Free 1-day seminar: ”Civil Society and Volunteering in Rural Communities”

When: August 11th 2026
Where: University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Campus House, Campusvej 1, 5230 Odense M.
Meeting room: 14. floor, SKY – code for lift is 17 89 33

Who: Researchers, consultants and civil servants with a professional interest for rural districts
Organizer: Research Centre for Sports, Health and Civil Society
Cost: Free

Sign-up here – as soon as possible and no later than August 2nd 2026.

Aim

The aim of the seminar is to foster fruitful discussion on the role of civil society and volunteering in rural communities. Drawing on research from Denmark and Australia, the aim is to develop new insights together with participants that may pave the way for future collaborations.


The seminar will be held in English with the possibility of asking questions in Danish.

Programme

9.30-10.00 Arrival and refreshments

10.00-10.15 Welcome
Associate Professor Evald Bundgård Iversen, Head of Research Centre in Sports, Health and Civil Society, University of Southern Denmark.

10.15-10.45 Rural volunteering in Australia
Professor Leonie Lockstone-Binney, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
Leonie is currently leading a large research project on rural volunteering in Australia which investigates the structural, geographic, organisational and personal factors affecting rural volunteering in Australia. The project has led to new knowledge on the structural, demographic, organisational and personal factors affecting the sustainability of rural volunteering.

10.45-11.15 Comments and discussion between Professor Egon Bjørnshave Noe, Head of Danish Centre for Rural Research and Professor Leonie Lockstone-Binney – including questions from the seminar participants.

11.15-12.00 Community organizations as drivers for local health initiatives. A national survey.
Postdoc Kasper Friis Bavnbæk, Danish Centre for Rural Research, University of Southern Denmark.
The presentation shows results from a recent nationwide survey by Danish Centre for Rural Research, comparing rural and urban areas on the level of volunteering and diverse mobilization of health initiatives by community, village and citizen organizations in Denmark.

12.00-12.45 Lunch and networking

12.45-13.30 Self-governing villages – potentialities and challenges
Postdoc Eva Pallesen, CISC.
The presentation is based on a new study from CISC on so-called self-governing villages, i.e. villages in rural areas with a high degree of citizen involvement in shared institutions and community spaces. The presentation focuses on both the opportunities and the challenges found in these villages.

13.30-13.45 Coffee break

13.45-14.30 Can Citizens' Participation and Volunteering Keep Villages Alive?
Professor Emeritus Bjarne Ibsen.
The first part of the presentation sheds light on volunteering at different levels of urbanization and what can explain the differences. The second part discusses whether citizens' own efforts are a prerequisite for the survival of villages and how village self-government can be promoted.

14.30-15.00 Final remarks and discussion
Associate Professor Evald Bundgaard Iversen, Head of Research Centre for Sports, Health and Civil Society

Please find more information (how to get there, parking etc) in the programme/sign up