- Seminar on "25 years after LEADER: Balance and perspectives for the next 25 years" (28, 29 and 30 April 2017). The aim of this seminar was to draw lessons from the LEADER Community Initiative (LEADER1, LEADER2, LEADER + and the mainstream of the LEADER methodology to date) not only for the rural development policies in the future but also as a source of inspiration for a more participatory and collaborative European policy from the local level to rebuild citizens' confidence in Europe and face the challenges of the current context and the next 25 years. Key participants at the European level were: LEADER's father, Michel Laine, former European Commissioner Dacian Ciolos, former directors, deputy director and main experts of the LEADER European Observatory 2, presidents or former - Presidents of the international networks linked to the mainstreaming of LEADER (PREPARE Network, Forum Synergy, ...) as well as LEADER leaders at national level in Portugal. This seminar led to the creation of the "CARMEN Group" composed of seminar participants, with a concrete proposal of European public policies, internationally disseminated.
- Brainstorming seminar on analysis of the present and challenges of the future (25 to 31 August 2017), carried out in partnership with the French group "from generation to generations" and several Portuguese partners. It led to the constitution of the Transnational Transnational Group 2018.
Each international seminar has been prepared with several preparatory meetings prior to the seminar, held in C.A.R.M.E.N. Center and followed by working meetings at the C.A.R.M.E.N. for the writing of the conclusions and organization of the follow-up..
b) National seminars and meetings
- Regional and national meeting of local partnerships between producers and consumers, on 7 March 2015, bringing together diverse experiences from the region and the country (Cabazes da Horta de Odemira, Rede Cooperar, Rede Prove, with the participation of the Higher Institute of Agronomy of Lisbon and the Federation My Earth). The objective of this meeting promoted by C.A.R.M.E.N. was to exchange initiatives, to devise new ways of promoting partnerships between producers and consumers, in particular to increase the number and diversity of consumers and opportunities for sale by farmers and to initiate new cooperation initiatives at national level. See conclusions.
- Meeting to launch the National Network of AMAP (Association for the Maintenance of Proximity Agriculture) on March 5 and 6, 2016. After the Meeting of March 7, 2015 at the CARMEN Center, a meeting was held in Porto on December 2 2015 organized by the association Moving Cause with the support of Urgenci International Network. Speaking on behalf of this network, the President of the C.A.R.M.E.N. I proposed the creation of a national network of local partnerships between producers and consumers under the name REDAMAP (National Network of Associations for the Maintenance of Proximity Agriculture) and a launching meeting was organized at C.A.R.M.E.N. on 5 and 6 March 2016, allowing to define the conceptual and methodological bases of the network and a launching calendar. See conclusions
- Seminar to analyze the summaries of citizen proposals collected in the framework of the CO-ACTE project with local elected representatives on March 23 and 24, 2016. Since the launch of the CO-ACTE project at the international seminar from September 27 to 30, 2015 (see above) ), sessions of collecting proposals from citizens to develop the co-responsibility for the well-being of all were carried out with more than 1000 people in 5 European countries (Portugal, France, Belgium, Italy and Greece). The synthesis of these proposals was developed and then finalized after a meeting with the Scientific Committee / TOGETHER Alliances Committee. This seminar held at CARMEN was the first to discuss this synthesis with elected representatives. Several municipal councilors participated in this seminar, accompanied by Prof. José Manuel Henriques from the TOGETHER Scientific Committee / Alliances Committee. The seminar allowed to validate the synthesis and define a line of work for the continuation of the CO-ACTE project.
- Launching of "Local Development Saturdays". "Local development Saturdays" are national seminars organized at the end of each international seminar to present their conclusions and discuss their applicability in the context of Portugal, and more specifically in a rural region such as Alentejo. They are organized on Saturday, considering that the international seminar lasts for one week and ends on a Saturday, also because Saturday is the most auspicious day of the week to invite people and institutions from the region or at a national level. A first session was organized on April 9, 2016 at the end of the international seminar on methodologies of dialogue and accountability
Back to page 1
