From July 7 to 11, the 30th congress of the European Society for Rural Sociology (ESRS) will take place in Riga. This is one of the most important scientific events in this field in Europe, bringing together researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders every two years to discuss rural change, sustainability and societal development.
The 2025 Congress will be held for the first time in the Baltic States and its organiser is Riga Stradiņš University, in cooperation with the ESRS International Scientific Committee and other organizations represented in the local organizing committee – the scientific institute "Baltic Studies Centre" (BSC), the Latvian University of Biosciences and Technology, the Institute of Agroresources and Economics. Riga's candidacy was once offered and successfully defended by BSC's senior researcher and RSU tenure professor of sociology Miķelis Grīviņš, by participating in the competition for the selection of the venue of the congress. BSC researchers have long been active participants of the ESRS, both attending previous congresses with papers and participating in the management of the organisation - the BSC's senior researcher Tālis Tisenkopfs has been the Vice-President of the ESRS (2015-2017), while Miķelis Grīviņš has been serving on the ESRS Scientific Committee since 2023. At the Riga Congress, BSC senior researcher Anda Ādamsone-Fiskoviča represents the institute in the local organising committee, as well as performs several tasks related to the content and conduct of the congress. The congress will bring together more than 400 participants from 37 countries, including researchers not only from Europe, but also from Asia, Africa, Australia, North and South America.
The theme of this year's congress is "Navigating rural transitions: Exploring liveable futures". The programme includes 40 thematic working groups with more than 500 research papers, panel discussions, plenary sessions, as well as 30 book presentations covering a wide range of topics, from food systems and agroecology to digitalisation, spatial management, rural communities, environmental issues and the role of creative industries in rural development. There will also be guest lectures on each of the three days of the session, with the participation of invited researchers. Guntra Aistara (Central European University), who specialises in coastal communities and environmental management, will speak from Latvia.
BSC representatives will participate in the congress both with research papers in several thematic working groups, as well as moderators of sessions and co-organisers of events. The range of topics represented includes working groups focusing on digital transformation in the rural environment, local food systems, sustainable agriculture, food self-sufficiency, as well as migration and identity issues. Several papers relate to local and international projects implemented and current by BSC, including IN-HABIT, CODECS, PREMIERE, GreenHort and TRUST.
In addition to the academic programme, the congress will also offer practical visits to places that reflect the social and ecological diversity of Latvia's rural area – from markets to national parks and farms. One of the excursions to the Dobele Institute of Horticulture and the garden of Rundāle Palace is organised by Anda Ādamsone-Fiskoviča. The aim of the tour is to illustrate the interactions of science, culture and aesthetics in the natural environment managed by humans. The congress program also includes events outside the academic format: the opening ceremony in the garden of the Dome Cathedral and the congress dinner at the National Library of Latvia.
The involvement of the BSC in the ESRS Congress emphasises the role of the Institute in the European rural research community and confirms the participation of Latvian researchers in solving international issues. The Institute participates in both the development of research content and the organisation of events, promoting interdisciplinary cooperation and knowledge exchange between academic institutions and rural development practitioners of different countries.
More information about the congress, thematic groups and programme is available here: ESRS Congress 2025