Annex IV. Report on the activities of the working party and future focus 1990-1994
by
Dr. Gertraud Pichler
Chairperson of the Working Party
Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Austria
INTRODUCTION
The FAO Working Party on Women and the Agricultural Family in Rural Development is emphasizing its programme on the direct response expressing the needs of the individual countries in Europe, either at its Sessions or at the International Summer Schools or Workshops organized by the Working Party.
Rural Development has to be seen as the process:
- which provides for sustainable, economic and social progress for community members through
- their active participation in exploring and developing local and outside resources in order to capitalize on opportunities for their self - development and hence their social, economic and cultural wellbeing.
The programme of the Working Party focuses on economic development of rural communities through wealth creation and employment. It encompasses extension service and training and a global management approach to rural development through:
* Competitive agriculture and diversification;
* Entrepreneurship culture for the development of small business and pluriactivities such as Agri-Tourism, Rural-Tourism, Handicraft businesses;
* Community Building and Leadership Development and Training;
* Village Revitalization;
* Project Development.
The overall objective of the programme is to help all Member Countries who ask for FAO support, particularly those most affected by the changes in agricultural policy and those in transition to a free market economy.
Affected by those changes are rural families and especially women and young people. The specific activities of the Working Party within the REUR-Rural Development Programmes focus on the socio-economic aspects with particular emphasis on the integration of Women in Rural Development, family well-being and improving the quality of life.
The following activities of the Working Party on Women and the Agricultural Family in Rural Development contributed to this development.
PLAN OF ACTION BETWEEN 1990 AND 1994
1990 |
1. 5th SESSION OF THE WORKING PARTY ON WOMEN AND THE AGRICULTURAL FAMILY IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(Prague, 2-5 October 1990)
Theme: "Socio-Economic Factors in Rural Development - Implication for Women"
Participants:
Delegates from 16 Member Countries as well as observers from intergovernmental and non governmental organizations attended the Session.
It clearly emerged from this Session that women and families can play an important role in entrepreneurial development because the family represents a natural unit for group entrepreneurship. Trends towards a service-oriented economy have now opened up new opportunities for women in employment, such factors have been taken into consideration in the development of REUR projects.
The main recommendations were:
* Extension Service should expand beyond the agricultural sector to support the economic development of the community;
* Women should be trained in entrepreneurship and in project development;
* An European Rural Tourism Network should be established;
* Future international workshops (Summer Schools) should focus on:
- Training in Entrepreneurship
- Training in Leadership and Community Building
- Future activities of the Working Party should look at women's involvement in community and regional development.
1991 |
2. 2nd SESSION OF THE BOARD OF THE WORKING PARTY (Budapest, Hungary, 11-12 April 1991)
The Board discussed the modalities of the implementation of the programme of activities approved by the Fifth session of the Working Party and agreed that the Fourth International Summer School would be held in Finland in September 1991, with issues relating to rural development through entrepreneurship and village renewal as the main subjects. The Board also agreed that the main theme for the Sixth session of the Working Party would be "Partnership and Networking in Rural Development", and discussed the possibilities of establishing a rural/agri tourism network. It agreed that a meeting of resource persons from appropriate national institutions involved in agri tourism should be held in the near future to provide focus for future development and define the scope for further action to be undertaken by the Working Party.
3. 4th INTERNATIONAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT SUMMER SCHOOL (Mikkeli, Finland, 16-20 September 1991)
Theme: "Rural Development through Entrepreneurship and Village Renewal"
Participants:
35 participants from thirteen European countries.
Purpose and Objectives:
* To develop rural areas through Entrepreneurship by understanding the total process involved i.e.
- A management approach
- Entrepreneurial culture
- Start-up procedure
- Institution building
* To define the role of the trainer/facilitator in the entrepreneurial development process
* To develop techniques for village renewal by understanding
- changes in rural areas
- environment and countryside
- structure of population and housing areas
- social relationship and local culture
* To develop village renewal activities through research, advice and training
The 4th International Rural Development Summer School was very successful and well appreciated by the participants. An excellent Study Tour was provided by the Mikkeli Institute, University of Helsinki.
1992 |
4. 5th INTERNATIONAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT SUMMER SCHOOL (Svarstad, Norway, 15-19 June 1992)
Theme: "Peoples' Participation in the Development of Rural Areas through Community Building"
Participants:
29 participants from 12 European countries.
Purpose and Objectives:
The overall objective was:
* To provide the participants with tools to develop meaningful action in order to bring about the desired change with rural communities and in rural areas.
