Keynote Speakers
Prof. Dr. Mary Cawley
mary.cawley@universityofgalway.ie
CV
Prof. Dr Mary Cawley is Adjunct-Professor in the Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit and Senior Lecturer Emerita in Geography, University of Galway, Ireland. She is a graduate of the National University of Ireland and the University of London and has been a senior Fulbright Scholar in the USA. Her research relates to change and development in agriculture, population and tourism and is published in international journals and edited books. Mary has been a member of several EU Framework research projects and coordinated projects funded by the Irish government. She is a former committee member of the IGU Commission on the Sustainability of Rural Systems and received the Geographical Society of Ireland Lifetime Contribution award in 2017. Current research on marine tourism with Professor Stephen Hynes and Dr. John Deely, funded by the Irish Marine Institute, informs the ideas in the conference paper.
Afiliação: University of Galway, Ireland
Conference Title: Reinventing rural space through community based tourism
Abstract
Community based tourism (CBT) serves as a method of capturing value from local resources for residents. It has a particular contribution to make in geographically peripheral, scenic, remote upland and coastal locations where the traditional economy is underdeveloped or undergoing restructuring. Such areas are often rich in cultural, built and natural heritage resources that are in decline or have fallen into disuse following a decline in traditional economic activities and population. CBT offers a method of repurposing these resources in innovative ways to the benefit of the local community, given the appropriate local and external support structures. These innovative uses should contribute to holistic sustainability locally instead of posing threats to people, environment, culture and, potentially, economy. This paper addresses the concept of reusing the heritage resources available in rural space in innovative ways in order to contribute to sustainability by discussing the roles of seven forms of capital, human, built, cultural, natural, financial, political and social capital, identified by Cornelia and Jan Flora (2004) in the context of community development. The paper discusses forms of capital in rural repurposing and illustrates their operation with reference to research conducted in Valentia Island in southwest Ireland where cultural, industrial and natural resources have become the basis for new visitor attractions.
Flora, C.B. & Flora, J.L. (2004, 2nd ed.). Rural communities: legacy and change. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Professor Michael Woods
zzp@aber.ac.uk
Michael Woods is Professor of Human Geography at Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK, and Director of the Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnership (Cymru Wledig LPIP Rural Wales). Over three decades he has researched changing rural communities around the world, with special interests in globalization and the ‘global countryside’ (ERC Advanced Grant ‘GLOBAL-RURAL’), rural politics and protest, and rural-urban dynamics (ROBUST project). In addition to Cymru Wledig LPIP Rural Wales, which aims to strengthen evidence for rural policy-making and find innovative solutions to challenges, he is currently leading the ERC/UKFRGS Advanced Grant ‘Rural Discontent, Spatial Justice and Disruptive Politics’ (Rural-Spatial-Justice) and exploring ideas of planetary rural geographies. He is former editor of the Journal of Rural Studies and author of the textbooks Rural Geography (2005, Sage) and Rural (2010, Routledge).
Affiliation: Aberystwyth University, UK
Conference Title:
Rural Spatial Justice and Planetary Rural Geographies: From Critique to Practice.
Abstract
This is a talk about the place of the rural in a changing world, questions of justice, and the role of the rural geographer. It brings together two sets of ideas that I have been considering. First, the call by Chi-Mao Wang, Damian Maye and myself for ‘planetary rural geographies’: conceived not only as a push-back against planetary urbanisation but as a pluralist approach that embraces the more-than-human, more-than-terrestrial, and more-than-western in emphasizing the centrality of the rural in planetary crises as a space of crisis, a space of conflict and a space of hope. Enacting planetary rural geographies raises questions of justice, around rural identity, privilege, dispossession and sacrifice. Thus, second, I turn to spatial justice as a multi-dimensional framework that can help to navigate politics of inequality and resentment, rights to the rural and rights to difference. A concern with spatial justice can amplify voices of rural people who consider themselves to be marginalised. Yet, there are traps as rural discontent has been exploited by populist and far-right actors and can articulate versions of rurality that are exclusionary and obstructive to planetary action. Accordingly, I argue that the role of the rural geographer is neither simply to observe the rural, nor to uncritically represent rural people, but as a mediator and facilitator using spatial justice as a normative tool to work with communities through co-production and participation in crafting a fairer future that reimagines rural identities embedded in planetary responsibilities.
