#G30Rural Proofing Castilla-La Mancha. Monitoring and Impact Assessment

PhD (sociology). Adviser in regulatory impact assessment and inclusion (since 2016) Estonian Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture

Aare Kasemets

My professional lifelong learning began with rural sociology studies and has been focused on the public policy and civil society capacity building in the context of Estonia’s transitional reforms. I am often seen as a mediator between public policy/law design and social science research in Estonia. With over 20 years of experience in public sector, I lead the Estonian Parliament’s research service(1995-2003), advocating for social sciences, evaluating ministerial bills, initiating comparative socio-legal studies, and a parliamentary policy journal. I also served as the Estonian correspondent for the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation. As head of strategy bureau at the Ministry of Environment (2004-08) I oversaw impact assessment, consultation, and green public procurement measures. Since 2008, I’ve worked in academia, serving as vice director of EuroCollege and head of the Better Regulation Program at the University of Tartu (2008-11), and as a researcher at the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences (2011-16), participating in various EU projects. Since 2016, I am the adviser on regulatory impact assessment and inclusion at theMinistry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture. In parallel with my civil service, I completed my PhD studies in 2018, focusing on the preconditions for the knowledge-based policy design and draft legislation. Additionally, I trained officials and NGO leaders on topics ranging from good governance to rural folk culture.

PhD. Estonia, Estonian University of Life Sciences

Anne Põder

I am working as a researcher at the Chair of Rural Economics at Estonian University of Life Sciences. I have a background in sociology and a doctoral degree in agricultural economics. My everyday work involves conducting both quantitative and qualitative research projects related to rural areas and farming, which include topics such as rural entrepreneurship and bioeconomy innovations, socioeconomic assessment in rural development, and farm surveys. I am currently involved in the project Coop4RURALGov doing the analysis on rural proofing policies.

Head Legal Advisor and Project Manager of the Municipality of Bratsigovo, Bulgaria

Atanas Slavov

Mr. Atanas Slavov holds a Master’s degree in Law from the Southwestern University, with more than 6 years of experience in the field of international cooperation, policy development and project management.

He has been working for the Municipality of Bratsigovo since 2019. He has experience in communication, dissemination, awareness raising, training and networking at local and national levels, working with local and regional stakeholders such as representatives of public administrations, NGOs, educational authorities, research institutions and other civil, business and industry organizations.

Why join the G30? The Municipality of Bratsigovo is a typical rural area with all the resulting positive and negative features. Mr. Slavov has already participated in the development of a number of local and regional policies and by-laws and wants to learn new good practices and solutions that can be transferred and applied to the local conditions of the Bulgarian region, especially if they are in the field of sustainable rural development. In addition, Mr. Slavov is responsible for the development of the by-laws with which the Municipality of Bratsigovo operates.

Journalist and scriptwriter linked to rural and sparsely populated areas

Chema López Juderías

Born in Teruel in 1971, he is a journalist and is currently studying for a Master’s Degree in Screenwriting at the Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (ESCAC) in Barcelona. He has worked in different media such as Radio Nacional de España, Cadena SER and Valencia TeVe. In 1998 he joined the staff of Diario de Teruel, and was its director from September 2011 to January 2024. He has also been Head of Press for the Aragonese Radio and Television Corporation (CARTV), and has worked in the communications department of the Government of Aragon and in the Project Development department of Producciones del Barrio.

General Director of Coordination of the Government of Castilla La Mancha

Diana Asín Olano

Zaragoza, General Director of Coordination of the Government of Castilla La Mancha. Graduate in Law and Political Sciences from the Carlos III University of Madrid and in Political Science from the Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University, Paris.Master in International Solidarity Action from the Carlos III University of Madrid.

From October 5, 2023 to the present, General Director of Coordination of the First Vice Presidency of the Presidency of the Community Board of Castilla-La Mancha.

