Working groups

1. Cultures and people, places and identities

Nordic rural communities are being redefined and rural areas are in a state of flux. Mobility and migration are increasing and new rural-urban relations, disparities, and complementarities emerging. Distance working and migrating labor are increasing, as well as the number of second homes. Depopulation continues in many regions, while some rural areas are thriving. The importance of place and location is changing. Many of us feel attached to certain rural places but might not live there for different reasons. These processes affect social cohesion, and social differentiation in rural areas as well as the construction of identities across borders and places. How are such processes expressed in different locations? How do migration and mobility affect rural areas? Why would people want to live in rural areas? Why do people feel they belong to rural areas, and how is place attachment constructed? What is the meaning of culture in and for rural development? What is the meaning of places and locality for people’s identity?

1.1 The benefits of migration in Nordic rural areas

In recent decades, considerable migration has occurred in rural areas across the Nordic region. However, much of this movement entails out-migration to larger urban centres. Typically, this migration is characterized by specific age, gender, and education demographics, with a notable trend of young, educated, and females leaving rural areas in significant numbers. Foreseeably, these out-migration patterns are expected to persist. At the same time, all Nordic countries have experienced an influx of international migrants over recent decades, with some settling in rural areas, thereby offering both demographic and economic advantages.

While there are common migration trends observed in Nordic rural and remote regions, substantial differences exist among countries and regions. These disparities are influenced by variations in the underlying economic bases of rural areas, which in turn impact migration trends. Given the anticipated continuation of these phenomena, how can both sending and receiving regions within the Nordic countries capitalize on these migration flows?

To address this question, this working group extends an invitation to researchers from the Nordic region who are engaged in the development of better-informed, evidence-based policies. Such policies aim to maximize the potential benefits of mobility in both sending and receiving regions within Nordic rural areas.

This working group aims to convene researchers investigating mobility in rural areas, including both internal and intranational migration, to explore the potential benefits of mobility for rural development in the Nordic region. Organized as part of the Horizon Europe project Premium_EU (Policy REcommendations to Maximise the beneficial Impact of Unexplored Mobilities in and beyond the European Union), of which Nordregio in Stockholm is a part.  The Premium_EU project aims to analyze mobility's impacts on European countries, develop policies to address brain drain and labour exploitation, and identify strategies for rural development and addressing regional inequalities. Therefore, we invite submissions to this working group papers encompassing qualitative and quantitative studies. These studies should explore the impact of internal and international migration on rural areas in the Nordics, as well as investigate the relationship between rural mobility and development policies.

Coordinator:
Timothy Heleniak, Nordregio

1.2 Critical reflections on lifestyle migration and sustainable rural development

Our aim is to bring together scholars from across disciplines and countries interested in lifestyle migration to rural areas and minor towns to advance our knowledge on this field, exchange experiences and reflect on future studies.

Seen as a lens rather than a box, lifestyle in migration has been studied as an intra-EU experience, as flows from the global North to the Global South and as part of internal migration. This is affected unevenly by the multiple crises regarding climate change, energy supply, health conditions and travel restrictions during the pandemic, uncertain military operations, and financial challenges.

Inspired by the Newcastle Social Geographies collective – studying the interrelationships between society, space and place and asking how the nature and activity of societies are geographically constituted and expressed - our focus is primarily on living, working and traveling in various rural areas characterized for instance by high amenity, urban fringe locations, remote locations, or sparse populations. Critical reflections should deal with the potential roles, opportunities and threats of lifestyle migration for sustainable rural development regarding specific topics. These topics can include, but are not limited to:

• Tourism and rural lifestyle migration, including spaces for second homes where like-minded people bond to engage in communities of practice with a seasonal focus (e.g. in crafts, arts, sports, or other serious leisure).
• Entrepreneurship’s various forms in rural lifestyle migration and difficulties in finding competent and loyal staff creating meeting places e.g. in tourist accommodations, small rural shops and petrol stations otherwise threatened by closure.
• Housing in rural lifestyle migration. This includes a lack of dynamism in local housing markets, a lack of variety in housing stock, insufficient supply of rental housing, sudden shocks and competing demands from other booming industries and labour migration. Employment aspects also include various ‘grey area’ practices that entrepreneurs use to find ‘staff’ (seasonal volunteers, interns, informal helpers), and the various local-transnational practices they apply.
• Lifestyle migrants as agents promoting nature-based integration of other newcomers or as subjects integrating locally (and to various degrees) through nature-based activities.
• Rural lifestyle migration’s links with downshifting, work-time reduction, and sustainable consumption (e.g. traveling by train rather than airplane.)
• Gender issues in these and other topics in rural lifestyle migration.