Prof. Dr. José Domingo Sánchez Martínez
jdsanche@ujaen.es
CV
Professor of Regional Geographic Analysis at the University of Jaén, head of the Research Group on Territory and Society Studies. He is a member of the University Institute for Research on Olive Groves and Olive Oils (INUO) and the Caja Rural AOVES Chair in Jaén. His work focuses on analysing the complexities that characterise rural areas and the challenges they face, interpreting the interaction between the ecological environment and human groups on different spatial and temporal scales, and analysing the effects of spatial connections and the role of public policy. From this perspective, he addresses aspects such as the dynamics of forest areas and protected areas, Mediterranean olive groves in their territorial and heritage dimension, as well as the demographic challenges of lagging areas.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4428-4186
https://investigacion.ujaen.es/investigadores/191601/detalle
Affiliation: Universidad de Jaén, España
Conference title:
Restoring the health of agricultural soils as a priority for the sustainability of rural areas: what the European Union’s strategy tells us.
Abstract
In the context of a new generation of European public policies, soil health has become a central concern in the sustainability of agricultural practices. Based on a solid regulatory framework and new approaches to knowledge creation and transfer, as well as the promotion of innovation in rural areas, we will analyse this paradigm shift using the example of the possibilities offered by woody crops to reverse the serious processes of erosion, pollution, loss of organic matter and biodiversity that have resulted from the productivism of recent decades. Similarly, through the use of a geographic information system, we will highlight the capabilities that currently exist to locate and quantify in detail key aspects of this process of overexploitation, such as characteristics, productive potential and soil loss, as well as the effect of introducing incentives to reverse erosion. In all this, it is also crucial to consider the incentives provided by the Common Agricultural Policy, in line with environmental and climate objectives, with established instruments (such as cross-compliance or support for organic production) or more innovative ones, such as eco-schemes and support for crops that present production difficulties but also have great potential from an ecological and territorial point of view.
Prof. Dr. Hossein Azadi
hossein.azadi@ugent.be
CV
Prof. Dr. Hossein Azadi obtained his first PhD in agricultural economics and the second in human geography. He is currently a professor at Ghent University in Belgium. He has published about 500 journal articles with +14000 citations and h-index of 61 underscoring him as top 3% global scientist ranked by AD Scientific index. His main focus is on land governance, agroecology and the impacts of climate change on small-scale farmers. He is a member of the editorial boards in Land Use Policy, Land Degradation & Development, Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, and Climatic Change. He also serves as a research project evaluator for several international councils and organizations.
Affiliation: Ghent University in Belgium
Conference Title:
The Clash over Land: From Land Conflict to Land Dialogue
Abstract
Land conflicts—often rooted in historical injustices, unequal power relations, and weak tenure systems—continue to shape patterns of displacement, insecurity, and social unrest. Drawing on theoretical reflections and empirical insights from international land deals, the study conceptualizes land dialogue as a participatory governance mechanism that bridges state authority, customary systems, civil society, and market actors. By engaging stakeholders in transparent, accountable, and trust-building processes, land dialogue can strengthen tenure security, reduce institutional fragility, and promote equitable access to resources. It shifts the focus from governmental top-down control to participatory governance, where multiple actors co-create solutions and co-manage land systems. Including some examples from the global South, the study argues that the journey from land conflict to land dialogue should be considered not only as a shift in policy and practice but also a paradigm changes in how societies negotiate rights, responsibilities, and resilience.