Scottish Rural Parliament - Aberdeenshire Event

Scottish Rural Parliament - Aberdeenshire Event

This is an open invitation for people in Aberdeenshire to find out more about Rural Parliaments and to contribute to the discussions that will take place at the first Scottish Rural Parliament in Oban, from 6th to 8th November 2014. That gathering will bring together 400 decision-makers, organisations and people from rural communities across Scotland. For more information see www.scottishruralparliament.org.uk

The Rural Parliament will produce a shared vision for rural Scotland with identified actions to be taken at community, regional, national and EU level, whilst celebrating the strengths and achievements of rural communities. In the run up to the event in Oban there will be regional meetings across rural Scotland giving people theopportunity to find out more about the Rural Parliament and put forward views and opinions on some of the key challenges in their area.

The Aberdeenshire event is being coordinated by the Aberdeenshire Rural Partnerships Federation and will be held on Monday 29th September from 7 – 9pm, with refreshments from 6.30pm. The venue will be Kemnay Village Hall, 8 Aquithie Road, Kemnay, AB51 5SS. To book your place, contact Anne Simpson on 01467 628801 or email .

Unlike most Parliaments, a Rural Parliament is a bottom-up process of discussion and debate which anyone can participate in, rather than people being elected to represent other people’s views.

The Scottish Rural Parliament will enable discussion and debate around six key themes, which have been identified from wide consultation:

§  Rural businesses and employment

§  Land use, planning and land reform

§  Transport infrastructure

§  Protecting our natural assets and adapting to environmental changes

§  Broadband and connectivity

§  Support for communities to lead with confidence

This is your opportunity to contribute to the debate and reflect the impact of these issues in Aberdeenshire. There may be other issues of importance to your community that are not reflected in this list, and there will be the chance to raise these too.

For more information about the Scottish Rural Parliament, see the attached information sheet and the FAQ page on their website www.scottishruralparliament.org.uk