Coordinators:
Marco Eimermann, Umeå University
Doris Carson, Umeå university
Melissa Kelly, Toronto Metropolitan University

1.3 Ageing in rural Nordics: Finding new ways of understanding sustainable transitions

This working group aims to draw together researchers from various disciplines to discuss how people and rural landscapes age together and mutually construct one another over time.

At the start of 2024, Netflix released an adaption of Astrid Lindgren’s Ronja the Robber’s daughter; a capturing coming-of-age story wherein Ronja undergoes profound psychological and moral growth through her interactions with the surrounding milieu. Confronting the strong waterfall Glupafallet, leaping over Helvetesgapet and getting lost in the forest, Ronja discovers and (re)creates herself and her world. Similarly, the ageing of Ulf Norrstig, the retired protagonist of Kerstin Ekman’s Löpa Varg, intertwines with his changing relationship to hunting, the forest and, notably, the wolf. Both narratives underscore the intricate interplay between human lives and the landscape, as well as other species. While Ronja transitions into adulthood, Ulf navigates the complexities of ageing into later life, forging a new identity and reassessing his moral compass.

Ekman’s perspective of coming-of-later-age is perhaps particularly important for addressing rural cultures and development. Rural communities often grapple with ageing populations and ageing is often associated with ageist stereotypes such as passivity, stagnation and dependency. Similarly, many rural areas are perceived through negative terms such like dying and deserted. While rural ageing -especially together with rural depopulation- pose several challenges, including access to service infrastructure and poor socio-economic conditions, it can also offer unique ways of understanding rural cultures, ecosystems and environments. What happens if we reframe our understanding of old age and acknowledge aging in later life as a dynamic and also active process that shapes and is being shaped by rural cultures and environments in particular ways?

With regards to migration and mobility to rural areas, due to e.g. distance working and second homes, it involves not only a change of lifestyle and (re)creation of the self, but also new ways of ageing within specific ruralities.  

At large, the working group aims to map out how rural environments shape people’s ageing experiences and, likewise, how human ageing impacts rural landscapes. What can we learn by looking closely at this interrelationship? And what possibilities and challenges does it reveal with regards to rural development?

Research concerning all stages of the ageing process are welcome to participate.

Coordinator:
Anna Gustafsson, Stockholm University

1.4 Rural Education and its Role in the Sustainability of the Local Environment

The importance of rural education is growing in tandem with the rise of green technologies, particularly evident in the Nordic rural areas where the green industry is expanding. This shift is crucial against the backdrop of escalating environmental, social, and economic pressures, emphasising the pivotal role of rural areas in terms of living, food production, energy production, and safety.

The transformation toward green technologies demands access to renewable energy, land, and expertise, necessitating changes in industry structure, job content, and skills. Vocational Education and Training (VET) emerges as vital in preparing a skilled workforce for the evolving labour market.

However, the educational landscape in the Nordic countries has been significantly impacted by liberalisation and marketisation since the 1980s, leading to economic challenges, especially in rural areas where small schools struggle to remain financially viable. This dilemma pits short-term economic viability against long-term sustainability, often resulting in the closure of rural schools and forcing children to commute, risking their well-being and educational outcomes.

Furthermore, neglecting rural education may accelerate family emigration, eroding the social fabric of rural communities and leading to the disappearance of essential services. The tendency of educational institutions to neglect local knowledge and values can perpetuate this migration trend, highlighting the importance of education that fosters a sense of belonging and connection to local assets. Despite this, research on rural education remains underrepresented and fragmented in discussions of sustainability and community resilience. The focus is often limited to primary schools, with insufficient attention paid to the broader implications for community sustainability and the uneven distribution of research between rural and urban areas. Research gaps also exist concerning rural youth aspirations and experiences, perpetuating an urban-centric viewpoint in educational studies. Therefore, addressing these issues of rural education's role in the local environment is crucial for fostering holistic sustainability, bridging the gap between rural and urban educational research and empowering rural communities to thrive amidst global challenges.

