A wonderful, thought-provoking few days as always. The most amazing conversations and connections. Thanks for all your efforts!
Belinda Wick-Graham, EDCO President, Town of Minto
Thanks for a wonderful event full of intriguing ideas and fabulous people! A lot to think about.
Delegate, Gordon Duff
Beyond the people I met (which is usually the highlight of any summit or conference) my highlight at R2R24 was the Porte-Parole session. It was truly mind-blowing. I don’t know how much time was put into the selection of the remarkable, and remarkably different, 4 ‘diners’ or if this happens always, but I got insights from this which surprised me – given my age and experience.
Delegate, Randall Howard
I’m a HUGE fan of the conference:
- I love the dialogue and the facilitation of dialogue.
- I love the academic slant of the keynote speakers.
- I love the cultural activities BIG TIME and the fact that the facilitators also participate in the conference.
- I love the breakdown of issues and the opportunity to explore each 1:1 or within small groups.
- I love the food;)
- Above all, I love the people.
I think that you and your team are talented at putting together a provocative and enriching conference that is worth every minute of my time. I came out with a great appreciation of the issues explored at the conference and great new friends, and acquaintances. I think the event is really really well organized – relaxed but efficient. Of course, I plan to be at the next R2R and I’m going to guess that the conference will continue to grow. I feel that R2R has the potential to become a national, agenda-setting conference. R2R certainly sets my agenda as I continue to work on local news stability for small communities in Canada.
Delegate, Ariel Freiman
What a spectacular way to spend time with like-minded rurally-focused humans! Thank YOU, your dedicated team and all the speakers, panelists and facilitators. I’m still processing the teachings and learning.
R2R24 Podcaster, Shauna Rae, Radar Media
n three days, R2R packs in a solid week of interaction, information and inspiration. Connecting with people of very disparate backgrounds — business, non-profits, artists, and government representatives — all with the same focus of sustaining and developing rural spaces, left me with a strong sense of hope and creative drive. I’m eager to return to the next conference, but in the meantime, I’m equally inspired to do more for the rural area I call home.”
Delegate and Pathways to Practice Presenter, Evan Butler, NFLD
The Rural Talks to Rural Conference 2024 in Blyth was a highly engaging event that focused on the unique challenges and opportunities that are faced by rural communities. Attendees were able to participate in several insightful discussions across a variety of topics, gaining insight from other attendees with diverse backgrounds. I am grateful for the opportunity to attend, as it allowed me to deepen my understanding of rural issues and the various barriers that these communities face.
Delegate, Neeliah Lewis, Student Researcher, Gateway Rural Health
Attending the Rural Talks to Rural 2024 (R2R24) conference was an enriching experience, where shared stories from all over the world sparked new ideas. I am grateful for the opportunity to connect and engage with passionate community members to discuss unique challenges. R2R24 not only inspired me but also reaffirmed by commitment to fostering growth, development, and connection in rural areas.
Delegate, Meagan Tamming, Student Researcher, Gateway Rural Health
I have been creating short documentaries around the Rural Talks to Rural Conference dating back to the first one in 2016. At the time my business was only two years old, and I was nowhere near as experienced as I am now. The CCRC was the first organization to give me a chance at such a large project, and it began a long and rewarding partnership between my business, and the CCRC. It has been a privilege to witness years of great conversations and comradery. R2R continues to be one of my favourite projects to work on in my now decade long career. I look forward to presenting the Doc on R2R 24, and attending the 10th anniversary of the conference in 2026!”
R2R24 Videographer & Technician, Nick Vinnicombe, Lake Affect Media
It was fantastic to be invited as part of the facilitators team for R2R24 in Blyth, Ontario. Traveling from Belfast, Northern Ireland, I was unfamiliar with the particular issues alive for rural communities in Huron County, and wider Ontario and Canada, and I was keen to come with my ears and eyes wide open to learn. We designed participatory elements into the conference that created ample space and time for small group discussions, making this a real ‘Rural Talks to Rural’. We captured or ‘harvested’ key insights from these conversations on our visual landscape, anchored into the local landscape and context by an illustration of the G2G trail. Watching this visual landscape grow over the course of the conference, participants could track the trajectory of conversations, see patterns and trends emerge from these conversations, and get brought up to speed if they joined one or two days into the event. Three days is a short time, but we made a good start into important conversations that need to happen at this time, crossing community divides and diving into challenges we’re not used to discussing. It was a valuable, inspiring time full of learning for myself, and the many participants that joined us.”
Stéphanie Heckman, Facilitator R2R24, Belfast Northern Ireland