From bovine TB to affordable housing – the challenges facing rural Wales will come under the spotlight in a year-long programme of seminars being launched at the Royal Welsh Show this week. (Thurs July 22).
Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones will launch the “Rural Issues Hub” which has been organized by the Church in Wales, in partnership with the Welsh Assembly Government and the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, to address and tackle the needs of today’s rural communities.
All 10 seminars, which will run from October until March 2012, will be held at the Showground and will be open to everyone. Themes include pastoral care, CAP changes, subsidies, markets and shows, rural poverty, housing and health, loneliness and isolation, ministry, climate change and animal disease.
The Hub was based on feedback from the Church’s Rural Life Advisers and clergy who serve in rural parishes. It aims to bring people together to find robust and creative ways to regenerate rural communities. Each seminar will have a speaker and round table discussions.
Revd Canon Robin Morrison, Bishops Adviser on Church and Society, said, “The Rural Life Advisers of the Church in Wales and clerics and parishes working in rural areas are all too aware of the reality of different kinds of disadvantage, despair, frustration and isolation. They also believe that at the heart of the Christian faith is the ever present possibility of resurrection and transformation, even in situations of the greatest vulnerability. It is crucial that the real experiences of ordinary families, particularly in agriculture and related businesses, do not spiral into a sense of negativity and helplessness in the face of coming changes.
“Wales could well play a greater role in finding new ways to regenerate itself and build longer term economic, environmental and social sustainability. The needs, wellbeing and contribution of the smallest communities in rural Wales should be seen as relevant to this wider picture and potential.”
Revd Richard Kirlew, the Church in Wales National Lead on Rural Affairs, said, “We welcome the support of the Trustees of the RWAS and of the Welsh Assembly Government. We believe that the Showground is an ideal centre and focal point for the development of our own rural concerns. Wales is very fortunate in having a world class focal point for rurality which represents the very best of traditional farming culture in Wales and is a focus for future opportunities and development.”
