• Rural Digital Europe

Many observers have pointed out that in the western countries the emergence of the new populism has a strong territorial connotation, to the point that the urban-rural and centre-periphery cleavages are returning to the limelight of the analysis. The territorial reading of the phenomenon is probably much more complex, but the hypothesis of this contribution is that even in Italy there is a rural variant of the new populism. Through the theoretical approach of recognition inequalities, the paper wants to highlight how in the Italian rural areas there is a strong demand for de-stigmatization, which finds in populist rhetoric the ability to collect specific instances of recognition and protection coming from the countryside. The different declinations of the rural dimension of the recognition are explored starting from the analysis of the content of the materials produced as part of the implementation of a public policy dedicated to the development of the most peripheral areas of our country: the National Strategy for Inner Areas.

Abstract The characteristic of the concept “rural areas” is widely different, varying from country to country. Similarly, Uzbek rural areas quite differ from Slovak ones. However, in both countries there is not applied a concrete national typology for the classification of rural areas. Therefore, the main aim of the paper is to identify the differences between the rural areas in Uzbekistan and Slovakia and to classify them using the rural - urban typology based on OECD methodology. In the selected countries the rural areas are mainly identified by the number of population living in the rural local units. According to the results of the classification by using the OECD methodology, in Uzbekistan the significantly rural areas prevail whereas in Slovakia, the intermediate ones dominate. However, there is not a big difference in the share of rural population between predominantly rural areas and intermediate ones in the Slovak Republic. In contrast to Slovakia, the number of rural residents in the intermediate rural areas in Uzbekistan is about three times lower than rural population in predominantly rural areas. There is not a predominantly urban area according to this methodology in Uzbekistan, however in Slovakia, Bratislava is the only region considered as predominantly urban area where only 2.2% of rural population from the total population reside.

Barriers to entry of housing affordability are not only existed in urban but also in rural areas. This condition makes rural households difficult to obtain their own house. However, it is still common for them to ask help from parents, in term of financial support or buy the house for them. The purpose of this paper aimed at understanding the phenomenon of society in the rural area to meet their need for house ownership. This research used the descriptive method, employed 15 participants in the Village of Olak-Alen, District of Selorejo, Regency of Blitar, Indonesia. The results of this research showed that newly formed households find their most significant obstacle to own house is inadequate income. Their low income is majorly caused by lack of financial literacy and insufficient work experience.

In 2020, the SHERPA project contributed to the debate on the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas by presenting the key issues identified by the 20 regional and national SHERPA Multi-Actor Platforms (MAPs), and by the EU-level MAP. The MAPs identified their desired visions for 2040, the enabling factors to achieve those visions, the challenges to overcome and the opportunities to be seized. MAPs implemented a Delphi method, which was comprised of desk research and the use of quantitative data (e.g., development indicators, demography etc.), interviews with key informants, and the design, implementation and analysis of online surveys. The outputs of MAP cycle 1 are MAP Position Papers and one SHERPA Position Paper. This Discussion Paper provides a methodological guidance for the second MAP cycle on how to implement a foresight exercise, which is the second stage of the work on the vision. The objective of the foresight exercise is threefold: (i) testing a methodology for prompting more ambitious reflections on the future of their rural area/community and guiding strategic thinking among stakeholders involved, (ii) developing pathways of change which provide inspiration and a basis for decision-making and (iii) producing a MAP Position Paper that enables further analysis and aggregated policy recommendations by the SHERPA consortium. Results will inform SHERPA’s contribution to the EU LTVRA initiative and will be documented into MAP Position Papers as well as analysed in one single document, the SHERPA Position Paper. It will also continue feeding the debate on the long-term vision for rural areas initiated in September 2019, which will result in a Communication of the European Commission aimed to be published in summer 2021. The document presents the SHERPA approach, and logic of, the foresight exercise. The majority of the document provides the main information needed to prepare for and virtually run the workshops, broken down into five main steps.

The context of global migration has changed dramatically since the beginning of 2020. Both within and between countries there has been a substantial curtailment of movement. As a result of multiple lockdowns, economic activity has severely declined and labor markets have ground to a halt. In mid-2020, the spectre of mass unemployment in industrialized economies loomed on the horizon. For both migrant hosting and origin countries – some are substantially both – this poses a set of complex development challenges. Some speak of a ‘new normal’ emerging, perhaps with less movement, more use of technology and, overall, a reduction in the global transport system that we have become accustomed to using. However, this suggests that there is suppressed demand to move for work elsewhere as well as a change in the nature of labor markets, particularly those that seek to make profits from large wage differentials within and between countries. There is no apparent evidence that this is yet the case; and an eagerness to work abroad, or in cities, remains the norm among the burgeoning youth in many low- and middleincome economies. The wider context of economic shock and changes to social systems, including the widely-reported mass movements of people within – and to some extent between – countries, seem to herald a different global migration order. However, it is worth asking whether this is really going to be the case, as many of the country examples in this short report make plain (note: this report was compiled from information available at an early stage of the pandemic). While the coupling of health risks with migrant movement may establish new levels of control and scrutiny, and to some degree attach new stigmas to migration in some contexts, the economic imperative of labor demand and supply at an international level means challenges will probably be overcome.

In 2020, the SHERPA project contributed to the debate on the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas by presenting the key issues identified by the 20 regional and national SHERPA Multi-Actor Platforms (MAPs), and by the EU-level MAP. The MAPs identified their desired visions for 2040, the enabling factors to achieve those visions, the challenges to overcome and the opportunities to be seized. MAPs implemented a Delphi method, which was comprised of desk research and the use of quantitative data (e.g., development indicators, demography etc.), interviews with key informants, and the design, implementation and analysis of online surveys. The outputs of MAP cycle 1 are MAP Position Papers and one SHERPA Position Paper. This Discussion Paper provides a methodological guidance for the second MAP cycle on how to implement a foresight exercise, which is the second stage of the work on the vision. The objective of the foresight exercise is threefold: (i) testing a methodology for prompting more ambitious reflections on the future of their rural area/community and guiding strategic thinking among stakeholders involved, (ii) developing pathways of change which provide inspiration and a basis for decision-making and (iii) producing a MAP Position Paper that enables further analysis and aggregated policy recommendations by the SHERPA consortium. Results will inform SHERPA’s contribution to the EU LTVRA initiative and will be documented into MAP Position Papers as well as analysed in one single document, the SHERPA Position Paper. It will also continue feeding the debate on the long-term vision for rural areas initiated in September 2019, which will result in a Communication of the European Commission aimed to be published in summer 2021. The document presents the SHERPA approach, and logic of, the foresight exercise. The majority of the document provides the main information needed to prepare for and virtually run the workshops, broken down into five main steps.