Landmark ‘Future Countryside’ conference aims to put people at the heart of countryside policy
Landmark ‘Future Countryside’ conference aims to put people at the heart of countryside policy
A landmark conference focusing on ‘putting people at the heart of countryside policy’ is set to take place Tuesday 6 June with Ministers, opposition politicians, farmers and experts on nature due to speak.
The inaugural ‘Future Countryside’ conference, taking place on Tuesday 6 June 2023 at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, aims to include rural communities as part of the solution to improving the natural environment, addressing climate change, improving our public health, housing people, and tackling food and energy security.
The day-long conference, which will see representatives from an array of rural affiliate and urban organisations come together in an industry first, will bridge divides between experts and advocates in different fields, as a place for shared discussion.
Future Countryside, powered by The Countryside Alliance Foundation (TCAF), is billed as a ‘different’ way of approaching and responding to a range of countryside issues in people’s lives, as the UK gears up for the next general election.
Speakers at the invitation only event include Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Labour’s shadow Environment Minister Daniel Zeichner MP, Leon co-founder and author of the National Food Strategy Henry Dimbleby, Heather Hancock Chair of the Prince's Countryside Fund, former Government Minister and diplomat Rory Stewart and organic farmer Jonty Brunyee.
Three delegate discussions will also take place, with the conference floor invited to offer solutions to pressing questions facing the countryside. These include: ‘How do we make the countryside a bigger and better contributor to the nation’s health and happiness?’ chaired by Sarah Mukherjee, CEO IEMA; ‘What has to change so the countryside can thrive economically and environmentally?’, chaired by Dr Julia Aglionby, Executive Director of the Foundation for Common Land and Chair of the Uplands Alliance and ‘What would make the countryside a better place to live in, work in, invest in and to enjoy?’, chaired by Dame Fiona Reynolds, former Director General of the National Trust.
Speaking ahead of the conference, Nick Herbert, Chairman of the Countryside Alliance and co-organiser of the event, said: “Future Countryside will be an advocate for a positive, forward-looking rural Britain, making the best of the change to come while building on the traditions and natural beauty we have inherited.”
“The choices we make now will shape our country, and its health, for centuries to come. Future Countryside 2023 is a step towards that.”
Julian Glover, Chair of the Government’s Landscapes Review and co-organiser of the event said: “We must make a positive decision to make the countryside a central and useful element in national life. We need a way to look up and look forward together, which is why, working with others I have been helping organise Future Countryside.
“There’s no shortage of competing good ideas out there. What’s lacking is a place to join them together to answer that question: what is the countryside for. That is what Future Countryside sets out to do ”, he added.