Associate Professor and the Academic Director of the Master of Economic Development and Innovation (MEDI) program in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development at the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada)

Dr. Heather Hall

I grew up in Northern Ontario (Canada) and I have a professional and personal interest in researching issues that are important to rural and Northern communities. I am currently leading a project called Remote Controlled, exploring the impacts of new technologies in the mining sector and the future of work and I am a co-lead with the Marine Biomass Innovation Project. I am a co-author of Planning Canadian Regions, 2nd Edition and I have conducted research on rural proofing in Canada, including a commentary for the Northern Policy Institute entitled, Does Ontario need a Northern Lens? I am a member of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation and the Chair of the Research Advisory Board for the Northern Policy Institute.  I am excited to participate in the G30 to share and learn lessons and insights on rural proofing and rural development.

CREA-Research Centre of Policies and Bioeconomy from Rome, Italy

Francesco Mantino

Francesco Mantino is a senior researcher at the Council for Research in Agricultural and Agricultural Economics-Centre for Policies and Bio-economy. He has long-standing research expertise in the broad field of evaluation of CAP and regional development policies.

He has carried out research projects and evaluation studies funded by several international organisations, including the European Commission (funded by 7th ERFP, Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, ESPON programmes, DG-Agri evaluation unit), OCDE, FAO and IFAD. At the international level, he actively participated in several project missions for policy reviews in European Union countries and extra EU (Armenia, Israel, and Latin American countries). Professional experience is diversified in fields like rural and local development, policy monitoring and evaluation methods, public goods and ecosystem services, renewable energies, support of entrepreneurship and young generation, regeneration of remote and lagging areas, demographic change, etc.

Francesco Mantino’s role as a consultant for a broad range of Italian institutions, including the Ministries for Agricultural and Forestry Policies, Budget and Economic Planning, Cohesion Department, Tourism Department, and many Regional Authorities, demonstrates his practical application of policy design and implementation.

He was an editor of Bio-Based and Applied Economics and is currently a member of the Steering Committee of Eurochoices Journal. He also referees several specialised journals in economic and social sciences (Bio-based and Applied Economics, Agriculture, Land, Sustainability, etc.).

He is the author of many scientific publications, including six books as an editor.

Project manager of Association CSEG (a Bulgarian association of municipalities from South Central Region of Bulgaria)

Georgi Simeonov

Mr. Simeonov has a Master degree on International relations and Accounting, Plovdiv University. In 2010 he passed successfully the advance course on “Solar energy systems and other renewable energies in buildings” of the University of Burgos, Spain.

Mr. Simeonov is the project manager of Association CSEG (a Bulgarian association of municipalities from South Central Region of Bulgaria), having more than 22 years of experience in the field of international collaboration, project management, and policy development. He works for Association CSEG since its establishment in 2010. He has experience in communication, dissemination, awareness raising, training, and networking at local and national level working with local and regional stakeholders like representatives of public administrations, SMEs associations, educational authorities, research institutions, NGOs, and other civil and sectoral organizations.

Why joining G30? Pazardzhik Province comprises 12 municipalities and it is a typical rural region with all the negative features arising of that. Mr. Simeonov already participated in the development of a number of local and regional policies and by-laws, and wants to learn new good practices and solutions which could be transferable and applicable to the local conditions of the Bulgarian region, especially if these are in the area of sustainable rural development.

SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College), United Kingdom

Jane Atterton

I am a Senior Lecturer at SRUC, working on issues relating to rural and island community change, the characteristics, performance and challenges of rural and island businesses, and rural policies and policy-making processes, with a particular interest in rural proofing. My work on rural proofing has explored its implementation across a number of countries internationally, and has focused on drawing out the lessons that can be shared between countries.

I enjoy comparative work across different countries and regions, and enjoy exploring similarities and differences and what can be learned for our own contexts from elsewhere. I look forward to hearing more about the work in Castilla-La Mancha and to meeting everyone involved in #G30!

