Perspectives on rural development in the Nordic countries

Policies, governance, development initiatives

Based on discussions and presentations at seminars held by the Nordic working group 1b: Future rural areas.

As part of the work of the Nordic working group Future rural areas (appointed by the Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers), a series of seminars were held during 2009 and 2010. All in all four seminars were organised – one in each of the continental Nordic countries. The seminars focused on service provision, governance and business development in rural areas.

This report functions as a documentation of the presentations given and the discussions held during the seminars. It is designed to provide an overview of Nordic rural development policies, to highlight the work of the various actors and initiatives at the centre of rural development work and to present ideas for future Nordic cooperation in the field of rural development. Four of the Nordic countries; Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden constitute the geographical focus of the work as these countries provided the active members of the working group and the venues for the seminars.