The training objectives was:
* To enable participants to improve their management abilities, problem-solving skills and human relations skills in order to develop:
- individuals, groups
- leadership capacity
- entrepreneurial potential
- rural communities and rural areas
5. 6th SESSION OF THE WORKING PARTY ON WOMEN AND THE AGRICULTURAL FAMILY IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(Innsbruck, Austria, 13-16 October 1992)
Theme: "The Role of Partnership and Networking in Rural Development- How can Women be involved".
Participants:
The Session was attended by delegates from 15 Member Countries as well as observers from two non-European Member Countries (Iran and USA) and from non-governmental organizations. The Session was also attended by a representative from the UN Economic Commission for Europe.
The theme was developed through three main topics:
(1) Partnership Networking and Institution Building as Factors for Rural Development
(2) Project Development and Management Process in Rural Areas
(3) Rural Development through the Creative Thinking Process
Lectures, workshops and plenary discussion dealed with the content.
The main lines of this Session were as follows:
· It was considered that a new approach based on local citizen-driven comprehensive planning programme should be applied.
· Communities should make a realistic evaluation of their situations and goals and define actions that can be taken locally to address the disparity between the two.
· A variety of partnerships should be established to support local and regional development.
· The Session highlighted the role of women as partners and decision makers in community development programmes and emphasized the needs for further adjustments in training and education activities for women and rural families.
· More attention should be paid to management training and development training and development of entrepreneurial skills.
· More specific networks and subject-specific working groups within the overall rural development should be provided such as "Rural Farm Tourism Networking".
It was recommended that
· The Working Party establish a special working group to "Analyse the Socio-Economic Situation of Rural Women in Economies in Transition".
· A strong recommendation was made that governments and policy makers give priority attention to the role of young people, women and the family in future rural development policies and programmes.
· At the Session it was also recommended that the title of the Working Party be changed to "Working Party on Women and the Family in Rural Development".
6. INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON "RURAL/AGRI TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN EUROPE"
(Rinn/Innsbruck, Austria, 2-4 December 1992)
Participants:
36 participants from 18 European countries, as well as observers from non-governmental organizations.
Purpose and Objectives:
To promote the development of Rural/Agri Tourism in context with:
· sustainable agriculture and rural development
· its contribution to economies in transition
· providing quality products for the customer
· providing FAO with relevant facts on these issues
· developing a Networking System for Rural/Agri Tourism
The Workshop was a big success, providing important inputs, exchange of experiences and developing future aspects. The participants expressed their wishes for the continuation of such Workshops on Rural Tourism Development in Europe.
The delegate from Israel announced that such a Workshop would be organized in Israel in 1994 or 1995.
1993 |
7. PROJECT OF THE FAO WORKING PARTY
Title of the Project:
"THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION AND STATUS OF RURAL WOMEN IN SELECTED CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES."
Meeting of the Technical Project Team (Vienna, 8-9 March 1993)
The Project Team developed the outline of the project to the theme "Analysis of the Socio-Economic Situation and Status of Rural Women in selected Central and Eastern European Countries."
Purpose of the Project:
To provide a basis for the development of regional programmes in order to improve the social and economic wellbeing of rural women and families, ensure that women are accorded equal rights and opportunities and ensure the utilisation of their potential contribution in society. This purpose is in line with the FAO's Plan of Action for the Integration of Women in Development.
The overall/strategic objective of the project was defined as:
To provide gender analysed baseline data for agricultural development policies and programme formulation at national levels which would:
· guide project development
· support rural community initiatives and NGO's
· enable the full participation of women in the social and economic development process
· enable access by women to Institutional Structures Policy, formulation and development facilities, education and training and employment opportunities.
The operational objective for the situational analysis was determined as follows:
· To obtain and analyse the appropriate data on the social and economic situation of rural women and families in the selected countries and to present country profiles to the next Working Party Session
· To provide motivation for policy makers at national, regional and local levels in order to ensure the improvement of the socio-economic situation of women through their involvement in action oriented projects
At the 3rd Meeting of the Board of the Working Party (Madrid, June 1993) it was agreed to invite 12 countries from Central and Eastern Europe, to participate in this project
· The research and processing of the relevant data were entrusted to the Mikkeli Research and Training Institute of the Helsinki University
· In January 1994 a Workshop for the focal points was organized in Nitra, Slovak Republic
· In February 1994 the final questionnaire was sent out to governments and focal points of the selected countries
· A progress report will be given at the 7th Session of the Working Party, October 1994, Athens, Greece.