Professor of Public Economics, University of Oviedo, Spain

Javier Suárez Pandiello

He holds a PhD in Economics and is Professor of Public Economics at the University of Oviedo (Spain), of whose Faculty of Economics he was Dean. In the academic field, he has specialized in Fiscal Federalism and Local Public Finances, topics on which he has published ten books and a hundred articles in academic journals and chapters in collective books. In addition, he has worked and published in the fields of Economics of Education and Economics of Culture. Between April 2008 and 2012, he was Executive Editor of the academic journal Hacienda Pública Española/Review of Public Economics. He has recently been awarded the Alexis de Tocqueville Prize for his research career in municipalist matters by the Ibero-American Union of Municipalists.

In the professional field, he has advised various regional and local governments and the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) on matters of territorial financing, he has been part of several National Commissions constituted to study and carry out proposals for reform of local financing, he is a member of the panel of experts of the Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) of the International Monetary Fund, and has provided his services as a consultant to the IDB and the World Bank, participating in missions in Mexico (WB), Guatemala (IDB), Bolivia (IMF) and El Salvador (IMF).

He is currently president of the Ibero-American Association of Local Financing (AIFIL) and co-directs the Chair of Municipalism at the University of Oviedo.

He has also published three books of poetry edited by KRK ediciones, entitled respectively «De ausencias y eternidades» (with photographs by Marián García Valiñas), «Cómo ruinar la siesta a un parado impatient» and «F(r)ases lunares», the last two with illustrations by Elena Suárez Vega.

Rural Delivery Policy team leader, Scottish Government, United Kingdom

Kate Anderson

Kate Anderson joined the Civil Service in 2014, initially as a social researcher, before moving into policy. She has held roles in Justice, Health and Communities, before taking up her current post as Team Leader in the Rural Delivery Policy Team. The work of the team is currently focused on preparing a Rural Delivery Plan for mainland Scotland, setting out how all parts of the Scottish Government are delivering for Scotland’s rural mainland communities. She is looking forward to learning and sharing experience and good practice with other group members.

PhD, researcher, Åbo Akademi University, Regional Science, Finland

Kenneth Nordberg

Kenneth Nordberg is a Researcher in Regional Science  at Åbo Akademi University inVasa, Finland. His research interests include the study, local development processes and citizen participation in public governance, as well as regional and rural development processes more broadly, including innovation systems. A special interest has also been sustainable development and environmental governance.

MA in Literary Studies. Communications Manager of the Association of Municipalities of Tartu County, Estonia

Kristi Joesaar

Although I am from the city of Tartu in Estonia, my life is also connected to the rural community, as have a summer house in Peipsiääre Municipality, Tartu County. I have also worked as a Public Relations Specialist in the local government of Peipsiääre Municipality, I’m also volunteering in the local community.

From 2000 to 2019, my professional career was primarily at the University of Tartu, where I held various middle-management positions, gaining experience in strategic management and change management.

Since 2020, I have shifted my focus to community engagement and local involvement.

In 2022, I began working as a Public Relations Specialist for Peipsiääre Municipality, and in 2023, I assumed the role of Communications Manager for the Association of Municipalities of Tartu County. The organization represents eight local municipalities in Tartu County — seven rural municipalities and Tartu City. The mission of the Association is to contribute to the county’s development, foster cooperation between local governments, and serve as a competent leader and mediator on county-wide issues, while also partnering in long-term strategic planning within the county.

Our organization is also a partner in the Interreg Europe program project “Coop4RuralGov.” Participation in project workshops has underscored the critical importance of integrating regional impact assessments, known as «Rural Proofing,» into routine decision-making processes. However, achieving this goal presents several challenges at both the local and national levels.

Since policies are often designed with urban issues in mind, Rural Proofing is frequently perceived as an additional bureaucratic hurdle, rather than a powerful tool for fostering equitable development. Engaging diverse rural stakeholders, including marginalized communities, also presents a significant challenge. As a result, local voices are often insufficiently represented in decision-making processes, creating a disconnect between policy intentions and practical outcomes.

