Focus on land reform at Rural Housing Summit 2021

"Land reform in Scotland is a topic of international discussion and fascination"

What are the lessons we can all learn from land reform in Scotland, and what are the challenges still faced by our rural communities? Dr Annie McKee, a social researcher at the James Hutton Institute, will tackle these and other questions during a keynote session on Thursday 25^th February, during the week-long Rural Housing Summit 2021 organised by Rural Housing Scotland.

The Rural Housing Summit will feature more than 50 speakers in a variety of webinars, panel discussions and Q&A sessions, with community organisations, housing professionals and policy makers welcome to choose the sessions which interest them to create their own bespoke Summit programme.

Speaking in advance of her session, Dr McKee said: “Land reform in Scotland is a topic of international discussion and fascination. I am delighted to be able to give this keynote address which is based on a briefing report to the Land, Housing and Shelter Section, of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).

"It is also an opportunity to reflect on the Scottish experience: what have been the main changes and outcomes, and what gaps remain in achieving Scottish Government land reform goals? Do these goals reflect the values and needs of the Scottish population?”

Preceding Dr McKee in the summit programme, Robert Lewis-Lettington, Chief of the Land, Housing and Shelter Section at UN-Habitat, kicks off the week’s main programme on Monday by highlighting the basic human right to adequate housing and discussing what this means in the context of our rural communities.

On Tuesday delegates will hear lessons from the USA as Dr Corianne Payton Scally, Principal Research Associate in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute, examines connections and challenges between rural residence and health equity.

Siobhan McCauley, Director of Regional Services in the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, will deliver Wednesday’s keynote, reflecting on the evolution and continued development of rural housing policy over the 50-year life of one of the UK’s largest social housing providers, and how working with communities is key to success.

On the final day of the Summit delegates will hear from Derek Logie, Chief Executive for Rural Housing Scotland, about the key role rural housing enablers play in efforts to tackle housing needs in rural areas and about plans being developed by the organisation to combine traditional models and modern technology to repopulate rural areas.

As with all sessions of the Rural Housing Summit, access to the keynote addresses is free. Keynotes will be published at www.ruralhousingscotland.org/summit-keynotes and across social media at 9 am GMT on the five main days of the Summit, starting on Monday 22nd February.

All sessions are free thanks to support from UN-Habitat and sponsorship from Ecology Building Society, though booking is required, and some sessions are now fully booked. See www.ruralhousingsummit.org for more information or to book sessions.