With the topic "Crises and the futures of rural areas" the 29th Congress of the European Society for Rural Sociology took place from 3-7 July 2023 in Rennes, France. The IfLS was present with a presentation of the project results of the DigiBel project as well as in a working group on transdisciplinary research.
In a total of 32 working groups with a broad spectrum of topics ranging from mobility, demography, art and culture and gender relations to agroecology, working conditions in agriculture, transitions and bioeconomy, scientists from all over Europe and other parts of the world came together to discuss the crises and future of rural regions.
In the working group "Smart rurality: Critically exploring the link between rural smartification and regional inequalities", participants discussed the role of digitalisation of medical care in rural areas, apps for revitalising village communities and critical perspectives on the concept of smartification and an urban bias, as well as the project results of DigiBel. The IfLS thus contributed to the debate on smart rurality from the perspective of digitalisation in processes of rural regional development.
The experiences with transdisciplinary work at the IfLS were carried over into the working group "Transdisciplinary practices to drive transitions to resilient and sustainable food and farming systems to accompany the exit of political crises?" Here, about 50 participants discussed a variety of examples of transdisciplinary research.
The next ESRS Congress will take place in 2025 in Riga, Latvia.
Contact person at the IfLS: Carla Wember (wember[at]ifls.de)