The opportunity to learn from the experiences of partner countries in addressing these challenges is invaluable. This project provides a platform for collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and the development of new approaches to ensure that rural communities are not only included but empowered in policy development and implementation.

CEO of Hub Planning (Donegal, Ireland)

Maria Hall

Maria Hall is the CEO of Hub Planning, a firm specialising in policy, strategic planning, and socio-economic analysis via their platform, DataHub. This tool provides data-driven insights into rural disparities, such as limited broadband access and healthcare services, highlighting the necessity for focused policy interventions. Her extensive consultation experience further informs her understanding of the unique needs of various rural communities.

Maria’s commitment to the G30 committee on rural proofing stems from her dedication to advocating for equitable policies that place rural communities at the forefront of policy-making. Her goal is to drive sustainable rural development and bridge the urban-rural divide by ensuring these communities are actively involved in crafting the policies that impact them.

University of Vigo, Spain (Campus Ourense, Faculty of Education and Social Work)

María Isabel Doval Ruiz

Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Vigo, Spain, where I currently serve as Vice Dean for Research and Innovation. Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Educational Sciences and a PhD in Psychopedagogy. I previously served as Vice-Rector for Internationalization, Social Responsibility, and Cooperation at the University of Vigo and as Deputy Director General of Universities for the regional government of the Xunta de Galicia (Spain). As an academic and researcher with extensive experience in rural innovation and development, I am committed to advancing sustainable and inclusive rural policies. I lead or participate in various projects, such as GRANULAR and the recently approved STORCITO (both Horizon-Communities), C2 Agenda 2030 Local, and Firepoctep I & II (all Interreg-POCTEP projects). I am also the head of RIO International Observatory of Rural Research. These initiatives focus on empowering rural communities through data-driven strategies, participatory governance, and sustainable development, addressing challenges such as climate resilience, social inclusion, and capacity building in rural areas. My work is grounded in a multi-stakeholder approach and participatory research methodologies with local communities, ensuring inclusive and collaborative solutions.

A strong believer in the importance of Science for Policy, I see research as a critical tool for informing evidence-based decision-making and driving meaningful change in rural areas. Participating in the G30 Rural Proofing represents an invaluable opportunity to contribute my expertise to designing innovative methodologies for public policy impact assessment and to collaborate with international experts. I am particularly motivated to exchange best practices, improve existing rural proofing mechanisms, and support their alignment with European rural development goals, leveraging collective intelligence, social innovation, and cooperation to drive transformative change.

SpainNAB - impact investments- CEO, Fundación Civio Board member, Instituto Santa Lucia Advisory Board Member and Univesity professor

Mercedes Valcárcel

She worked as Triodos Bank SAAT Board member, Fundación Generation Spain and Fundación Tomillo’s CEO and European Commission experts’ groups (social entrepreneurship, gender and social innovation).Additionally to a previous wide professional career (Deloitte, Banks and venture capital) she has supported Cives Mundi and collaborate with Fundación Daniel y Nina Carasso,Ashoka España venture board and SpainSif Board.

Experience corporate and non-profit Board member (NED) (with Dutch National Bank approval), and with wide experience in sustainability (ESG), audit, compliance and financial issues.C-level executive in international banking/financial and energy companies and vocational training entities and charities being in charge of economical and operational management and coordinating digital and organizational transformation processes.

University Professor in Law and Finance with research on Impact investments and sustainable finance, social impact assessment, social business and entrepreneurship, social innovation and corporate social responsibility.

Named one of the European Top 100 women in social enterprise in 2021 and of the 100 most influential women in Spain in 2019 and 2017.

PhD in Economics – PhD Extraordinary Award. Bachelors in Law and in Business Administration and Official Chartered Accountant. IESE and Harvard post graduate programs on management and social leadership and in ESADE and Deloitte on Board of Directors.

