Development Association Sepra as Sub-regional Developer in Finland Hungary, 17th November, 2010 Euroopan maaseudun kehittämisen maatalousrahasto: Eurooppa investoi maaseutualueisiin.

Contents of the presentation 1. The role of LAGs in Finland 2. SEPRA – a LAG in South-Eastern Finland Euroopan maaseudun kehittämisen maatalousrahasto: Eurooppa investoi maaseutualueisiin.

Euroopan maaseudun kehittämisen maatalousrahasto: Eurooppa investoi maaseutualueisiin Where do LAGs stand in the process of Rural Development Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Agency for Rural Affairs Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment Local Action Groups Local ActorsMunicipalities ”Law and order” ”Interpretation of the Law” ”Maintaining order” ”Activating, consultating and informing people independently but within law and order” ”ACTION” ”Co-operation”

Euroopan maaseudun kehittämisen maatalousrahasto: Eurooppa investoi maaseutualueisiin Why is there a need for LAGs in sub-regional level ?  they support the development of the whole region  they cooperate with many local and regional organizations horizontally - not only with those who work on Rural Development  they are the best experts of the needs of their own area and thus able to write successful development programms with local people  they have important background information about local circumstances and actors  LAGs mobilise local people and engage them in developing their area 

Euroopan maaseudun kehittämisen maatalousrahasto: Eurooppa investoi maaseutualueisiin Development Association Sepra  is a registered, non-profit association as are all of Finland’s 55 Leader-LAGs  Sepra operates by the Baltic Sea, close to the Russian border in the area of seven South- Eastern Finnish municipalities Kouvola Loviisa

Euroopan maaseudun kehittämisen maatalousrahasto: Eurooppa investoi maaseutualueisiin How does Sepra implement its Development Programme The implementing work is been done with the help of the  BOARD of 10 members and 10 deputies  THREE THEMEGROUPS with altogether 30 members (Communities, Entrepreneurship, Environment and Youth)  PERSONNEL including manager, project advisor, and project secretary

Euroopan maaseudun kehittämisen maatalousrahasto: Eurooppa investoi maaseutualueisiin How does Sepra involve community into Leader-work? It cannot be done with only the work of personnel  by having board members and deputies from all parts of the area as well as of all the ”interest groups” (public sector, associations/entrepreneurs and local actors)  this ensures that information about Leader and projects reaches people in every corner and every interest group  in activating and informing the Sector Group members are vital – they are Sepra’s ”network of networks”

Euroopan maaseudun kehittämisen maatalousrahasto: Eurooppa investoi maaseutualueisiin. What is the role of the Board…  it has 20 members representing the area equally what comes to their municipality and their interest group  they are elected by local residents once a year and have  a limited stay in the board of max. 4 years … and what do they do?  they activate and spread information to local people  they have meetings in every 4-6 weeks  deal with project applications minimum 4-6 times a year, decide if a project is granted funding or not and how much and attend the projects’ steering groups meetings,

Euroopan maaseudun kehittämisen maatalousrahasto: Eurooppa investoi maaseutualueisiin. Who can join in a Theme Group (TR) and what do they do  Anyone can join a TR, according to their own interest, but people are encouraged to join the group which benefits the most of their experteese and their term is not limited  Every TR has 1-2 members of Sepra’s board too – they act as a link between the Board and Theme Group, but the chair of the Group is not a Sepra-boardmember  TR’s interview project applicants before their application goes to The Boards Meeting - this allows Project applicants to explain verbally the contents of the Project – and TR members to ask questions and give suggestion

Euroopan maaseudun kehittämisen maatalousrahasto: Eurooppa investoi maaseutualueisiin. What experiences have we had about Theme Groups? Theme Groups are an excellent way of getting many local people involved in Leader-work It is important to have ”Local Knowledge” – information that is not written or often even spoken aloud in meetings – and only local actors know it It is good ”background information” that tells us whether the project has good possibilities to succeed and what are its greatest challenges The more people we involve into implementing our programme the better results we get – we as a LAG but especially the people who live in our rural areas

Euroopan maaseudun kehittämisen maatalousrahasto: Eurooppa investoi maaseutualueisiin. Why “SEPRA” ? Does it even MEAN anything? The word "sepra" comes from an old Estonian word "sõber" which means a "friend". It sounded “sepra” in the ears of Finns who started calling their Estonian trading partners "sepras“. Sepra trade was exchange trade between the Estonians and the inhabitants of the Finnish coast: a Finn took a barrel of fish into Estonia and got two barrels of corn in exchange.The trade went on for centuries until the II World War and created friendships across the sea. Thus this peculiar name “Sepra” which is often mistaken as “seepra” = the long-necked African animal zebra...

Euroopan maaseudun kehittämisen maatalousrahasto: Eurooppa investoi maaseutualueisiin. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION – HOPE WE HAVE TIME TO DISCUSS ! For more information please contact Mrs Marjo Lehtimäki Executive Manager Development Association Sepra Mobile