Globalization increasingly frames the challenges for regional development in rural Europe.
Globalization increasingly frames the challenges for regional development in rural Europe. As the European Commission has observed, “globalization is seen to touch every walk of life – opening doors, creating opportunities, raising apprehensions”, such that “our response to globalization has moved to the heart of the EU policy agenda” (CEC, 2007).
The DERREG (‘Developing Europe’s Rural Regions in the Era of Globalization’) project aims to produce an interpretative model that will enable researchers and regional development actors to better anticipate and respond to the key challenges posed by globalization for rural regions.
Coordinated by Professor Michael Woods (Aberystwyth University), DERREG is working across 10 case study regions in 8 EU countries selected to illustrate different geographical and socio-economic contexts. Specific aspects of globalization and regional development are being analysed through four empirical work packages: Global engagement and local embeddedness of rural businesses (WP1); International mobility and migration of rural populations (WP2); Environmental capital and sustainable rural development development (WP3); and Capacity building, governance and knowledge systems (WP4).
The Final Conference of the DERREG project took place in Murska Sobota, Slovenia, on 12-13 October 2011. Presentations from the conference are now available to download from the Events page