This working group aims to focus on research on the evolving role of rural education in Nordic regions amidst the expansion of the green shift. It aims to understand how rural areas contribute to various aspects of sustainability. The working group seeks to address gaps in research concerning rural education and understand the role of education in the sustainability of the local environment.

Coordinators:
Anna Cecilia Rapp, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Agneta Knutas, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Sandra Lund, Mid Sweden University
Mariann Villa, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

1.5 A history perspective to the people, places, resources, economies, and policies of rural regions

In the tradition of Nordic rural studies temporal analysis has often remained in the shade of spatiality. This working group offers an arena for history view to rural phenomena on regions. We do not restrict our scope to the past tense but welcome temporality in all its varieties and finesses. Thus, may your focus lay in the past, present, or future, we expect to receive your abstract if you operate with temporal concepts such as events, memories, narratives, traditions, heritage, experience – you name it.

The main interest of the organizers lies in cultural heritage, especially in the built heritage of rural regions but we do not exclude any subjects of interest with temporal perspective. Surprisingly, the paths to sustainable transition can often be found from the history. The choices we have made in the past restrict the options available to us now. At any one moment, not all the alternatives are available, and if available, not all are useful. Often, what we really need is to unlearn.

The working group is organized in co-operation with the International Society for Regional History.

We believe that both region and time matter. We prefer subjects with regional focus, but we are not locked with current administrative borders. The research area can be defined by some historical, substantial, practical, or suitable criteria not typical of national historiography. Research subjects may break or cross ethnic, cultural and nationality lines. Minorities, identities, the sense of home and belonging are relevant subjects. We do not shrink before concrete empirics. Case studies are recommended to indicate regional typicality, rarity, and continuity. So, we welcome all human, social and natural scientists who have a temporal view to their subject.

Coordinators:
Sulevi Riukulehto, University of Helsinki, Ruralia Institute
Erica Duvensjö, Norrbottens museum

1.6 Stories of smoke: Rural ethnographies and landscapes in transition

During fieldwork, a bricklayer explained to the ethnographer how the smoke finds nooks in the chimney to linger in before escaping out—the smoke ‘knows' when to stay, and when to escape. What can we learn as ethnographers by "seeing like the bricklayer"? If we follow the smoke—or indeed, the movements and materials we find in our fieldwork— what might it tell the ethnographer about sustainability transformations?

While there seems to be a need for more and for better research on rural sustainability transitions, discussion on how this research is being produced and represented appears largely absent, despite the fact that methodological choices have a direct impact on the myriad ways of knowing—and unknowing—rural landscapes. In this working group we are interested in gathering ethnographers together to share research on rural landscapes in transition. The working group’s focus is to share and discuss practices, experiences, and insights from the field, examine why they are important in rural research, and the strategies ethnographers are using to represent their research.

We are interested in broadening the idea of what or who are included in the concept of rural, and accordingly, who and what contributes to sustainable transitions in rural areas. We welcome papers that ask: what kind of attention (or omission) do different forms of life receive in rural stories whether people, organisms, plants, or stones? How might these different forms tell the tales of (un)sustainable transitions in different ways? If "things are their stories", what happens if we follow the smoke and listened to the stories it might tell? The working group welcomes presentations that make rural ethnographic fieldwork practices visible, tell stories about more-than-human rural landscapes in transition, and reflect on the sustainability of these transitions.

Coordinators:
Galina Kallio, University of Helsinki, Ruralia Institute
Eeva Uusitalo, University of Helsinki, Ruralia Institute
Will LaFleur, University of Helsinki

1.7 Rural and regional universities: Doing big things in small places

This working group focuses on the role of universities and university campuses in building identity, community, and resilience in rural regions. This working group invites presentations on different aspects of the impact of rural and regional universities, as well as rural and regional campuses of larger universities in the Nordic countries and beyond. Such impacts may include, but are not limited to, demographic changes and population growth, impacts on regional educational levels, effects on economic diversity and employment, social and cultural diversity, and scholarly attention to rural issues. Papers addressing the challenges arising from institutional mergers as consolidations as well as technological changes and the rise of distance education are particularly welcome.

