Rural Communities

Rural Communities policy supports a wide range of thematic initiatives and developments.

This section covers:

• Rural Movement,
• Scottish Rural Action,
• Scottish Rural and Islands Parliament,
• Scottish Rural & Islands Youth Parliament,
• Rural Youth Action Network,
• European Rural Parliament and
• Policy

Rural Movement

Scotland’s rural and island communities are characterised by many organisations and networks, focusing on many different activities and sectors, including agriculture, forestry, land ownership and management, economic development, education and skills, renewable energy, health and social care, and so on. Drawing on the collective strengths of these individuals and organisations to bring together rural and island communities and amplify their diverse voices is a rural movement.

Background – Scotland’s Rural Movement

A rural movement is a partnership approach to networking and amplifying the diverse voices of rural and island communities. It serves two functions:

• Mobilising and connecting communities to each other so they are skilled and supported to shape their own futures;
• Connecting communities to decision-makers to co-produce national policy.

Scotland’s rural movement is not a new concept –

In its Programme for Government 2019-20, the Scottish Government committed to support the development of Scotland’s rural movement:

“We will work with Scottish Rural Action and others to support the development of a rural movement that will engage with communities between Rural Parliaments to include a more diverse range of voices, including those in disadvantaged communities.”

Meaningful participation in policy making takes time and the rural movement has been gathering momentum over the last few years. The framework for progressing the rural movement was set in the 2021 Scottish Rural Parliament.

To further inform the development of a Scottish rural movement, Scottish Government supported research to explore the key characteristics, roles and methods of engagement employed by established rural movements in other European countries.

A workshop, which was held in Birnam in November 2022 and attended by over 70 rural community stakeholders and representatives, resulted in a Rural Movement workshop report published February 2023 – the work envisaged for 2022/23 will be to build on the recommendations of this report with a set of practical actions around the use of community-led local development funding and the Local Action Group structure that is a legacy of LEADER funding, combining both policies to give momentum to the 2019 PfG commitment.

Scottish Rural Action (SRA)

Scottish Rural Action (SRA)* is an independent grassroots organisation who have been leading the development of the rural movement across rural and island Scotland.

SRA put values of inclusion, diversity, cooperation, democracy and impact into practice through working with its members and partners at national, regional and community levels to:

• build a grassroots-led rural movement in Scotland that connects rural communities with each other and with politicians and decision-makers;
• collaborate with seldom-heard groups to create platforms that better enable their participation in the rural movement;
• collectively develop a cross-sectoral, locally-informed understanding of rural Scotland’s economy, society and culture that shapes local practice and national policy;
• deliver the biennial Scottish Rural and Islands Parliament

Scottish Rural and Islands Parliament

A key part of the rural movement is the Scottish Rural and Islands Parliament (SRIP). This biennial event is an important opportunity for the voice of rural and island communities to help reinforce the importance of local democracy and to help shape the emerging Rural Delivery Plan (RDP)  Scotland’s Rural Movement – Scottish Rural & Islands Parliament

The SRIP aims to empower rural communities across Scotland, giving them a stronger voice to initiate change at a local and national level. The Scottish Government is committed to engaging with rural communities as they co-create policy. The SRIP, and Rural Movement therefore play a key role in helping it to deliver prosperous, fair rural communities as part of a just transition to net zero.

Scottish Rural & Islands Youth Parliament

The inaugural Scottish Rural & Islands Youth Parliament (SYRIP) took place at Caol Community Centre, Fort William on the 1st of November.

This youth-focused event engaged individuals aged 16 to 30 in discussions relevant to them, enabling them to reflect on their lived experiences and articulate what is important to them. Joined by Highlands and Islands MSP, Emma Roddick, and Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon, youth delegates had a unique opportunity to work together on a range of topics from housing to transport to food and agriculture and put forward key demands they want decision-makers to act upon.

Following on from the SRIYP, thirty rural and island young people gathered in the Scottish Parliament on the 18th January 2024 to bring forward a set of demands, asking for action on a variety of priorities including arts and culture, housing and transport. Representing areas across Scotland, including the northern and western isles, Cairngorms, Moray, Lochaber, Fife, Forth Valley and Lomond and the Borders, they met with the then First Minister, Humza Yousaf, and his Cabinet before attending a debate on their demands, hosted by Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands.

Rural Youth Action Network

In the run up to the 2023 Scottish Rural & Islands Parliament (SRIP), a number of organisations that support the mobilisation and participation of rural young people, including the network of Community-Led Local Development Youth Local Action Groups (CLLD Y-LAGs), the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC), InspirAlba, Connecting Young Carers and the Young Islanders Network collaborated to deliver the first ever Scottish Rural & Islands Youth Parliament (SRIYP).

Youth participants came together at the SRIYP from communities across Scotland and collectively identified a set of priorities which they communicated to Rural Affairs & Islands Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon MSP.

In July 2024, funding was secured from the Scottish Rural Network to consolidate momentum behind a collective Rural Youth Action Network (RYAN) in Scotland, building on learning from the Young Islanders Network (YIN), and to enable young people to progress the priorities they identified at the SRIYP (more details here).

European Rural Parliament

Scotland has also recently been confirmed as the host of the 6th European Rural Parliament (ERP), taking place in Autumn 2025 in Aberdeenshire. It will be the first time a non EU member state hosts the event.

We are providing funding to Scottish Rural Action to develop and host the ERP in partnership with Scottish and European partners.  Read more about the event at European Rural Parliament.

*Scottish Rural Action has existed as a Company Ltd by Guarantee (SC461352) since 2013 and as a Scottish Charity (SC048086) since 2018.