Event report

In the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe held by the Latvian Rural Forum in Briežuciems on 19 January 2022, 40 participants took part, 20 of them face-to-face and 20 remotely. Proposals put forward by participants: — Support is needed for community leaders and internal communicators — activators of society and citizens; — Promote the development of empathy between groups of society, thereby reducing the impact of economic and social stratification and promoting public participation in civil processes; — Special attention should be paid to promoting young people and children’s creative expressions and engaging in community life; — It is necessary to highlight initiatives with which communities have unique local “legacy” stories; — Reduce inequalities in access to services by addressing road management issues in an innovative way by taking over the sections of public roads considered by local communities to be vital for access to services; — Identify in a timely manner initiatives that may or have already produced a positive “avalanche” effect of change, channelling additional resources to such initiatives and empowering them; — Promote access to support and an environment that would stimulate community initiatives and smart villages; — Ensure the long-term mentoring of the results for large-scale, large-scale and socio-economically-enhancing projects; — To promote communication that delegates through dialogue to community leaders the formation of public opinion, as well as problem situations and the moderation of conflicts between the municipality and the local community; — Village development planning must define a clear meaning for every citizen, which will stimulate public involvement in long-term planning of their living space; — Incentivising local and private initiatives aimed at reconstructing housing stock, innovative solutions should be sought to optimise the population of existing housing; — Significant support tools are needed for the construction of rural homes for families (not just young families), preferably removing 50 % of construction costs; — Support meaningful leisure activities for children and young people, which provide experience in organising practical life and promote emotional attachment to the place of residence; — Participants of the movement of smart villages need face-to-face, in-depth experience exchange events in Latvia and other countries; For separating Riga from Latvia...