The day before the Leader meeting started, on October 7, arranged LUS (Local Development Sweden) a member meeting at Donners Event. LUS is a ”trade organization” that coordinates the country's 40 Leader associations.
The Leader meeting itself started with lunch on October 8 and the program was then opened by the moderators Christer Yrjas, executive director of LUS and Sara Uddemar, communications coordinator at The Rural Network.
The program provided ample space for the question of how young people can be better included in rural development – with examples from, among others, Leader Gute's Heritage Fund-financed project ”Young vitality in collaboration.”.
Preparedness was also a topic that was raised in several segments. Here, among others, Professor Niklas Eklund provided an overview of challenges and risks for Sweden as a NATO country in an increasingly threatening world political situation – with an aggressive Russia in our immediate vicinity. Additionally, examples were given of how Leader associations can support projects within local preparedness – e.g., Leader Gute's mini-support ”Preparedness in the community.”.
There was also a review of the current status of the investigation SVESAM, which in the summer of 2026 will submit proposals on how future regional development policy and rural policy should be directed and shaped.
During the first evening's dinner, the Gotlandic musicians entertained Lars Kruthof and Julia Westberg. There were songs and music from bygone times with moraharpa, guitar, bagpipe, mouth harp, and hurdy-gurdy. Additionally, Gute Linedance offered a performance and workshop, where a large part of the participants joined in and learned Linedance! Then the participants cooled off with a historical evening walk through Visby and bar hanging at Munkkällaren.
The day after the Leader meeting, on October 10, Leader Gute organized a bus tour for about 20 participants who chose to stay an extra night on the island. There were visits to Hejdeby, Katthammarsvik, and Östergarn.