Capturing the Bridging moment
Centre for Regional and Tourism Research, Denmark, hereby invites you to participate in the North Atlantic Forum Conference 2009 taking place on the island of Bornholm on September 23-25th. The conference theme, Bridging Regional Divides – New Forms of Rural and Urban Interaction in the North, will particularly focus on the issues of governance and urban-rural partnerships as well as knowledge mobilisation and innovation dynamics in the interplay between urban and rural regions.
Traditionally the urban-rural “division of labour” has entailed a system of mutual exchanges, where cities and metropolitan regions provide access to attractive jobs, higher education, public services, cultural activities, and main infrastructure, while rural areas have supplied agricultural products, provided leisure opportunities and attractive nature experiences. But how valid are these functions and roles today?
In a world increasingly driven by the ‘fourth’ economy - the experience and creative economy - new possibilities are opening up. Rural producers are beginning to offer ‘authentic’ and hand-crafted products and services for an increasingly identity-seeking consumer culture. Furthermore, members of the creative class are relocating to rural areas, establishing new businesses and contributing to novel types of local entrepreneurship.
As a consequence, new forms of innovation and knowledge dynamics are permeating the rural and peripheral landscape. This in turn indicates a reconfiguration of the traditional urban-rural relationship, as expressed in the initiatives by national and regional policy makers alike. Pivotal in this development are issues relating to governance – encompassing policy and decision-making as well as economic and business development – and, not least to the role of higher education, research and competence development.
The NAF 2009 conference will provide an opportunity to engage in presentations, in-depth analyses, discussions and first-hand experiences engaging with these issues and themes, and all in interactions within.