Coordinators:
Thoroddur Bjarnason, University of Iceland
Egon Noe, Danish Centre for Rural Research
Annette Aagaard Thuesen, University of Southern Denmark

1.8 State obligations in the cross-section of indigenous rights and minority rights.

National minorities in Nordic countries are considered to be those people who have a longer historical presence in the country and have a common identity. Minorities are protected by specific rights comprising state obligations to the practice of language and culture. Major minorities in Nordic countries are Jews, Finns, Romani, Germa, Mienkieli. Sami and Greenlanders are beyond being national minorities also indigenous people. Indigenous rights are codified in international agreements, such as UNDRIP, the ratification and interpretation of which is contested in the different national contexts. Minorities and indigenous people face similar problems, such as threat to continued practice of language, culture and religion. Or in case of indigenous groups the ability to continue with traditional economic activities.

Minority rights differ depending on whether they are place based or not. Municipalities and Regions with special task to care for the maintenance of minority culture obtain special budget for promotion of minority cultures. How culture is interpreted as well as how one works for the realization of these rights differs. Differences prevail regarding how minorities are offered to participate in forming the actions, how their demands are acknowledged, and which efforts are realized by municipalities and regions. This session is to focus on how minority rights are instrumentalized in rural municipalities and regions from a social justice perspective exploring aspects of participation and collaboration between state and civil society actors; how these lead to recognition (or lack of recognition) of minority claims and how means are distributed to achieve these claims based on minority specific civil rights.

Rural municipalities and regions are also potential arenas for claim making along indigenous rights, among others with reference to UNDRIP’s (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) on prior informed consultation and self-determination. Papers are encouraged also to reflect upon claims made on basis of indigenous rights and on how state obligations are (or are not) operationalized in cases of local claim making.

Coordinator:
Ildikó Asztalos Morell, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

1.9 Open group theme 1: Cultures and people, places and identities

This group is open for papers that does not fit any of the accepted working groups, but still relate to theme 1. The organizers will then create suitable sessions corresponding to the paper’s contribution. After the sessions have been constructed, the participants will be put in contact with each other to organize the specifics of the session.

2. Sustainable use of natural resources 

Natural resources and raw materials are valuable economic, ecological, political, social, and cultural resources. Nature conservation is important while entrepreneurship and industries need space to contribute to the regional and economic development of rural areas. Are contemporary rural and natural resource policies in line with the aims of different dimensions of sustainable development, including climate change mitigation and adaptation? New pressures, interests, and claims on the use of natural resources and landscapes lead to processes of innovation, re-evaluation as well as depletion. Continuities in both natural resource governance and landscape management are questioned and transformed. Yet, path dependencies and institutional contexts shape activities as well. Multifunctional and sustainable landscapes and the use of natural resources have become some of the keywords. How are these processes enacted in different contexts? There may be conflicts between different industries, e.g. tourism and mining. How do trends in food and energy production, forestry, mining, tourism, and nature conservation affect Nordic rural areas? How are entitlements, ownership, and right of access and use of nature transformed? What are the impacts on local levels, on local development and social cohesion? What about its role in the governance of natural resources? What about the resilience of rural areas in which the economy has been based on to use of natural resources? What is the role of urban forest owners? What kind of questions – and answers – are there connecting to a circular economy and bio-economy?

2.1 Exploring social sustainability in the Nordic context

Cultivated and nature land provide a plethora of benefits for society, including food, feed, timber and other bioresources, recreation, minerals, and ecosystem services (e.g. carbon sink, water storage, soil preservation). However, nature resources face multiple pressures. Increased global population is placing pressure on natural forests to convert to agriculture in developing countries, while, in developed countries with growing urban populations, agricultural landscapes, forests and mountainous areas are increasingly important for recreation. The need to substitute fossil energy and products with renewable resources increases the demand for bio resource-based products. The biodiversity crisis calls for closer to nature area and nature management. Together, these pressures will, and must, influence long term strategic decisions on the future use of land and nature in the Nordic region. A main question to rise in this connection is how the social dimension of sustainability can be accounted for? The Nordic region offers both a major sink for global carbon and a major reservoir for the resources necessary for the coming “green shift”. The governments have recognised this and acknowledged a need for more active engagement in land utilization to meet green shift objectives. Both environmental claims and economic pressure can override the social dimension. However, a question is, given the constantly shifting resource demands and engagement of multiple actors, how can this be achieved in a manner that embrace all dimensions of sustainability - the environmental, economic, and social? The social dimensions of production systems related to nature resources, its actors, relationships, dynamics etc. needs to be better understood and to be adapted to the Nordic context. The environmental sustainability has so far been emphasized in developments of indicators, models, certifications, taxonomies and so on, when the social dimension is less developed. To gain a real picture of the sustainability of the development there is a need for a social sustainability framework adapted to the Nordic context that can be used to assess social footprint of nature resource-based industries.