She loves classical music, playing tennis and home brewing (Mertxe is her beer’s brand).

Development Director, Regional Council of Lapland, Finland

Päivi Ekdahl

A Development director, she has theoverall responsibility on programme-based regional development and financing in Lapland. She is responsible for the use of ERDF and JTF in Lapland as an intermediate body. She is in charge of the Lapland S3, interested in development of synergies between funding instruments and participates actively to discussions related to the future of cohesion policy.

Her daily work is international, she is actively participating to national and international networks such as CPMR, Northern SparcelyPopulated Areas (NSPA)and NorthCalotte. She is also a member of BSR Directors’ network and the DG Regio’s European Community of Practice on Partnership (ECOPP-EC).

Ms Ekdahl holds Master of Education, pedagogical qualification and Vocational examination on management. She has also taken studies on leadership at the University of Lapland. She is the first deputy county governor of the Lapland region.

Lapland is considered as a rural region, due to the vast geography and very sparce population. We have strong assets, such as rich natural resources, high-level RDI and developing economy, but we suffer from the lack of workforce, low investment level and unsuffiency of public services. Our interest to participate to G30 derives from our willingness to widen our networks, learn good practices from others and spread our experiences to other rural regions.

CEO& founder of Hexagonal (Foundation, Laboratory and Consultancy) focused on systemic innovation and cultural change

Raúl Oliván Cortés

My life is a circular journey from protest to proposal. Twenty-four years ago, I led student demonstrations in Teruel to demand a future for Spain’s depopulated areas. Over the years, I have dedicated myself to studying, researching, and experimenting to design and foster innovation ecosystems (Zaragoza Activa, LAAAB, Frena la Curva… and now Hexagonal), creating collaborative networks at the intersection of the public, private, and social spheres. These networks break siloed work structures and build trust, connection, and community—all to prove that innovation can leave no one behind and that a “Right to the Future” can be constructed.

I was asked to apply this hexagonal innovation model, based on six vectors (opening, blending, streamlining, experimenting, collaborating, and digitizing), to the Territorial Innovation Centers of MITECO (Government of Spain). I presented a provocative hypothesis: the future of depopulated territories depends on our ability to induce a new kind of relational density that thrives in the apparent void. For all these reasons, it will be an honor to contribute my ideas to the G30.

Senior Policy Analyst at the Austrian Institute for Regional Studies (ÖIR GmbH) in Vienna, Austria

Roland Gaugitsch

I am a landscape planner/spatial planner by training, having studied at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna. I am currently working as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Austrian Institute for Regional Studies (ÖIR GmbH) in Vienna. In my current role, territorial analysis and in particular Territorial Impact Assessment (TIA) are core aspects of my work. As such, my team and I have contributed to recent methodological developments in the field of TIA and explored the potential of TIA for rural proofing in the context of the EU Better Regulation Guidelines, studies and assessments for the European Committee of the Regions, the European Commission, ESPON as well as for national governments. In this context, I have experienced great interest in our methodologies and approaches from stakeholders and policy makers at many levels, but at the same time I have also experienced how difficult it can be to take up assessment results and integrate Rural Proofing and TIA approaches into mainstream policy making practices. I am highly motivated to contribute my experience to the project and to see the practical uptake of what has been developed!

European Association for Innovation in Local Development (EAIDL), Belgium

Serafín Pazos-Vidal

I am Serafín Pazos-Vidal, a senior expert in rural and territorial development, currently working with the European Association for Innovation in Local Development (AEIDL), an European NGO based in Brussels. With a PhD in European Union studies, I have extensive experience in multilevel governance, EU Cohesion Policy, rural development, and comparative decentralization processes.I have extensively published academic research on topics such as subsidiarity, local democracy,  regionalism, rural proofing and depopulation.

