Join the 2010 Southern Region Rural Convening!
Copies
of all presentations are on the Partners for Rural America Website
The Rural Maryland Council and nearly 110 State Rural Development Council colleagues
throughout USDA's Southern Region convened in Charlotte, North Carolina,
May 11 - 12, 2010 to focus on USDA's key priority areas and critical issues facing the
region, especially Energy, Broadband, Workforce Development and Rural Economic
Development. The goal of the meeting was to address these issues with a local and
regional strategy that (1) promotes the creation of new partnerships and regional
collaboration, (2) enables regions to share "best practices", and (3) focuses on
using regional partnerships to enhance rural program delivery and shape rural
economic development policy.
The purpose of the Southern Region Convening -- which was funded through
a Cooperative Agreement with USDA-Rural Development and the
Partners for Rural America -- was to establish stronger
partnerships with key participants at cross state and regional levels and to
encourage communities to work together at the regional level. The deliverables
are expected to strengthen regional partnership building, to improve regional
collaboration, to enhance rural policy program delivery, and to focus on the
economy in multi-county regional collaboration and strategic planning.
Program Tracks:
- Economic Development - Education & Skills for Job Creation
- Workforce Development - Rethinking Skill Development for Markets
- Energy: Advancing Efficiency, Generation for Fuel Development
- Broadband: Global Opportunities & Rural Lifestyles
Issues to be Addressed:
- How should we work together to set strategic directions?
- How should we define rural regions for the future-locally and nationally?
- How do we build regional networks and communication structures?
- How do we advance rural program and policy coordination across states and across regions?
The program addressed the current rural economy by bringing together the
four topics and describing their relationship and importance to rural development.
The track discussion were directed to set regional development strategies around
the core areas of content planning. Concurrent sessions over the two day convening
engaged discussion by expert presentation, model stories and dialogue to set
the direction for partnership implementation. Innovative leaders at the community,
state and regional level with inspiring stories modeled potential directions
to provide the keys toward potential regional actions.
The convening concluded with established reports from each of the four
working groups advancing proposed priority action steps to advance regional
efforts around follow-up, action steps, conference report out, and communication
Conference Logistics
- Registration fee for the conference was $150 per person.
The conference was held at the
Harris Conference Center in Charlotte.
- The conference hotel was the
Wingate by Wyndham, 6050 Tyvola Glen Circle, Charlotte, NC 28217.
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