The aim for this working group is to inform different aspects of and approaches to social sustainability and nature-based resources, whether the case is nature conservation or business development.

We call for papers with exploring and critical approaches. For example, distribution of power, discourses related to social sustainability, methods, and indicators to assess social sustainability, how to balance environmental, social and economic sustainability, regional differentiation in topics of importance for social sustainability. Conceptual, theoretical, methodical, and empirical papers are all welcome.

Coordinators:
Gunn-Turid Kvam, Ruralis, Institute for Rural and Regional Research
Egil Petter Stræte, Ruralis, Institute for Rural and Regional Research

2.2 Mining, minerals, and society in Nordic

In this working group, the tensions between different perceptions and experiences between global transitions and local mining activities will be discussed with the specific focus on Nordic countries. Mining activities have a central role in Green Deal and the green transition, and there will be more mines in the EU in the future. Those are often justified by the urgent need to obtain raw materials for a more sustainable society running on renewable energy sources. The aim is to curb climate change, for example by electrifying transport, which requires battery minerals found, for example, in Nordic countries. The EU aims to increase self-sufficiency in minerals also for geopolitical reasons. International and regional goals are finally realized into concrete projects and impacts at the local level. Locally, however, mining is also about a lot more than fighting climate change and geopolitics. At the local level, the impacts of mines and the risks of operations are realized. Locality creates challenges for mining activities: how do exploration and mining projects, and actors, deal with local everyday life, residents, and their experiences? Green energy transition and transition to low-carbon society can only be achieved if raw materials are sourced in responsibly and sustainably. Many solutions will, however, turn to problems. Electrification of traffic mitigates climate change, but the increasing extraction of critical materials seriously harm nature and local communities. How to solve this complex problem, which has complex interdependencies? Researchers from different disciplines are welcomed to present their research about the topic and to discuss and debate about the wide variety of current matters relating to mining, minerals, and society with the special focus on Nordic countries.

Coordinator:
Tuija Mononen, University of Eastern Finland

2.3 Transitioning Nordic Ruralities: between extraction and care

In Europe the goal of realizing less environmentally destructive industries has become central in moving towards sustainability in the current climate crisis. Electric vehicles and “net-zero” production of steel have become the epitome of this goal in a Nordic context. Sweden has seen increased investments related to this technology both in terms of extraction of minerals and manufacturing. Remote geographical areas in the Nordics where extraction has been historically taken place, and is continuing with renewed impetus, and where li-ion battery manufacturing complex and new steel industries are emerging, are seen as central in reaching GHG emission reduction. Additionally, it is argued that the green transition brings substantial employment opportunity in what often have been perceived as “peripheral and depopulating regions. Moreover, these Nordic regions that attract these investments have in general very low employment rates. We see that these localities experience large socio-environmental transformations as they need to attract new citizens and be attractive to new investments. The consequences may be in the form of increasing labor migration, municipal spending, housing shortages and land use changes that create social and environmental conflicts.

In this working group we welcome contributions that analyze and problematize the large socioeconomic and environmental hidden costs that the European Green Deal has on Nordic ruralities. We, for instance, are interested in exploring whether such sustainable transition can truly bring about social and environmental justice in the form of fair and equitable inclusion for the most marginalized groups in improving their wellbeing or whether it relies on low income, un-skilled, immigrant workers and women of color who do the industrial – as well as the reproductive work and suffer from social and economic marginalization. Moreover, we question how an effective just transition going beyond the greening of energy policies but addressing elements of socio-environmental justice and the prioritization of care and labor wellbeing could look like in practice. Additionally, we welcome contributions examining whether the policies and actions taken by the greening mining, steel, and automobile sector strengthen or weaken social reproductive systems focused on welfare and sustainable working life in the context of the current climate crisis. 

