Rural Europe on the move English_chapt1_6 | Page 18

CHAPTER 1
“Good idea,” reasons Marina Guédon, “we have gathered
a remarkable collective intelligence by now of what ’rural
sustainability and resilience’ may include”. Marina was raised
on a French farm and now lives in Valencia on the coast of
Spain. She kept her links to farming and rural life through
her food sovereignty activism, her involvement in consumer
groups in Valencia and her work on a small, collectively
managed garden. Besides being staff in Forum Synergies,
she has also worked on rural projects to attract newcomers
to rural villages, while also training in group facilitation.
Read about Marina’s engagement in civic dialogue in
chapter 4.
“For me the role of young people in rural sustainability
is vital,” says Anita Selicka, opening a map of Latvia.
She is coordinator of the Latvian Rural Forum and also
co-manages the international network PREPARE (Pre-
Accession Partnership for Rural Europe – see chapter 11).
“We have been working on a tourist map for a trip through
rural Latvia, with many stops at projects supported by our
Rural Forum. It was immense work doing interviews and
collecting information, before we could put it all together.
But I love mapping and info-graphs and I believe we have
brought many people together by linking them on a single
map. Meeting people where they live and where they struggle
for a better life is the best place to understand what is
possible beyond our daily routine.”
Read more about rural youth and the Latvian Rural
Forum in chapter 12.
“That is all fine, but please do not forget,” smiles Oliver
Emmes, Forum Synergies’ treasurer, “it’s not all about work.”
He opens a box of Belgian chocolate. “We have always
shared food from across Europe at our European buffet,
every time we met. Food does not need any translation.
It’s the attention and value we give to the diversity of our
food culture and the hospitality that is so important in rural
regions.” Oliver is a civil servant in the European Parliament
and has been a facilitator of Forum Synergies since the
early days of the network. “As I must spend much of my
life in meeting rooms and administrative gatherings of the
10. Marina Guédon
11. Anita Selicka
12. Oliver Emmes
14
European institutions in Brussels, I enjoy getting in close
touch with the reality of people in the countryside, their
problems and solutions.”