Brief history Life and activities in rural areas have been studied by social scientists from the very beginning of social sciences research. The same applies to rural education in social sciences. Rural issues have been studied in the Finnish universities for a long time as single studies and as a course of study. Furthermore, rural areas and the activities therein have been developed for a long time both with production-related and social innovations. Rural issues became much more prevailing during the great structural change that took place in Finland in the 1960’s and 1970’s, however. A major migration from rural areas to cities was a wake-up call for decision-makers and civil servants who were worried about the future of rural areas. This structural change was the motive behind the village action movement and rural policy. One minor but descriptive example of this change is the Maaseudun suunnittelun seura (Rural Planning Society), a discussion forum for state authorities, researchers and NGOs established in Helsinki in 1971. It was one of the parties promoting discussion on rural research, rural policy and rural development for approximately twenty years. Major initiatives and discussion openings also took place in the academic field at that time. For example, in the mid 1980’s a professorship in social rural research / rural sociology was planned for the Agricultural and Forestry Faculty of the University of Helsinki. Such a professorship was never established, however. Later on (in 1988), a European rural campaign concretely and extensively brought forth the worrying development outlooks of rural areas. Social discussion arose. It opened way for more active rural development and rural policy; there was a major social demand for these. 1988 is also the year when a rural policy organization started to form in Finland. Promotion of the rural policy offered new rural research funding alternatives and enabled the introduction of new researchers. In the early 1990’s, rural researchers and persons interested in rural development started to build more extensive freeform co-operation when they started to arrange annual researcher meetings. The first meeting took place in the Mikkeli Rural Commune in 1991. The event organizer was the Helsinki University Rural Research and Training Centre in Mikkeli, established three years before the meeting. At that time, the meeting was called a ‘village researcher meeting’. Two years later, in 1993, the Maaseudun uusi aika journal was established as a publication forum for the field. The journal was established based on an initiative of researchers in Joensuu. The development of this network continued by establishment of the Maaseudun uusi aika -society in Ilomantsi in 1999. The society also started to publish the Maaseudun uusi aika -journal. Up until that time, the journal had been a separate project of the Rural Policy Committee. The journal, the meetings and the society all promoted interaction between researchers and developers, and the rural institution as such. The new network promoted the rural research field and the development opportunities. These actions more clearly defined the identity of the rural researcher community. The society currently has approximately 270 members. The members include researchers, developers, representatives of the administration and other parties interested in the future of rural areas.
	Text by Torsti Hyyryläinen, 6th of October 2006