Over the years, I have held various significant roles, including being the Head of the Brussels Office of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities for 15 years. I have also represented the East of England region and my native Galicia in Brussels.  In AEIDL I manage a team of six experts in EU policy and communication where I lead 10 Horizon research projects on rural and urban development and agriculture.

I am also a member of the G100, I was one of the coordinators that developed the first methodology on rural proofing in Spain, which eventually was included in the first Spanish law on evaluation of national public policies. Similarly, I have contributed to the developed of EU guidelines on this issue, including via my participation in the GRANULAR Horizon project.

Analyst and Policy Adviser at Spatial Foresight, Luxembourg

Silke Haarich

Dr. Silke N. Haarich is analyst and policy adviser at Spatial Foresight since 2012. She studied Spatial Planning (Dortmund, Germany) and Economics (University of the Basque Country/Bilbao, Spain). She specialises in strategy design and evaluation of development programmes, especially in the field of cohesion policy, regional development, and innovation. She has worked in the evaluation of EU Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund programmes ever since 1994-1999. Silke is an expert in the design and analysis of multi-stakeholder networks and governance processes/structures in territorial development, such as regional innovation, rural development, transnational and cross-border cooperation. Silke spent a long time in Bilbao, Spain, and worked many years in policy consultancy in Spain and different European countries as well as in different Latin-American countries.

I am delighted to participate in the G30 Rural Proofing CLM project. I closely follow the challenges for territorial development in Spain and especially the efforts of Castilla-La Mancha against depopulation and for alternatives in rural development. I am happy to bring in my knowledge and expertise on the development, monitoring and improvement of territorial governance systems.

Coordinator of the #G30Rural Proofing Castilla-La Mancha. Monitoring and impact assessment.

Ana Gómez Garcés

Sociologist specializing in International Development Cooperation and currently working on projects related to new forms of governance, impact measurement and the use of data. I have dedicated almost my entire professional career to international cooperation at the NGDO Cives Mundi and to the design, writing and management of social innovation projects focused on sparsely populated areas (Interreg Europe SOCENT SPAs and SIJMA projects). I am currently coordinating the Interreg Europe Coop4RURALGov project, Cooperation for Better Governance Focused on Sparsely Populated Rural, Coastal and Mountain Areas, with the aim of improving governance capacities for co-design and making regional impact assessment, Rural Proofing, a routine part of the decision-making process of civil servants and of policies, programmes and initiatives approved by legislative bodies in sparsely populated rural, coastal and mountain areas of Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland and Spain. Feminist and addicted to film and history podcasts.

Galway County Council

Bernie Donellan

OECD. Senior Policy Analyst, Regional and Rural Policy

Betty-Ann Bryce

Betty-Ann Bryce is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in the Centre for Entrepreneurship, Regions, and Cities in the Regional and Rural Unit. She joined the OECD from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), where she served as a Special Advisor for Rural Affairs. She was detailed to ONDCP from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture where she held different roles including Senior Policy Advisor, Rural Health Liaison, and Financial Investment Specialist in the Rural Development Agency. Betty-Ann is a licensed Attorney with a MPA in Economic and Territorial Development from The Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences-Po) in France, and a MPA in Economic and Political Development from Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) in the United States.

Senior Research Fellow Countryside and Community Research Institute University of Gloucestershire

Bryonny Goodwin-Hawkins

Bryonny Goodwin-Hawkins is an interdisciplinary researcher working towards inclusive futures for rural people and places. Her work investigates how historic and contemporary policies and practices help (or hinder) thriving regions, and experiments with new models to re-enable those ‘left behind’. Bryonny joined the CCRI in 2020 as Senior Research Fellow in the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE).

At WISERD, Bryonny worked as part of two major projects funded by the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme – IMAJINE and ROBUST, which work across 13 and 11 countries respectively. Through IMAJINE, Bryonny works to develop new policy responses to territorial inequalities. Through ROBUST, she works in partnership with the Welsh Local Government Association, focussing on public infrastructure, sustainable food, and rural culture. As one of the few social anthropologists working in Wales, she brings ethnographic perspectives to real-world problems. Her research can take her from villages, to town halls, to government offices, to Brussels.

