On 18 June 2021, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Rural Parliament (ERP) will hold an online public hearing aiming to explore ways to achieve sustainability and prosperity through new forms of cooperation amongst rural and urban areas. ICLEI Member Aalborg (Denmark) will represent urban and rural perspectives, with Lasse Frimand Jensen, ICLEI Europe Regional Executive Committee Member & Aalborg City Councillor, contributing to a panel session on "Which policy framework and governance to achieve an EU holistic strategy on sustainable rural/urban development?".

This event will bring together a wide range of experts, stakeholders and European Commission representatives working on rural, urban and peri-urban areas, to share ideas on how to co-develop a holistic, forward-looking approach for sustainable rural and urban development in the EU. These exchanges will contribute to the elaboration of an EESC opinion on this topic.

The full programme, including different policy- and practice-oriented panel discussions can be accessed here.

For more information on how this strategy will develop, register to join the event. Interested participants can register here.