The Danube Festival in Orth/Donau took place on September 4th with strong international participation: 120 guests from nearly all Danube countries supported the Donau-Auen National Park in bringing the international flair of the Danube close to local people in Austria, of which around 1000 participated in the event.
Six different fish soups from Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria could be tasted, and many of the partner protected areas brought additional local food to their information tents. The Romanian artist group Baladele Deltei entertained the guests during the whole day with music and dance from different Romanian Danube regions.
Another highlight was certainly the inauguration of the Sturgeon Monument with political leaders of the region as well as the representatives of the DANUBEPARKS protected areas. The monument has been produced by a Romanian artist, and the first of its kind was established one month ago in Tulcea, the Romanian gate to the fascinating world of the Danube Delta. To have one monument in Orth/Donau is a symbol of the migrating lifecycle of this old fish of the Danube, and a memorial for its protection.
Laying the basis for future cooperation
During two days before the Danube Festival, on September 2nd and 3rd, the 3rd DANUBEPARKS Steering Committee Meeting took place in Orth/Donau. All in all, 13 partners participated with a total of 55 representatives, who took the occasion to integrate their experience and expertise into the shaping of future cooperation.
Friday was dedicated to an evaluation of past and outlook to future goals of the networks cooperation in the morning, and a workshop on the development of a follow-up project in the ETC-SEE programme in the afternoon. Florian Ballnus, the coordinator for Biodiversity in the EU Strategy on the Danube Region, took part in the workshop and presented his view on the role of DANUBEPARKS within the implementation of the Danube Region Strategy.
On Saturday, the official Steering Committee Meeting took place. All members received an overview on past achievements and results to be finalized. Three strategies were presented and accepted by the Meeting either in the form of a signed letter of commitment or a statement. Additionally, a letter of commitment on future cooperation was signed by all partners.
These results and decisions contribute to further solidify the basis for future cooperation of the DANUBEPARKS Network. The letters of commitment can be found below, the presentations are available in the Downloads section.