Coordinators:
Martina Angela Caretta, Lund University
Madeleine Eriksson, Umeå University

2.4 Micro-level actions and consequences related to green transitions in rural areas

The context for this working group is the multitude of envisaged transitions into more comprehensive climate- and environment-friendly solutions (i.e., green transitions), involving both rural areas in general and the agricultural sector particularly. A main example in this regard is the worldwide efforts to mitigate climate changes, which interfere with all societal levels, including local societies and industries. There is often broad consensus on the need for green and sustainable transitions – whether it concerns climate change or other considerable nature-related challenges – and brave goals are agreed upon and set. Despite that such goals usually are followed by a range of suggested measures and certain policies, the changes needed have shown hard to realise in practice. In many cases, desired changes depend upon the steps taken (or not taken) and decisions made by micro-level actors, such as farmers or consumers/citizens. Thus, how to stimulate the establishment and diffusion of certain sustainability-promoting actions is a major challenge. Further, the promotion of green transitions may also bring about various consequences with both positive and negative local-level impacts.

In this working group we invite papers that study both (conditions for) microlevel actions and micro-level consequences related to the green transitions in rural areas, and how relevant policies and desired actions work in the real world. Studies focusing on climate mitigation, prevention of biodiversity loss, or overcoming other environmental problems are all of interest. Examples of relevant target groups are consumers/citizens, households/families, farmers, and other rural entrepreneurs. The papers may focus on enablers and barriers – drivers and non-drivers relevant to the implementation of favourable changes. Structures, processes, access to knowledge, networks, and motivations are examples on potential key issues in this regard, and the efforts of creating desired changes may be initiated by authorities or other institutions, and at different levels (national/regional/local level).

Coordinator:
Maja Farstad, Ruralis

2.5 Food security and preparedness of the Nordic region in times of the war in Europe

Recent events have put food security and preparedness for potential violent conflict or disaster back on the global agenda. Although the Nordic countries are relatively independent and secure (even more after joining NATO), the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised the possibility of border incursion for the first time since the Cold War. Moreover, the war in Ukraine has demonstrated the systemic fragility of the globalized industrial food system, which is characterized by concentration and narrow specialization in agricultural production, dependence on international trade of food, fuel and fertilizers, and extreme reliance on just a few staples for most human diets. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and the rise of populist movements opposing globalization are all contributing to a growing sense of uncertainty and requiring national (and international) governments to rethink their food security policies.

This working group welcomes papers that contribute to understanding food security and preparedness of different Nordic countries and regions to major shocks and destructions. We aim to assess the resilience of existing food systems and discuss sustainable solutions to improve food security and preparedness of the region. In particular, we seek to:

• Understand the current state of food security and preparedness in the Nordic countries. We want to discuss the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine on the global agrifood system, and how it impacts (directly and indirectly) the food security in the Nordics.
• Learn from Ukraine's experience in ensuring food security for its population during Russia's full-scale invasion of the country. We will discuss and evaluate the effectiveness of emergency measures and policies implemented by the Ukrainian government, as well as the war adaptation strategies of Ukrainian food producers.
• Discuss which type of agrifood system is more resilient to major shocks and disturbances.We will discuss the three possible scenarios for increasing food security and preparednessin the Nordics: (a) localization of food systems and increased food self-sufficiency, (c) concentration and consolidation of agricultural producers according to the logic of “big is strong”, or (b) further integration into global markets and expanding cooperation between the Nordic countries.

Coordinators:
Natalia Mamonova, Ruralis
Katrina Rønningen, Ruarlis

2.6 Open group theme 2: Sustainable use of natural resources  

This group is open for papers that does not fit any of the accepted working groups, but still relate to theme 2. The organizers will then create suitable sessions corresponding to the paper’s contribution. After the sessions have been constructed, the participants will be put in contact with each other to organize the specifics of the session.

3. Rural economy and entrepreneurship

The rural economy is usually related to traditional industries and sectors, such as agriculture, forestry, recreation, and tourism. Innovations are very often incremental or organizational within the same lines, carried out by the same entrepreneurs; or entrepreneurship is seen as a black box. Nevertheless, can changing landscapes also make way for new rural economies and entrepreneurship? Can new industries and new modes of entrepreneurship operate and revalorize local resources and be important and keys to growth within rural economic and cultural life? There is a need to explore such new industries and modes of entrepreneurship in more detail and see how they can contribute to the advancement of the rural economy. The role of the third sector, for example, as a producer of certain services has been emphasized in rural policy. But what is its fundamental role in rural development? What about NGOs, which may be large actors in rural areas and rural development? Entrepreneurship could also be ’community entrepreneurship’, where the community is considered the main actor rather than a contextual element.