Bryonny joined the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, in 2018, after previous appointments at the University of Melbourne, where her doctoral research won the Australian Anthropological Society’s Best Thesis Award. Bryonny has published her work from academic journals to The Independent. She has been a speaker at the European Week of Regions and Cities and for the National Trust’s SHEDtalks, and was one of the thirty emerging research leaders selected by the 2019 Welsh Crucible.

MSc. Rural Development & Planning. B.A. First Nations Indigenous Studies & Political Science.

Danika Hammond

Danika Hammond, from New Denver, British Columbia, Canada, works remotely as a Rural Policy Analyst for the BC Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation, within the Regional and Rural Development Unit. Danika has specialized expertise in defining "rural" and integrating rural considerations into government grant funding programs.

She completed her thesis, Advancing Rural Economic Development in Small and Remote Communities: A Convergent Mixed Methods Study of Provincial Programming in BC, as part of the University of Guelph's MSc in Rural Development and Planning program, under the supervision of Dr. Ryan Gibson and Dr. Sarah Breen. Before pursuing this research, Hammond attended the University of British Columbia as a Loran Scholar, where she studied Political Science and Indigenous Studies.

Danika is looking forward to participating in the G30 to learn from other rural proofing practices, particularly developing and evaluating these initiatives. She brings lived, academic and policy experience to this group. 

Cofundador y Coordinador de la Asociación Rural Move (Portugal)

Joao Almeida

João Almeida es un constructor y activador de ecosistemas, impulsando el espíritu de emprendimento tanto en la teoría como en la práctica. Actualmente es becario de doctorado en la Unidad de Investigación en Gobernanza, Competitividad y Políticas Públicas (GOVCOPP) – Universidad de Aveiro, donde investiga sobre ecosistemas de emprendimiento en territorios rurales. También es profesor invitado en la Universidad de Maia, donde enseña Emprendimiento. Por fin, es Cofundador y Coordinador de la Asociación Rural Move – un movimiento plataforma para apoyar y dinamizar las comunidades rurales y a aquellos que quieren vivir, trabajar e invertir en ellas.

Coordinator of the Demographic Challenge Commission for the Castilla-La Mancha region

Maria Teresa Valera Cortinas

Maria Teresa Valera Cortinas. Coordinator of the Demographic Challenge Commission for the Castilla-La Mancha region.

I was born and studied in a small city (Cuenca) and I am currently the Coordinator of the office of the Demographic Challenge Commissioner of Castilla-La Mancha.

I have been an active part of the team that has carried out all the regulatory development on depopulation that has been carried out in Castilla-La Mancha and I want to offer my experience in this aspect.

As additional information, I’m a councilor in a very small town in the province of Cuenca of 22 inhabitants.

Coordinator of the #G30Rural Proofing Castilla-La Mancha. Monitoring and impact assessment.

Miguel Martínez Tomey

Degree in Geography and History (University of Zaragoza). Master's Degree in European Communities from the Royal Institute of European Studies in Zaragoza. Postgraduate studies in International Relations at the United States International University in San Diego (on a Fulbright Commission scholarship from the US Congress). He has worked professionally as a lobbyist, representing interests to international public and private decision-makers in areas such as consumer protection and the protection of small savers, representing the Government of Aragon in the EU, supporting the foreign activities of companies, trans-European transport networks, persistent organic pollutants and, very especially, the introduction of policies to combat rural depopulation in the EU. He is a member of the Centre for the Study of Depopulation and Rural Development (CEDDAR) and a collaborator of the SSPA network.

Rural Move, Portugal

Andrea Barbosa

I currently work in the field of consulting, specifically in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda in companies within the tourism sector. I am a researcher on topics related to tourism, the development of low-density territories, and diaspora entrepreneurship. I am also part of the management team at Rural Move.