The Union of Civic Associations “Rural Development Network of the Republic of Macedonia” – “MRR of the Republic of Macedonia” was founded in March 2010 in Skopje, as a movement organized at national level, in order to give a voice to rural communities in Macedonia.

The purpose of the Rural development network of the Republic of Macedonia is to demonstrate a structured approach to mobilization of rural communities, so that they become stronger advocates of local development and participate in rural politics at the local, regional, national and EU level. This includes establishing effective cooperation and mutual assistance between individuals and organizations in rural areas, in order to ensure effective representation of the needs, voice and interests of the rural population, as well as to provide information flow between government and non-governmental bodies at all levels.

The establishment of a rural network in Macedonia is a clear and constructive idea, based on a solid foundation of people and knowledge, which was created through the implementation of activities similar to LEADER, which were supported by the Program for Support of Advisory Services in Agriculture in Macedonia. (MAASP), funded by the Swedish Agency for International Development (SIDA) for the past three years. LEADER means “Relationships between Rural Development Actions” and is a method of initiating and implementing rural development in local rural communities.

The preparation for the implementation of this idea is based on three important processes: :

1. Professional, internal preparation for establishing stable network foundations.
2. Intensive external harmonization in order to guarantee participation and understanding by potential members, as well as discussion with key participants to build the necessary partnerships and support future cooperation with them.
3. Preparation and discussion of the plan for finance, management and finding financial sources.