Supporting grassroots rural community workers, who are often the most disadvantaged by service closure, ruralnet 2004 aims to stimulate thinking on practical ways to inject new ideas into the way that services are delivered in rural areas in the future, through presentations, workshops and debate.
A keynote address by Fiona Mactaggart MP on day one started the event off on a high. The Home Office minister with responsibility for community cohesion, civil renewal and active communities, she used the opportunity to outline the support available to those involved in service delivery and the Government's work to encourage partnership with the voluntary and community sector.
Fiona Mactaggart said,
"At its heart, civil renewal means citizens being involved in making the decisions which shape their lives. Alongside local authorities, development agencies, parish councils and voluntary organisations, the people who live in communities themselves have a vital role to play in the way that local services are designed and delivered.
"The statistics show that rural people are already ahead of urban residents in some measures of community participation, including volunteering. As minister for civil renewal, I want to see citizens building on that sort of success - whether their community is rural or urban."
In her speech the minister launched two new Home Office reports which highlight how local people can successfully be involved in policy-making in communities. The reports: "What works in community involvement in area-based initiatives", and "Facilitating community involvement and its impact on area-based initiatives" provide good practice guidance for community engagement. They deal with issues such as overcoming infrastructure barriers (such as local transport), managing the diversity of local communities, raising awareness, budgeting and planning.
With 230 people attending (ruralnetuk's biggest event yet), the audience consisted of representatives from a far-reaching range of backgrounds including councils, voluntary and community groups, academics and commercial organisations.
Notes to editors
1. The two Home Office reports launched by Fiona Mactaggart are available on the Home Office website at: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/whatsnew1.html
2. For further information about Ruralnet please visit www.ruralnetuk.org or call 0845 1300 411.
3. The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) are the principal sponsors of this year's event.
4. Ruralnetuk is a registered charity 1089238
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