3.1 Working the fields and forests – labor relations in (and out of) place

Questions about labor are central for how we imagine and work towards sustainability transitions: how are work processes changing, who does what work, with what machines, tools and skills, under what social, ecological and economic conditions, and with what consequences for sustainability? In this Working Group we want to address questions about the ways in which labor in fields and forests is organized and shaped by visions for sustainable production and its relations to different technologies, capital investments, property rights, policy and regulations, place identity and companion species. We want to discuss the relations between labor and these other aspects in light of ongoing processes of structural change, e.g., towards larger production units employing capital and other inputs more intensively at the same time that alternative forms, often more labor intensive and based on agroecological principles, are present and emerging. While there are structural differences between the agriculture and forestry sectors, we believe that it is important and fruitful to facilitate a dialogue with a focus on labor and sustainability across these sectors (and across countries).

A key focus is how production and employment goals are balanced with goals for decent and inclusive work opportunities, and with goals for environmental sustainability, rural life opportunities, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. What processes and patterns of labor segmentation are emerging? How are land-based production and work changing with new digital and automated technologies? How are new competences and human manual labor recruited? What sustainability visions are guiding workers, managers, land owners in their forward-looking life-work choices? How do embodied and emotional experiences of daily work and relations to locality and place matter for such choices? What are the experiences of different social groups such as young people, women and migrant workers? How do these change the meaning of farmwork and shape images of a good farmer? In short, we are interested in learning and sharing insights about how labor relations may in different ways catalyze or hamper change towards more sustainable forms of production (economically, socially and environmentally). 

Coordinators:
Brian Kuns, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Lowe Börjeson, Stockholm University
Ida Säfström, Stockholm University
Qian Zhang, Stockholm University

3.2 Local communities as main actors in rural change

In the context, of a with-drawing welfare state and a disengaging market many local communities in rural areas mobilise around development issues and securing of basic services. It is now more common to engage in keeping e.g. the grocery store and school alive but also many other examples of initiatives which aim to secure more fundamental and basic local functions emerge like securing care for the elderly, children and refugees as well as up-to-date dwellings, new businesses and jobs. These initiatives puncture the tale of village death and make ‘local led communty development’ more than just theory. 

Rural research and concepts like social innovation, neo-endogenous development, place-based development, relational rurals etc. point to the importance of local engagement. Also many rural actors and organisations as well as support schemes for rural development give the local communities’ initiative and the bottom-up perspective a central and often crucial role in development.

The question is what preconditions and factors are important for local efforts to succeed in promoting sustainable rural development with the local civil society as the main actor? What happens in areas with no strong local community? And how do the local communities change and transform when taking on these new roles also in the long-term and how are they met by the formal system and society?   

We invite contributions with examples and debate on initiatives testing the roles and boundaries of the local communities trying to take charge of their own development. 

Coordinators:
Lise Herslund, University of Copenhagen
Hanne Tanvig, University of Copenhagen          

3.3 Open group theme 3: Rural economy and entrepreneurship

This group is open for papers that does not fit any of the accepted working groups, but still relate to theme 3. The organizers will then create suitable sessions corresponding to the paper’s contribution. After the sessions have been constructed, the participants will be put in contact with each other to organize the specifics of the session.

4. Policies and politics of the rural

Rural and agricultural politics and policies are increasingly open for new constellations in rural development. This is bringing new kinds of challenges to the fore. What concepts of rurality underpin these different policies? Are urban ideals and rural realities at variance in the policy formation? What are the new issues and edges emerging in rural policy formation and policy? How can we prepare for a decrease in subsidies? How are the subsidies for entrepreneurship and industry distributed between rural and urban? What is the meaning of rural areas when thinking about the labour force needed in other areas? What is the meaning of place-based information in rural development and rural policy?

4.1 Accessibility and mobility in rural areas – development of policy

This working group addresses a broad range of aspects dealing with mobility and accessibility in rural areas.

