-21 Febrero 2025- Seminario La agenda de investigación rural en una sociedad posglobal – El seminario organizado por el proyecto RURAL ACCESS y la Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (España) promueve un debate sobre las dinámicas y temas que configuran la agenda actual de los estudios rurales, con la presentación de resultados y la participación de expertas y coordinadoras de redes de investigación. Su objetivo es contrastar perspectivas y estrategias de análisis sobre unas sociedades rurales situadas en el centro de una encrucijada que evidencia tanto su vulnerabilidad como relevancia estratégica respecto a los retos que afronta el mundo postglobal, como el cambio climático, las movilidades o la cohesión socio-territorial.

-30th European Society for Rural Sociology Congress, 7-11 July, Riga (Latvia). Working Group 20. Reframing transitions in rural spaces: Livelihood opportunities and everyday life in Southern Europe – Conveners: Fatmanil Doner (UNED); Elisabete Figueiredo (University of Aveiro and Maria J. Rivera (Public University of Navarre)- Topic: The impact of the economic and financial crisis, pandemic, wars and conflicts, climate change has become a key issue for the understanding of contemporary transformation in European countries. It is expected that the contributions will be based on empirical case studies conducted in different rural spaces of Southern and Mediterranean Europe, exploring the challenges presented by the uncertainties and tensions, as well as resilience, livelihood strategies, and survivable futures.

-6-8 Noviembre 2024 – XIV Congreso Ibero-Latinoamericano de Estudios Rurales (Coimbra, Portugal)

-27-30 August 2024 – 16th European Sociological Association Conference, Porto (Portugal), “Tension, Trust and Transformation”. The Research Network 38 – Space, society and rurality, has been established to promote scientific exchange between social scientist interested in the analysis of transformative rural-urban connections

-9 y 10 de Mayo de 2024 – Jornadas “Modelos de accesibilidad y cohesión socio-territorial” – Instituto de Estudios Sociales Avanzados i-Communitas (Universidad Pública de Navarra – Sala Ada Byron, 9:30 h). Las jornadas analizan los principales modelos de transporte actuales, el tren y el automóvil, como ejes de la cohesión social y territorial y en el contexto actual de transición hacia otros paradigmas de movilidad y unas sociedades cada vez más envejecidas. Con sesiones monográficas para cada uno de estos medios de transporte distintos responsables institucionales, expertos e investigadores presentarán sus visiones, fórmulas innovadoras y resultados en relación con el futuro de estos modelos de accesibilidad.. Las jornadas organizadas por el Instituto de Estudios Sociales Avanzados de la i-Communitas de la Universidad Pública de Navarra y el grupo de Sociología rural, movilidad e investigación social, abordan estas cuestiones buscando contribuir a la necesaria reflexión sobre unos cambios que transformarán nuestras formas de vida a medio plazo. En cuanto sistemas que configuran las conexiones, las velocidades y las distancias estos modelos configuran también el acceso a las oportunidades, los servicios y los recursos. El sistema del automóvil, por ejemplo, garantiza un desplazamiento predecible y rutinario, pero su predominio como modelo privado también ha reforzado ciertas relaciones y geografías discriminatorias. Igual que la planificación del transporte tradicional fue orientada por las necesidades de un ciudadano medio (urbano y masculino) invisibilizando la complejidad sociológica que guardan las necesidades de accesibilidad. 

-15-16 February 2024 – MID-TERM CONFERENCE “Sustainability, places, and social justice: Enabling wellbeing in rural areas across Europe” of the Research Network “Space, Society and Rurality” (European Sociological Association) (Pamplona, Spain). Along with the keynotes by Elisabetta Vitale-Brovarone and Keith Halfacree, some thirty papers were presented at the meeting held at the Public University of Navarra. The papers, referring to a dozen countries, were contrasted in specialized sessions on Migration and social diversity, Agriculture and food system, Care and well-being, Environment and sustainability, Challenges for rural policies, Depopulation and imageries of the rural, Rural youth and mobilities, and Rural youth and mobilities.

–3-7, July 2023 – XXIX European Society for Rural Sociology Congress (Rennes, France). Several researchers from the project team are part of the international panel of convenors of WG 11 – Social and political consequences of spatial inequalities – the rural gap, peripherialisation and left behind rural areas, which has received dozens of contribution to be presented and discussed along the thematic tables. The results of the project are advanced through different presentations by members of the research tema in relation to the issues of accessibility and territorial cohesion, and the impact of the latest crises on strategic social groups for the rural areas (women, young people and immigrants).

-27 de Noviembre-2 de diciembre de 2022 – XI Congreso de la Asociación Latinoamericana de Sociología Rural (ALASRU), Oaxaca (México).

–17-18 October 2022 – Conference “Social Dynamics in the post-Covid age. Inequalities, integration, migration in regional, urban and rural context”, Institute for Sociology – CSS, Budapest (Hungary).

-15-17 June 2022 – Conference “Just Rural Transitions: Opportunities and Challenges”, European Society for Rural Sociology Sattelite event (Chania, Greece).

