Rural areas are the guardians of Europe's cultural diversity and identity. Rural territories play a major role in the European energy, ecological and economic transition. They are the holders of renewable resources, the exploitation of which generates territorial, national and community added value. They are also precursors of the circular economy and short circuits.

For 30 years, the LEADER programme has enabled rural territories to organise themselves around local development strategies co-constructed by local actors. Today, it concerns nearly 339 rural territories involved in the LEADER approach, i.e. nearly 28 million inhabitants.

This conference with participative workshops, aims to highlight the contribution of the LEADER system for rural territories and to discuss the place of rural development within European policies and the Common Agricultural Policy.

This meeting, labelled by the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, will bring together all the actors of the local action groups and numerous European partners and will mark the 30th anniversary of the programme and the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the founding regulations of the Common Agricultural Policy.