Record Participation at the Italian GAL Forum Leader 2024

The organization of the Italian GAL Forum, the annual meeting of over 200 Italian Local Action Groups operating in rural areas, is in full swing. The Forum Leader 2024 edition is experiencing record numbers in terms of organizational aspects and national coordination by the Steering Committee, managed by GAL Colline Salernitane with its director Eligio Troisi. At the close of the first organizational phase, which included the application of Workshops (focus groups) and the establishment of partnerships, already 108 Italian GALs have joined, achieving a level of participation and enthusiasm never reached in the previous four editions. The fifth edition, taking place in Giffoni Valle Piana from October 16 to 19, builds on the activities of the workshops - which will be working in the coming months - and will focus on crucial themes for the future of rural and mountain areas: opportunities offered by artificial intelligence, challenges of local development, strategies for territorial integration, youth empowerment, the pedagogy of affection as a territorial action, and innovation in living. Significant achievements already reached include institutional and operational collaborations (in addition to the National Rural Network of Crea Masaf) with the Giffoni Film Festival and Giffoni Innovation Hub, the University of Federico II, Department of Agriculture of Portici, University of Salerno, Department of Engineering Laboratory of urban, territorial, and environmental planning and technique, University of Palermo, and in the finalization phase University of Benevento and University of Aldo Moro in Bari, as well as the National Institute of Urban Planning, the National Table of River Contracts, and the Southern Apennines Observatory, equally significant are the collaboration agreements being defined with the Campania Region Department of Agriculture, National Union of Chambers of Commerce, and Banca Campania Centro. 'I am very grateful to the National Steering Committee which, unanimously, at the assembly held on November 26, 2023, in Venice, deemed to entrust me with the organizational responsibility of the V edition, a testament to the reputation and consideration that GAL Colline Salernitane has earned over these years of commitment on the national scene - Eligio Troisi emphasizes - reasonably, with the first significant results, we can consider the trust granted well placed and the mandate acquired honored so far, the number of GALs that have already joined and the articulated participation of the academic world, confirm that we are building a memorable event. The territory of the Picentini, the Campania Region, and the GALs of Campania, will surely seize this great opportunity and contribute to the organization of the event, also as a testimony of the important efforts made in recent years by the department, in favor of local development and rural territories.'