On 11 October AEIDL – the European Association of Innovation in Local Development – and PARTENALIA, the European network of intermediate local authorities, join forces to organise a high-level event in Brussels as part of the 21st European Week of Regions and Cities (EWRC) organised by the European Commission’s DG REGIO and the European Committee of the Regions.
About 30% of EU regions are facing a shrinking workforce, a low share of higher education and a steady youth exodus. As recognised by the EU Commission (2023), these trends are more severe in rural Europe and contribute to widening territorial disparities. During this EU Year of Skills, this workshop will present current local good practices, policies, and tools to retain and attract talent in rural areas avoiding one-size-fits-all solutions.
The cooperation aims at presenting the perspectives of both AEIDL and PARTENALIA regarding the fight against rural depopulation in order to discuss the interaction between the political strategical priorities and plans of Local Intermediate Authorities and several ongoing and past projects implemented by AEIDL.
High-level political and technical participation is expected on October 11th at 02:30 pm at the Square Brussels Convention Centre which will ensure lively and relevant interaction between the speakers and the audience as half the workshop will be dedicated to exchanges with the participants.
There will be contributions from the senior representatives of PARTENALIA as well as AEIDL, including a contribution from CIHEAM IAM Montpellier that leads the GRANULAR project, which AEIDL is a partner of. There will be limited availability for this in-person only event, hence you are invited to register as soon as possible here: