My Experience at CPRE’s 100th year Anniversary
At our recent centenary event in Parliament, we welcomed guests to reflect on the future of the countryside. In this blog, Edikan shares their personal experience of the event, exploring the conversations that took place, and how the day shaped their understanding of how organisations like CPRE influence policy and decision-making.
I attended CPRE’s 100-year anniversary event in Parliament to learn how organisations like CPRE shape policy and decision-making. I was interested in how ideas transitioned from just being regular conversations and campaigns to actual laws. The event gave me a valuable opportunity to observe that process more closely.
This was the first event I had ever been to in Parliament and at the entry I felt quite inquisitive and somewhat anxious. The building was very historical, although the mood of the event was cosy and inviting. Individuals were actually keen on communicating and exchange ideas.
Conversations about rural transport and access
Among the primary issues that were raised was road transport in rural areas. Much was said regarding the inability of people in rural locations to access work, school, and healthcare and other services due to the limited transportation options. It made me consider how even an everyday issue like a bus route may influence the prospects of a person. Transport is not simply about moving within one place to another. It touches on everyday life, independence and integration.
Another thing that caught my attention was the way that the discussions connected environmental protection to real needs. It is essential to protect the countryside and at the same time ensure that those who live in the the countryside are allowed to flourish. Listening to other points of views made me realise how tricky it can be to make policy choices. It is not necessarily about choosing one side, but frequently about finding a balance between the two.
A new perspective on policy and advocacy
Being at the event made me have a different perspective on the work of CPRE. Asides from the environmental aspect, I now see it from a bigger point of view. I have a better understanding of the way it interacts with policy and works to influence long-term decisions. That is what I would like to learn more about in my personal career. I would like to know how advocacy, research and lived experience can be united to create actual outcomes.
In the future, I believe that problems such as the transportation of people within the countryside and the availability of services and viable land use, will remain of concern to my generation, and generations to come. Such incidents will serve as reminders to me that policy is not an abstract concept. It affects real communities. At the end, I went away feeling reflective and more inspired to know what I can do in the future to make a change.
