News

Taking place under the aegis of PURPLE’s recently elected presidency region, South Moravia, network members will convene in Brno for the third time in the network’s twenty year history. Together with their invited guests, regional representatives at political and officer level will be able to network over an informal dinner on the evening of Wednesday May 22nd.

The event will have a theme: peri-urban forestry, its character, contribution and potential. The South Moravian Region is hugely grateful to the Mendel University for its cooperation and active support in making this event possible, especially with regard to the study visit on Thursday May 23^rd. This day-long outing will enable participants to visit numerous relevant outdoor and indoor sites with inputs from key contributors along the way, the day culminating in a more formal evening dinner to which all attendees are cordially invited and enjoy a menu of region cuisine.

Forestry is a salient theme for our event given growing recognition of the multi-functional value of well-managed woodlands across a range of policy contexts and high profile subject areas such as nature restoration, climate change adaptation & mitigation, biodiversity, and sustainable food systems. Add to that the clear territorial dimension of peri-urban forestry at a time when “place based” is all the rage as part of the debate about cohesion policy 2027+. And we are also at just the point when the Horizon Europe 2025-27 Strategic Plan has appeared with its confirmation of a new Co-funded European Partnership on Forests and Forestry for a Sustainable Future, so topicality is assured.

Friday May 24^th sees peri-urban forestry discussed within its broader policy context when attendees will have the chance to take part in a seminar session looking at the challenges and potentials around developing regional-level climate action plans of different types - with opportunities here for participant contributions. The three days will then conclude with the formal annual meeting of the network as the 38^th General Assembly takes place chaired by our host and president. Restricted to members-only, this final session is a chance for reflection as well as for business planning for the year ahead, it brings to a close what promises to be an intriguing, thought-provoking, and interest-filled event.

The PURPLE network operates as an AISBL (International not-for-profit Association) regulated under Belgian law. The statutes with which we work have recently been updated to reflect new legislative requirements and this has served as an opportunity to add new flexibilities and dimensions to the ways in which we operate.

These revised statutes alongside details of Executive Board mandates have now been published in the Belgian Monitor, giving the green light for the new provisions to be fully implemented.

The full FOODCITYBOOST project partnership met together on line for the first time on 30 January 2024.

That initial half-day meeting is to followed by a full face to face Kick off Meeting lasting two and a half days and to be hosted by the Free University of Amsterdam (VUA) between April3-5.

A summary meeting report willl appear on this website and a fuller verbal update will be included as an agenda item at the next General Assembly in May.

The 38th General Assembly of the PURPLE network will take place in Brno on the 24th May 2024 with a fuller programme of events beginning on Wednesday 22nd May.

Mr Petr Springinsfeld President of PURPLE and Chairman of the Interregional Relations Committee of the South Moravian Region has the pleasure to announce that the Region of South Moravia will be hosting this invitation-only event in the city of Brno on the dates above.

All interested parties are requested to hold these dates in their diaries pending further details as regards the event programme and practical details.

With the new year dawning and PURPLE looking to the future with a new set of statutes  coming into force, so too did the Horizon Europe project FOODCITYBOOST begin its 48 month lifespan.

The project began its journey on January 1st, with 20 partners from 10 countries due to collaborate on exploring the nature and potential of urban and peri-urban agriculture and the interplay between the two as well as upon rural food systems. It is a piece of work within which PURPLE is due to play a key role, as coordinator of a multi-actor stakeholder platform which will serve to help shape future urban agricuture policy and related legal tools.

This website will carry frequent updates on the project, its work and its progress.