Development of transport technology has increased accessibility across geographical space, which also have impacted on the organisation and management of transport systems. The spatial growth of labour markets has in some countries contributed to changing the governance structure of transport infrastructure. Rural areas may find it difficult to influence investment in infrastructure and implementation of transport policy within its regional administrative border and even more if changes need to be addressed across borders. What happens to peripheral areas that experience improved or reduced accessibility? Investment in infrastructure may impact on the reorientation of areas - to the better for some, but some rural areas may be even more side-lined.

Reliability on the car is often the centre of discussion for rural areas, but part of the rural population doesn’t have access to using a car. Public transport modes have then an essential role in providing mobility opportunities. Also here, technical development provides new opportunities. Mobility as a service also offers improved mobility options - but may be a challenge for part of the rural population. Electric bicycles increase accessibility – but may requiring additional investments to make accessibility safe.

If some aspects have not been specifically addressed in the text, we welcome your contribution to the group – do not hesitate to send it in.

Coordinator:
Désirée Nilsson, Malmö University

4.2 Ecologic and social justice in transitions - alliances in and between peripheralized places

This working group aims at exploring new research ideas and collaborations within the area of just transitions in rural areas and potential alliances between rural and suburban peripheries. We invite researchers interested in issues like neo-colonial representations of rurality and urban norm, fairness in sustainability issues, for example different perspectives of the green transition in northern Sweden, center and periphery, for example potential alliances between rural areas and suburbs in these matters, peri-urban issues, for example transformation of the production landscape to recreational landscapes or small-scale food production and local food nodes. We want to invite participants to exchange and develop ideas for new research applications on these issues, but also to present on-going research and look for synergies. Questions about place, belonging, entrepreneurship and how to establish a just transition to ecologically sustainable futures will be addressed.

Coordinator:
Maria Vallström, Södertörn University

4.3  Access to rural housing in a mobile world – local inequalities and implications for policy

Mobility can be said to be a continuous condition that affects the countryside in many different ways. Mobility is central to shaping of identities as well as place development and formation. The relation between mobilities and access to housing takes many expressions. A strengthened labour market might encourage mobility in terms of in-migration, seasonal migration, second homes or weekly commuting. A weakened labour market might on the other hand lead to out-migration, empty dwellings, a cold market and a weakened social and cultural life. Mobility might alter the conditions for established as well as mobile groups, for example in terms of increased demand and gentrification – or weakened demand and ‘social dumping’. The local expressions of either a surplus of housing or lack of accessible dwellings has its origins in national and global processes. Nevertheless, the need for housing must be solved locally. In this working group we are interested in rural housing and mobilities. We want to bring together theoretical reasoning and empirical observations; initiate a discussion about concepts and policies. What are the implications of an unbalanced housing market in rural areas and what policies and measures may be taken to mitigate imbalances and inequalities? What are the consequences of deficit versus surplus of housing for mobility and social relations? How can rural areas take advantage of mobility and mitigate or reduce the effects of disadvantages?

Coordinators:
Susanna Heldt Cassel, Örebro University
Susanne Stenbacka, Uppsala University

4.4 Local economic sustainability in rural areas: Place-based policies, practises and partnerships

This working group will focus on rural municipalities and communities in the Nordic countries, facing population decline and geographic disadvantage. The working group will examine efforts made in these localities to promote local economic development. Specifically, we will look at the policies that underlie these efforts, the actors involved in policy formulation, and the influence on goal-setting processes. In addition, we will explore whether different patterns of collaboration - between stakeholders, knowledge actors, sectors and levels of government - lead to different understandings of what local economic development can be. Can knowledge exchange with other municipalities, civil society, grassroots movements and universities foster the emergence of new ideas and models for local economic development in rural areas?

The proposed working group addresses critical questions about the challenges and opportunities associated with rural policy formation and implementation, resonating with the broader theme of "Policies and politics of the rural”.

Coordinators:
Josefina Syssner, Linköping University
Emil Sandström, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Matthias Kokorsch, University Centre of the Westfjords
Sara Löwgren, Linköping University

4.5 Open group theme 4: Policies and politics of the rural

This group is open for papers that does not fit any of the accepted working groups, but still relate to theme 4. The organizers will then create suitable sessions corresponding to the paper’s contribution. After the sessions have been constructed, the participants will be put in contact with each other to organize the specifics of the session.