International Conference “Living territories for a sustainable development”

An International Science Conference on “Living Territories for a Sustainable Development” took place in Montpellier (France) from 22 to 24 January 2018. The event was organized by CIRAD in liaison with INRA, IRD, AgroParisTech, IAMM and Agropolis International. Other collaborating institutions of the Conference organization have been Agropolis Fondation, AFD, CGIAR CRP “Policies, Institutions and Markets”, GFAR, GIZ, NEPAD, RIMISP, UNDP, with the support from the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the French Ministry of Agriculture.
With science as the core entry point, the Conference has also given particular attention to policies, human and institutional capacity, financing and local action/innovation.
Following the belief that there won’t be peace nor prosperity, including in the urban world, without living and flourishing rural communities, the Conference has showcased the importance of rural territories and of their interactions with urban areas to the achievement of SDGs, both locally and globally. Think and act locally in regard to act globally to the benefit of sustainable development is a political project: it aims to reduce social and economic inequalities, including generational and gender-related disparities, and to address environment concerns. The Conference has also set the scene for a shared agenda for research and action.
Three specific objectives were identified, namely:
I. To highlight new scientific knowledge on territorial approaches to rural development, including urban-rural relationships.
II. To showcase successful territorial innovations and projects including organisational and institutional reforms
III. To analyse and question the conditions of success for territorial development, especially within the context of the implementation of the SDGs