Day of the Region Dumfries and Galloway ended on a high last week with a unique online celebratory event, enjoyed by almost 100 attendees from Dumfries and Galloway, the rest of Scotland, Ireland, Romania and the Netherlands!
Day of the Region has been a strategic project by Dumfries and Galloway LEADER Local Action Group and has been delivered in the region every year since 2011. Day of the Region provided an important opportunity to celebrate and animate rural communities in Dumfries and Galloway. It gave vital support to local ‘grassroots’ and community-led initiatives. However, with Brexit imminent meaning the loss of the European funding stream, Day of the Region has ended during the trying times of 2020.
Under normal circumstances, the end of the programme would have been marked with a formal celebratory conference event, with transnational partners once again visiting the region to share knowledge and experiences. However, with Covid19 restrictions in place this was not meant to be. Not to be beaten, the Day of the Region steering group worked with LEADER Program Manager Nicola Hill and appointed Katie Nairn Consulting to create a unique online event.
Attendees were formally invited and provided with a hospitality package to enjoy during the hour-long event which took place virtually on Friday 30 th October. The event was used as a platform to feedback some of the outcomes of the programme evaluations, hold a panel discussion addressing many questions from the audience on the legacy of the programme and to showcase the commemorative documentary produced by local business Studio 105.
Attendees of the event were polled on the importance of a continuation of the programme in some form to aid Dumfries and Galloway’s post Covid-19 recovery, 95% of people voted it to be either extremely helpful or essential. The project evaluation highlighted that the model had strengthened the community’s response to the pandemic and enabled groups to work together to support one another. Any organisation that may be interested in developing the model across Dumfries and Galloway going forward should contact Nicola Hill by [email protected] for more information.
Nicola Hill, Programme Manager said “Day of the Region has played a big part in the LEADER programme over the past 10 years and although we are sad to see the closure of the project we trust that the passion and enthusiasm will live on in the communities who participated far beyond the life of LEADER”.
Peter Ross Local Action Group Chair said “ Day of the Region is an important project for DG LEADER in that it gives individuals, businesses and local organisations the HOW to come together to do the WHAT, they consider important for the benefit of their community.”
The event recording and documentary can be found on the Day of the Region Facebook Page and Website.
