CONGRESSES
CIER Congresses
CIER Congresses
Introduction
The Ibero-American Congresses of Rural Studies (CIER) are a meeting point and a benchmark for rural studies in the Ibero-American region.
These academic meetings are held every two years and provide a forum for analysis and debate on the realities and transformations of rural territories. Topics addressed include agri-food dynamics, the evolution of marketing channels, new challenges and opportunities related to food, as well as the challenges affecting the most vulnerable rural territories.
Likewise, the CIER Congresses focus on social, territorial and ecological imbalances, the situation of rural populations and their adaptation strategies in response to processes of economic, social and environmental transformation.
CIER Congresses
History
The current Ibero-American Congresses of Rural Studies (CIER) originated from the “Spanish-Portuguese Colloquium on Rural Studies”, later renamed the “Iberian Colloquium on Rural Studies” (CIER). From the outset, the Spanish Association of Agricultural and Food Economics (AEEA) and the Portuguese Society for Rural Studies (SPER) have collaborated in organizing these meetings with the aim of creating a forum for exchange and debate among specialists in rural affairs. The first edition was held in Évora (Portugal) in 1988 and, during its early stages, the meetings were held alternately in Spain and Portugal.
At the eighth edition, held in Cáceres in 2010, the Rural Sociology Group of the Spanish Federation of Sociology (FES), previously linked to the Spanish Association of Agricultural Economics, joined the organization. Later, at the tenth edition, held in Palencia in 2014, the FES Sociology of Food Group, the Spanish Association of Geographers (AGE) and the Spanish Society of Agricultural History (SEHA) also joined. These additions helped strengthen the multidisciplinary nature of the CIER Congresses within the social sciences related to rural areas.
The growing participation of researchers and stakeholders involved in rural development from Latin America led, at the 11th edition held in Vila Real (Portugal) in 2016, to an expansion of the Congress’s geographical scope. New associations and experts from both sides of the Atlantic joined, and the current name, Ibero-American Congress of Rural Studies, was adopted, while retaining both the CIER acronym and the historical continuity of its editions. The first Congress held under this new Ibero-American dimension took place in Cuenca in 2018 (12th CIER).