8. 3rd SESSION OF THE BOARD OF THE WORKING PARTY
(Madrid, Spain, 28-30 June 1993)
The Meeting dealt with the medium-term plan of the Working Party. Some important activities had been agreed and the content of the activities finalized:
· Project on "The Socio-Economic Situation and Status on Rural Women in Selected Central and Eastern European Countries"
· 6th International Rural Development Summer School "Management and Implementation of Rural Development Projects", 6-10 September 1993, Slovenia
· 7th Session of the Working Party, October 1994, Greece, "The Family as the Basic Socio-Economic Unit in Rural Development - Future Focus", 18-21 October 1994, Athens, Greece
9. 6th INTERNATIONAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT SUMMER SCHOOL
(Bled, Slovenia, 6-10 September 1993)
Theme: "Management and Implementation of Rural Development Projects"
Participants:
26 participants from 18 European countries attended the Summer School
Overall Objective:
Participants should develop and manage meaningful projects and train others in the skills of project management.
This technology was introduced with the Methodology of GMA. With the support of NOV'NA Studio for Rural Development, Slovenia, it was again a successful workshop. Participants could also learn from the experiences of other countries (country reports) as well as through the study tour. This International Summer School was opened by the Minister for Agriculture and Forestry of Slovenia.
1994 |
10. WORKSHOP ON THE PROJECT "THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION AND STATUS OF RURAL WOMEN IN SELECTED CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES "
(Nitra, Slovakia, 17-19 January 1994)
Purpose:
Training for project participants (focal points) on the collection and documentation of the relevant socio-economic information on the status of rural women in the participating countries.
Objective:
· To understand the purpose of the analyses task
· To learn the process of information collection and documentation
Participants:
Delegations (focal-points from 9 Central and Eastern European countries)
During this workshop the questionnaire as the basic instrument for collecting relevant data had been finalized.
11 Eastern and Central European countries will be involved in this project. The questionnaire should be completed by May 1994.
At the 7th Session of the Working Party in Greece, the broad outcome of the research project will presented by Dr. Pirjo Siiskonen, Mikkeli Institute, Finland. The final document of the Research Project shall be completed by 1995.
11. 7th INTERNATIONAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT SUMMER SCHOOL
(Herrsching, Germany, 8-14 September 1994)
Theme: "TRAINING OF RURAL WOMEN IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT"
Participants:
Extension agents/trainers/leaders involved in projects relating to Rural Women in Development
Objective:
The purpose of the Workshop is to enable participants to provide training/advice and facilitation in entrepreneurship and in small business initiation and advancement for rural women.
The content of the Summer School related to:
· Entrepreneurship as an Economic Force in Rural Development
· Understanding the Process of Entrepreneurial Development
· Entrepreneurial Group Development - Opportunities for Women
· Developing of Small Business through Entrepreneurial Projects - Opportunities for Women
· Development of Creativity - a Key Entrepreneurial Element
The theoretical inputs will be supported by a practical related study tour in Bavaria (Bayern).
12. 7th SESSION OF THE WORKING PARTY ON WOMEN AND THE AGRICULTURAL FAMILY IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(Athens, Greece, 18-21 October 1994)
Theme: "THE FAMILY AS THE BASIC SOCIO-ECONOMIC UNIT IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT- FUTURE FOCUS"
The main theme will be developed through the following main topics:
(1) The Family as the Basic Socio-Economic Unit in Rural Development - Future Requirements and Trends
(2) The Family in Sustainable Development in Rural Areas - Possibilities of Improving their Socio and Economic Situations
(3) New Opportunities for Women (NOW EC Programmes)
(4) A Focus on Youth in Rural Development - Future possibilities and options
(5) Research Programme on Rural Women and Youth
(6) Nutrition as a factor in Family well being
FUTURE ACTIVITIES OF THE WORKING PARTY ON WOMEN AND THE AGRICULTURAL FAMILY IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT
1. 1995
Continuation and Finalization of the FAO Project "The Socio-Economic Situation and Status of Rural Women in Selected Central and Eastern European Countries".
2. 1995, April, Israel
Joint FAO/ECA - UN/ECE Symposium on Rural Tourism
3. 1995
FAO Workshop - Analysis of the findings and results of the project "The Socio-Economic Situation and Status of Rural Women in Selected Central and Eastern European Countries." Development of relevant projects and training aspects.
