Home

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.