SECAD Partnership CEO, Ryan Howard, became Ireland’s first keynote speaker at the 6th European Rural Parliament (ERP) — a major international gathering that brought together over 400 delegates from 43 countries to shape the future of Europe’s rural and island communities.
The event took place in Inverurie, Scotland, from 21st–23rd October 2025, and was hailed as a huge success, concluding with the adoption of the Inverurie Declaration — a shared rural policy agenda that will help guide governments and the EU in addressing key challenges facing rural areas.
Keynote address focus: giving rural communities a stronger voice
In his keynote address, Ryan Howard focused on the strength and potential of rural communities and the need to invest in bottom-up development. He highlighted how local development structures play a vital role in supporting volunteer-led groups — helping them to access funding, develop skills, and create projects that respond to local challenges.
“Communities have huge potential to address local issues, but they are under stress and too much is expected of volunteers,” Ryan said. “We need to rethink how we support these groups so they can build resilience and capacity to deal with challenges like climate change, social change, migration and immigration”.
Ryan also called on governments to reduce administrative barriers and provide core funding for local development groups. This, he said, would ensure that volunteers can spend less time on paperwork and more time delivering meaningful community action.
“We need to be removing not adding barriers like the increasing administration involved to access grants. Governments should be providing core funding for local development groups across Europe to provide support staff to reduce this burdens for volunteers, thus allowing community groups to address issues using local solutions, local expertise and a web of local skills. No matter the scale of challenge, there is potential within our communities when supported to deliver bottom up solutions”.
Setting the direction for collaboration and change
Mr Howard’s positive and thought-provoking opening speech opened three days of collaboration, vibrant discussion, and policy development that culminated in the Inverurie Declaration.
This landmark document reflects the collective vision of rural communities across Europe and serves as a framework to influence future rural policies at both national and EU levels.
The Declaration underscores the importance of empowering rural communities, strengthening local democracy, and ensuring that rural voices are at the centre of Europe’s sustainable future. To achieve this, the document includes crucial demands to national and regional authorities, such as the need to systematically apply rural proofing to all policies, embed rural voices at every stage of policy-making, and guarantee accessible, flexible, and transparent long-term funding for communities. Furthermore, it demands that authorities fully commit to the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas and stop the discontinuation of services and negative demographic trends from sparsely populated areas
The Inverurie Declaration is available at the European Rural Parliament website.
European rural parliament: uniting rural Europe for a sustainable future
Established in 2013, the European Rural Parliament is a long-term initiative that gives a stronger voice to rural people across Europe. It encourages action and cooperation between communities, civil society and governments to promote sustainable rural development.
This year’s ERP theme, “Strength from Opportunity: Rural Community Solutions to Global Challenges,” focused on sharing practical approaches to social inclusion, climate adaptation, youth empowerment and local democracy.
For SECAD Partnership, Ryan Howard’s participation reflects the organisation’s continued commitment to empowering communities, supporting local development and championing innovation in rural Ireland and beyond.
