On the 5th of October 2023 from 9:40 to 17:40 CET the 8thDANUBEPARKS General Assembly was held in Lipót, Hungary.
The agenda of the General Assembly 2023 included the closing of the business year 2022, an update about ongoing activities and projects as well as the activity and budget plans for 2023. Also, according to the statutes, the new Management Board members were elected by secret ballot.
Members were introduced to the activities at the beginning of the Horizon project DANUBE4all and one more Protected Area became a full member of DANUBEPARKS. You can find more details below.
DANUBEPARKS General Assembly 2023 - agenda:
- Welcome
- Activity Report 2022
- Financial Report 2022
- Approval of the acts of the Management Board
- Election of the new Management Board and
- Presentation Activity Plan 2024
- Budget Plan 2024
- New full member request
- Discussion & other issues
After the welcoming speech of Attila Fersch (Fertő–Hanság National Park Directorate) and Vlatko Rožac (DANUBEPARKS President), the activity report for 2022 was presented by Mr. Georg Frank (General Secretary) and the financial report for 2022 was presented by Mr. Thomas Schneider (Treasurer of the Association). The General Assembly unanimously approved the acts of the Management Board.
The highlights of the activity report were related to the implementation of two big LIFE projects (LIFE Danube Free Sky and LIFE WILDisland) whose development started in the framework of the Interreg project DANUBEparkCONNECTED, and the successful finalization of the Interreg Transdanube Travel Stories project (closing by the end of 2022). Also, submitted and approved projects were presented, as well as the start of the Horizon DANUBE4all project. Visibility and communication activities were also presented, as well as the activities related to the representation and policy, recognitions and awards.
After many years in the service for DANUBEPARKS and his great contribution, Mr. Thomas Schneider resigned as a member of the Management Board. Thomas, together with Mr. Jan Kadlečik and Mr. Siegfried Geißler who are retiring, received symbolic gifts on behalf of the whole DANUBEPARKS as a sign of gratitude. Also, it was stated many times during the General Assembly that DANUBEPARKS Network would not be the same without them and their contributions.
The nominated candidates for the new DANUBEPARKS Management Board were:
- for Upper Danube: Ms. Anna Pfahler (Germany) and Mr. Tomáš Kušík (Slovakia)
- for Middle Danube: Mr. Vlatko Rožac (Croatia) and Ms. Radmila Šakić Peurača (Serbia)
- for Lower Danube: Ms. Stela Bozhinova (Bulgaria) and Ms. Liliana Ivancenco (Romania).
All of the candidates presented themself and the General Assembly unanimously supported all candidates for the term of 3 years.
During the break, a new Management Board was constituted. Positions within the Management Board are as follows:
- President: Vlatko Rožac
- Tresurer: Anna Pfahler
- Secretary of the Management Board: Tomáš Kušík
- Vice-presidents: Radmila Šakić Peurača, Stela Bozhinova and Liliana Ivancenco
After the elections, the Action and Budget Plan for 2024 was presented. The plan was strongly influenced by ongoing project activities but also by the new Horizon project DANUBE4all and the potential opening of the new Lower Danube office.
Finally, a new application for full membership in the DANUBEPARKS Network was received from Đerdap National Park! A new member was welcomed by the General Assembly with unanimous support.
Strengthened by a newly elected Management Board and a new full member of the Network, we are ready to take on new challenges and continue to work to protect and conserve the Danube River!