ENTI Salerno 2009 ‐ International Conference of Territorial Intelligence Territorial intelligence and culture of development ‐ November, 4th ‐ 7th 2009 PASCARU M. Territorial Governance, Cultural Diversity and Sustainable Development in The Rural Area Territorial Governance, Cultural Diversity and Sustainable Development in The Rural Area. Research on the Micro-Region Livezile-Rimetea, Alba County, Romania Mihai Pascaru University “1 Decembrie 1918” Alba Iulia, Romania Keywords : Territorial Governance, Cultural Diversity, Sustainable Development 1. Concepts Our starting point is the best known definition of sustainable development, the one provided by the World Commission for Environment and Development (WCED), in the report „Our Common Future” published in 1987: „Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”. (“Our Common Future”, 1987). Sustainable development, according to Girardot, rest son three principles, validated by numerous moral and political instances at the global level: 1) the participation of all stakeholders in the development process, especially of citizens; 2) a global approach to all situations, characterised by an appropriate balance between economic, social and environmental and 3) all stakeholders' partnership. (Girardot, 2005). We intend to pay special attention in our paper to the principle of participation. According to Somesh Kumar, for example, participation plays a central role in the theory and practice of development: „Governments, financing agencies, donors, civil society actors including the ONGs and multifunctional agents such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund came to the conclusion that development can not be sustainable and long-lasting if only the people participation is part of the development process.” (Kumar, 2007, p. 23). In view of the above, our fundamental research hypothesis ist hat participation is determined by the cultural values of the community, especially those which define ethnic identification and religious affiliation. (Pascaru, Buţiu, 2007). 2. Research area and sample Our paper is based on a series of research carried out in the micro-region Livezile-Rimetea, county of Alba, Romania. The research sample we formed at the level of the micro-region Livezile-Rimetea consisted of 366 inhabitants, out of which 57.7% Romanians, 40.4% Hungarians and 1.9% Rroma, which actually reflected the multicultural structure of the microregion. At sample level, if we consider religious identification, 56% were Orthodox and 44% non-Orthodox (Catholic, reformed, Unitarian, neo-protestants). More than half of the respondents (51.1%) had maximum 10th grade education, 17.5% vocational school, 28.8% high school, 4% college.