Community development

Rural Wisdom Get-together

Outside the Box's Rural Wisdom project is exploring ways to make rural areas work better for older people. They’re holding a series of events across Scotland for anyone who is interested in this work to come together, to share thoughts, to hear from others and to build the network around the country.

They're pleased to be holding the third of these events in Lanark, hosted by their friends at Healthy Valleys.

Find out about the recent European Rural Parliament event held in Venhorst, Netherlands in this event report from Scottish Rural Action.

The village of Venhorst in Noord-Brabant did not exist until the early 20th. century when the municipality sold seven hectare plots to families wanting to settle and make a living. The nearest school was an hour’s journey away.

Inspiring Rural Communities Together Conference 2017

The Plunkett Foundation know that rural life in the UK isn’t always easy, with the decline of vital services, the limited availability of jobs, affordable housing, public transport, adequate broadband and the rising cost of utilities, can mean for many people, living in a rural area presents a daily challenge.

Kirsty Crichton from the Scottish Rural Network reports from the recent Through A Rural Lens event held in Belfast.

Delegates from across the UK and Ireland attended the Through A Rural Lens: Rural Development and Networking Conference at the Clayton Hotel in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 14 and 15 November 2017.

Scotland was well represented by a range of organisations, as well as panel member Professor Sarah Skerratt from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC).

The Annual Implementation Report (AIR) of the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) has been published.

Covering the first three years of the 2014-2020 Programme, the full report and Summary for Citizens can be viewed on the Scottish Government website.

In this report, Ailsa Clark from Inspiralba tells us about the European Network for Rural Development Thematic Group for Smart Villages event held in Brussels on 26 October 2017.

The Smart Villages European Union (EU) Action has a focus on revitalising rural services through both digital and social innovation in rural areas.

Over half a million pounds has been awarded to projects in the first funding round from the new Moray LEADER Programme.

The first successful projects include Macbeth-themed holiday lodges, an exciting new social enterprise hub, a major event highlighting the issue of poverty in the area and renovation work on one of Elgin's top attractions.

The Scottish Sikh community and Trees for Life have worked together to create a lifelong memorial for victims and survivors of the 1984 Sikh Massacre.

There is still to enter the Rural Community Co-operative Awards 2017.

The awards are run by the charity Plunkett Foundation and seek the best examples of rural community action from across the UK. This year's awards close for entries on Friday 27 October.

The Community Capacity and Resilience Fund SCVO Phase Three is now accepting applications.

In this round of the Community Capacity and Resilience fund SCVO are looking to fund a broad range of projects and activities that support local community based organisations across Scotland to help people mitigate the effects of welfare reform by providing them with the support and skills they need.

Irene Connelly, Programme Development Manager at SCVO said:

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