Rural parliaments are forums for discussion and debate, often established to give voice to rural populations of the country, to influence policy and practice and to develop networks between those in rural areas. They have been established in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and will soon be established in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

List of rural parliaments

* Landsbygdsriksdag (Eng: ''Swedish Rural Parliament''; literally ''Countryside Parliament'')), organised by Hela Sverige ska leva (HSSL; Eng: ''Swedish Village Action Movement''; literally: ''All Sweden Shall Live''), Sweden, established 1989 * Landsbygdsriksdag, Finland, established 1990 * Maapäev (Eng: '' Rural Parliament of Estonian Villages''), established 1996, organised by Kodukant( literally, ''Home Area''), Estonia, established 1997 * Vidék Parlementje (Eng: ''Hungarian Rural Parliament''), Hungary, established 1998 * Vidiecky Parlament (VIPA), Slovakia, established 2000 informally, 2001 formal

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

* PlattelandsParlement, the Netherlands, established 2005 * Slovenski podeželski parliament, Slovenia, established 2011 * Parlamentul Rural din România (Eng: '' Romanian Rural Parliament ''), established 2014 informally

Scotland

In March 2012

Rural Affairs Secretary , insignia = , image = Official portrait of rural affairs secretary Mairi Gourgeon.jpg , incumbent = Mairi Gougeon , incumbentsince = 20 May 2021 , style = Cabinet Secretary (within parliament) Rural Affairs Secretary (informal) Scottish ...

Richard Lochhead Richard Neilson Lochhead (born 24 May 1969) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who is Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work and has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Moray since 2006. He was previou ...

announced that the Scottish Government was moving ahead with its plans for a Scottish rural parliament, as outlined in Programme for Scotland 2011–2012. The inaugural Scottish Rural Parliament was held from 6–8 November 2014, in Oban, Argyll & Bute. An independent organization, Scottish Rural Action, was formed to take forward the proposals. Directors include the chair, John Hutchison of Community Land Scotland, who is a Community Advocate based in the West Highlands. He also chairs the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust and is former Chairman of the John Muir Trust. The themes or topics for the Rural Parliament will be decided by people who live and work in rural Scotland using a survey.

References

External links

Official website of the Swedish Rural Parliament

Official website of the Swedish Village Action Movement

Official website of the PlattelandsParlement

Official website of the Vidiecky parlament

Official website of Slovenski podeželski parlament

Official website of the Scottish Rural Parliament
Rural community development Rural culture Politics of the European Union {{EU-stub

List of rural parliaments

Scotland

References

Further reading

External links