–21-22, October 2021 – International Seminar Addressing the Rural Gap: Sustainable Mobility and Accessibility. The seminar aims to provide a meeting point for debate and sharing of knowledge, policies, and innovation on the possibilities of addressing socio-territorial cohesion issues through accessibility. In the context of the transition towards a sustainable mobility new policies and regional strategies of non-conventional transport have been developed. These new forms of mobility may be seen as vehicles for transformative rural-urban connections. The conference is a Collaborating Event of the Safe, Sustainable and Connected Mobility Strategy 2030 of the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda.

The first day focuses on research findings with two key speakers. Elisabetta Vitale Brovarone, researcher in spatial planning at Politecnico di Torino, Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning. whose research focuses on mobility, land use–transport interaction, and accessibility, with several international projects such as ESPON URRUC–Urban-Rural Connectivity in Non-Metropolitan Regions, and publications such as Rural Accessibility in European Regions (con Cotella & Staricco, Routledge, 2021). Loukia-Maria Fratsea, researcher at the Department of Geography of the Harokopio University of Athens; member of the Executive Committee of the European Sociological Association, and the Research and the Study Group Southern and Mediterranean Europe (European Society for Rural Sociology), whose research focuses on socio-spatial mobility and rural development with special emphasis on migrants, such as the recent chapter on “Transformative mobilities and urban-rural connections in Greece” (together with Papadoulos, in Figueiredo et al., Routledge, 2020). In addition, the preliminary results of the RURAL ACCESS project will be presented in a round table with the interventions of Luis Camarero, professor of Sociology at the National Distance Education University, member of Research Study Group Southern and Mediterranean Europe (ESRS) and the Scientific Committee of the Ibero-Latin American Congresses of Rural Studies; Vicent Querol, researcher at Jaume I University, coordinator of the Scientific Committee of Rural Sociology of the Spanish Federation of Sociology and member of the Forum Nova Ruralitat; and Jesús Oliva, professor of Sociology at the Public University of Navarre, member of the Research Stream Rural-Urban Transformative Connections (European Sociological Association), and current coordinator of the Research and Study Group Southern and Mediterranean Europe (ESRS).

The second day is devoted to the policies and innovation initiatives with the participation of Berta Miranda Director-General of Transport and Sustainable Mobility of the Government of Navarra, focussing on the strategies for non-conventional rural mobility designed in the region; and Ignacio Santos, Director General of Transport of the Regional Government of Castile-Leon, addressing the transport on demand policy successfully implemented in rural areas. Another round table discussion analyse initiatives on shared mobility, with the interventions of María Medina, member of Sommobilitat, the consumer and user cooperative society created in Catalonia for a sustainable mobility; Patxi Miranda, promoter of Kudea Go!, the digital platform launched from Navarre to promote shared sustainable rural mobility; Xavier Ginés, developer of Mobionrural, the research experiment carried out in Castellon (Valencian Community) to understand rural mobility and improve sustainability options; and Antxon Benito, coordinator of the mobility working group of the Territories and Social Innovation initiative developed by the El Hueco.

– 24 de setembre y 26-27 de noviembre, 2021. V Jornades d’afirmació de la Nova Ruralitat, Fórum de la Nova Ruralitat (Benlloch). El Fòrum de la nova ruralitat som un espai d’anàlisi i estudi alhora que un espai d’acció i reivindicació. El despoblament no és una característica pròpia de la ruralitat. No és un fenomen inherent a la ruralitat. En realitat, és un problema induït per un mal govern del territori. Des del Fòrum considerem imprescindible que es restituïsca una mínima igualtat de condicions, Reconèixer el dret de ciutadania dels territoris rurals és just el contrari de donar-los un tracte de favor. És deixar d’aplicar una discriminació negativa. És restablir un tracte igual on ara és desigual.

-31 August – 3 September,2021. Research Stream 19 – Transformative Rural-Urban Connections, 15th European Sociology Association conference (Barcelona). Coordinators: M. J. Rivera (University of the Basque Country -UPV/EHU-, Spain) and A. G. Papadopoulos (Harokopio University, Greece).  The aim of this RS is, first of all, to focus on the various ways rural and urban areas and populations are connected in transformative relations where ‘the rural’ is continuously reshaped/reconstituted, such as the increasing pro-rural migration, commuting, tourism, transnational migrants, and the consumption of the rural by urban populations (i.e. countryside, production of ‘natural and artisanal’ goods, etc).

-28-30 June, 2021, Sesión Plenaria II: La brecha urbano-rural: movilidades y cohesión territorial, III International Congress – XVII Congress of Agricultural History – IX Encontro Rural Report. Rural Depopulation, Territorial Imbalances and Sustainability (Salamanca). Organizadores: L. Camarero (UNED, Spain), M. Canales (Instituto de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad de O´Higgins UOH, Chile), V. Eudes (UNICAMP, Brasil) y J. Oliva (UPNA, Spain).  La sesión aborda los desequilibrios socio-territoriales entre aquellos lugares donde confluyen las oportunidades y los que permanecen al margen del cambio económico y social, en una brecha urbano-rural ampliada. Una diferenciación que trata de afrontarse frecuentemente mediante la movilidad (migraciones laborales, desplazamientos pendulares, etc.). Estrategias que favorecen la resiliencia en unos contextos de desigualdad social, económica y política.