these potential employment opportunities was also presented.
During the closing session, the following conclusions were highlighted: the advisability of holding similar meetings in rural areas with the collaboration of regional CERMIs; the need to address the issue through program design rather than individual actions; the involvement of other departments involved in this area in the process; the proposal to integrate this topic into the European Rural Development Network; and the need to raise the profile of people with disabilities in rural areas, as well as improving governance by promoting their participation in the design of rural development policies at all levels.