ECOVAST is

a campaigning organisation, for the well-being of the people and the heritage of rural Europe; and

a networking organisation, which seeks to support, and to encourage cooperation between, its members as they pursue their activities in rural areas.

We offer services at international and national level.
 

As a campaigning organisation, ECOVAST seeks to express the concerns of its members throughout Europe to policy-makers, official bodies and others; and to make their views felt in the debates which affect the future of rural Europe. To this end, we keep our members informed and consulted about the evolution of rural policy.

ECOVAST has consultative status with the Council of Europe, and has taken part in the regular meetings of the Council's Rural and Environmental Interest Group. We played an active part in the Council's European Countryside Campaign 1987-88, and in the Council's Campaign "Europe : A Common Heritage"1999-2000.

We retain consultative status with the European Commission. For many years until July 2014, ECOVAST attended the European Commission's Advisory Group on Rural Development, and were able to participate in detailed consideration of the Common Agricultural policy. The Commission revised the composition of the civil dialogue groups on the CAP so PREPARE, as an umbrella organisation of which ECOVAST is a founder member, retains a place on the group, representing ECOVAST among other NGOs.

We are represented at major European events related to European policy. We submit reactions to major consultative documents from the Commission and other bodies. We are represented at major European events related to European policy. We submit reactions to major consultative documents from the Commission and other bodies.

We have formal working relations with many other European rural and heritage organizations. We have taken a strong stand on certain crucial issues, notably the protest against the now discontinued systematisation programme in Romania and the review of brown coal mining in Central Europe.
 

We offer the following services to our members at European level:

Annual General Assemblies, with accompanying events (Symposia, Tours etc). These are held in Autumn of each year, each time in a different country.

Conferences, Symposia and other events. Each year, ECOVAST organises at least one major event, sometimes in association with other organisations. Events in recent years have included:

• October 2003 Conference on 'Cultural Identity and Rural Development', Otocec, Slovenia
  
• October 2004 Conference on 'Vernacular Architecture', Szigliget, Hungary
  
• November 2005 Conference on 'Small Towns', Retz, Austria
  
• July 2006 International INTERREG Landscape Symposium, Pernegg Lower Austria
• October 2006 Conference 'Rural Development in the Knowledge Based Society', Bratislava, Slovakia
• October 2007 Conference 'Small European Towns : Their Role in Rural Development & Heritage Protection',  Samobor Croatia
• September 2008 'International Conference on Small Towns', Wittstock, Germany
• April 2009 4th Small Towns Symposium, Grieskirchen, Upper Austria
• October 2009 International conference 'Revitalization of Small Historic Towns', Moscenice, Croatia
• October 2010 International Conference ‘Challenges of Effective Rural Development and Heritage’ Isle of Wight, UK
• December 2010 Seminar on ‘European Small Towns’ held in Potsdam, Germany
• October 2011 International Symposium with a special Focus on Monument Protection and Operational Safety ‘Historic Water Supplies’, in conjunction with the Frontinus Society, Vienna, Austria
• October 2012 Seminar on small historic towns, Witzenhausen, Germany

International Working Groups. We have two international Working Groups – Landscape and Rural Architecture. These Groups exchange experience and encourage informal contact between their members. See Contacts for the list of officers of these Working Groups.

ECOVAST News, published regularly in English, French and German.

News from ECOVAST, available on the Website.

The "Strategy for Rural Europe", now available in English, French, German, Croatian and other languages. This is the main statement of ECOVAST's policies, and has been widely circulated to decision-makers and interested groups throughout Europe.

ECOVAST Publications. These include the Strategy (see above) and a number of other policy statements or handbooks.

Technical missions. At the request of our members, or of governments and other organisations in different countries, we have been able to send experts from within the ECOVAST network to a number of countries to advise on aspects of rural development, rural tourism, heritage protection and other issues. Examples of such work include:

• Bosnia
  Advice on restoration of buildings after war damage.
  
• Bulgaria
  Advice on raising of standards in rural tourist accommodation.
  Creation of Heritage Trails along the Black Sea Coast (see Heritage Trails).
  Carpathian Euro-Region - Professional assistance to the Carpathian Foundation in training of people involved in integrated rural community development projects in parts of Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Ukraine.
  
• Croatia
  Advice on proposed creation of a Regional Park in Istria.
  Advice on restoration of buildings after war damage in the Karlovac area and in the region around Dubrovnik.
  
• Cyprus
  Advice to the Laona Foundation on integrated projects for rural development and heritage protection in Paphos District.
  
• Hungary
  Advice on development of farm-based tourism, and on raising of standards in rural tourist accommodation.
  
• Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic)
  Advice on development of cultural tourism.
  
• Northern Ireland
  Development of an integrated rural development policy.
  Nomination of ECOVAST experts from Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to take part in a training programme on vernacular rural buildings, funded by the British Council.
  
• Poland
  Advice on saving, and finding new use for, disused wooden churches in rural areas.
  
• Romania
  Seminar on Village Renewal (mission funded by the UK KnowHow Fund).
  
• Slovenia
  Creation of a Heritage Trail in the Dolenjska/bela Krajina Region (see Heritage Trails).
   

ECOVAST has national sections in Austria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom, and planned in other countries. These provide a focus for exchange and activity in each country, to benefit its rural communities and rural heritage.
See Contacts for the addresses of these national sections.

The national sections organise activities in each of these countries, according to their perception of the needs and priorities of the countries and the interests of the members there. Such activities may include:

translation and publication of the ECOVAST "Strategy for Rural Europe" in the national language;

translation of other ECOVAST literature, News etc into the national language, for use by their members and others;

campaigns on issues related to the well-being of the rural people and the rural heritage;

organisation of seminars, conferences, training events etc;

publication of reports, handbooks, tourist guides and other material;

organising of technical missions to, or exchanges with, other countries, often using the ECOVAST international network; and

practical initiatives, for example related to the restoration of traditional buildings and the creation of facilities for rural tourism.