26 September

afternoon

Arrival of the participants, from travelling workshops hosted by Portuguese LAGs and study visits to:

• Aldeia da Terra
• Artistic Inventory of the Archdiocese of Evora in the Municipality of Vendas Novas
• Be Aromatic
• Evora Inn Chiado Design
• FitaPreta Vinhos
• Restaurante Dona Laura

15.00-22.00

Registration

27 September

8.00-9.00

Registration

Conference moderators:

• Pedro Brosei | Advisor to the Portuguese ELARD Presidency
• Rui Batista | Board Member of LAG Terras Dentro, Portugal

9.00-10.30

Welcome and Setting the scene

Speakers:

• Maria João Botelho | President of ELARD and Minha Terra Federation
• Miguel Freitas | Secretary of State of Forestry and Rural Development, Portugal
• Ângelo de Sá | President of LAG Monte, Portugal
• Carlos Pinto de Sá | Mayor of Évora
• Josefine Loriz-Hoffmann | European Commission, Director, DG Agriculture and Rural Development
• Peter Toth | Policy Analist, ENRD Contact Point

Keynote:

• Robert Lukesch | Local Development Expert and European Evaluator

10.30-11.15

Coffee break & visit of the delegations' stands and exhibition area

11.15-13:00

Moderated panel discussion with participants of different countries and LEADER generations reacting on the keynote speech and the challenges provided by the perspectives post 2020

Panelists:

• Yves Champetier | Former director of the European LEADER Observatory
• Josefine Loriz-Hoffmann | European Commission, Director, DG Agriculture and Rural Development
• Hannes Lorenzen | Senior Adviser to the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Parliament
• João Carlos Pinho | Manager of LAG ADRIMAG, Portugal
• Joanna Gierulska | Director of the Rural Development Department of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
• Radim Sršen | Member of ELARD Council, Representative of Czech National Network of LAGs in ELARD

13.00-14.30

Networking Lunch

14.30-16.15

Mini-plenaries (MP)

MP 1: LEADER/CLLD advocacy and the objective of “Europe closer to citizens”

Moderator:

• Kristiina Tammets | Vice-President of ELARD and Manager of LAG Tartu, Estonia

Rapporteur:

• Michael Dower | Rural and Local Development Expert

Panelists:

• Kim Smedslund | Member of ERCA/PREPARE, Joint Coordinator in the European Rural Parliament
• Roman Haken | Member of the European Economic and Social Committee
• Anastasios Perimenis | Manager of LAG Lesvos, Greece
• Marta Marczis | Rural and Local Development Expert, President of AEIDL

MP 2: LEADER/CLLD and the social & environmental challenges in rural areas

Moderator:

• Maria José Murciano |  ELARD Council Member, Coordinator of REDR (Spanish Rural Development Network)

Rapporteur:

• Teresa Pinto Correia | International researcher, Professor of the University of Évora

Panelists:

• Enrique Garcilazo | Head of the Regional and Rural Policy Unit of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SME’s, Regions and Cities of the OECD
• Eamon O'Hara | Coordinator of the ECOLISE Network
• Charlotta Heimersson | Manager of LAG Leader Nedre Dalälven 3, Sweden
• Secundino Caso Roiz | President of REDR (Spanish Rural Development Network)

MP 3: LEADER/CLLD and the “Smart Villages”

Moderator: 

• Kirsten Birke Lund | ELARD Council Member

Rapporteur:

• Anita Selicka | Executive Director of the Latvian Rural Forum

Panelists:

• Paul Soto | Senior Policy Expert of the ENRD Contact Point
• Hartmut Berndt | ELARD Council member, Chairman of BAG LAG (German LEADER Association), Manager of LAG Göttinger Land
• Stefan Niedermoser | Chairman of the LEADER-forum Austria (the Austrian LAG Network), Manager of LAG Pillerseetal-Leukental-Leogang
• György Mudri | Parliamentary Adviser and Assistant to the Member of the European Parliament Tibor Szanyi

MP 4: Evaluation of the Local Development Strategies in a results-oriented programming

Moderator: 

• Marion Eckardt | ELARD Council Member, Manager of LAG Halland, Sweden

Rapporteur:

• Custódia Correia | Coordinator of the Portuguese Rural Development Network Support Unit

Panelists:

• Karolina Jasinska-Muehleck | Horizontal Coordinator for LEADER in DG AGRI, European Commission
• Magda Porta | Rural Development Evaluator
• Urszula Budzich-Tabor | Thematic and Horizontal Coordinator in FARNET Support Unit
• Goran Šoster | Rural Development Expert, Representative of the Slovenian LAG network in ELARD
• Robert Lukesch | Local Development Expert and European Evaluator

16.15-16.45

Coffee break

16:45-18:30

Transnational cooperation: partner search, project ideas, match-making – interactive session

Moderators:

• Kristiina Tammets | Vice-President of ELARD and Manager of LAG Tartu, Estonia
• Marion Eckardt | Vice-President of ELARD and Manager of LAG Halland, Sweden
• Peter Toth | Policy Analist, ENRD Contact Point 

20:00

Networking dinner at M'AR De AR Muralhas Hotel (city centre)

28 September

9.30-11.00

Restitution of the mini-plenaries with analysis by experts – main messages and debate with the participants

MP 1: LEADER/CLLD advocacy and the objective of “Europe closer to citizens”

MP 2: LEADER/CLLD and the social & environmental challenges in rural areas

MP 3: LEADER/CLLD and the “Smart Villages”

MP 4: Evaluation of the Local Development Strategies in a results-oriented programming

Analysis by:

• Joanna Gierulska | Director of the Rural Development Department of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
• Hartmut Berndt | ELARD Council Member, Chairman of BAG LAG (German LEADER Association), Manager of LAG Göttinger Land
• Jean-Michel Courades | former Administrator in the European Commission, DG AGRI

11.00-12.00

Closing session

Panelists:

• Maria João Botelho | President of ELARD and Minha Terra Federation
• Nelson de Souza | Secretary of State of Development And Cohesion, Portugal

Last words:

• Robert Lukesch | Rural Development Expert and European evaluator

12:00

Light Lunch & Departure