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The Hiking Group of the Real Casino of Murcia, Spain held a conference in celebration of International Mountain Day on 10 January 2017. Led by environmentalist Carlos Cegarra Jimenez, the topic of the conference was “The mountains and their inhabitants”. A visit to the nearby archaeological site “La Almoloya” followed.

Deep in the Northwest Territories of Canada, the Aurora Research Institute celebrated International Mountain Day by hosting a film night on 12 December in Inuvik. The film night featured a screening of “The Last Mooseskin Boat,” a documentary that honours the history of the Shúhtagot'ine (Mountain Dene) people and their boat-making tradition. These boats, made of dried moose hides stretched over a wooden frame, were used for generations to transport people and goods from mountainous regions to trading centres.

In light of International Mountain Day, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre organized the event “Drones and Tree Rings: Studying the Moose Horn Pass Caribou Fence in the Mackenzie Mountains” on 15 December in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Tom Andrews, territorial archaeologist from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, and Jurjen van der Sluijs, remote sensing analyst from the Department of Lands, presented the historic Caribou Fence Project using three-dimensional models and a video made using drone photomapping. [...]

International Mountain Day was celebrated at national level in Romania on 11 December. The Romanian Mountain Forum, in cooperation with several Romanian mountain organizations and local governments, organized the 12th Scientific and Informal Conference on the IMD theme ”Mountain Cultures”. Held at the Centre of Mountain Economy in Vatra Dornei, Suceava County, the celebration was attended by over 150 participants and featured a book exhibition; presentations of scientific papers, mountain publications and posters; and a cultural exhibition of mountain products. [...]

The Association of Sustainability and Governance of Mountainous Areas held their fourth annual International Mountain Day meeting on 9 December at Dokuz Eylül University, Turkey. At the meeting, the Association presented several issues related to mountain administration. They called for a renewal of public policies for the integration of ecological, socio-cultural and economic aspects in mountain administration. Furthermore, the Association organized a hike on Mount Yamanlar on 11 December to raise awareness about the importance of mountains.

The Utah International Mountain Forum (UIMF) celebrated IMD on 2 December at Utah Valley University (UVU). The event featured a presentation by UVU Assistant Professor Patience Kabamba and his students about their experiences studying mountain communities of Congo. Following the presentation, keynote speaker Mehak Assad, an independent filmmaker from Pakistan, introduced her documentary “Daughter of Kalash”. The UIMF raised the funds to fly Assad to UVU for the presentation and as a ‘thank you’, she also premiered a second film. [...]

The Prabhawa Organization of Sri Lanka held its seventh annual International Mountain celebration at Prabhawa Mountain on 10 December. They organized a march starting from Haputale. Along the route, religious observances were held in a Hindu and a Buddhist temple. When march participants reached Prabhawa Mountain’s peak, they enjoyed local indigenous foods served on banana leaves alongside freshly brewed tea in coconut shells. In an award ceremony, several individuals were honoured for their contributions to environmental and social welfare.

The first Romanian edition of Reading Mountains, a literature contest on mountain-related themes, organized by AECO Romania under the initiative and coordination of the Alpine Convention, ended with the winners announced on 11 December, International Mountain Day. Between 1 November and 1 December, 37 texts in Romanian language were submitted for the categories of fiction, adventure, non-fiction and poetry. Winners were awarded diplomas, Reading Mountains event materials and other prizes. The winning texts were published on AECO Romania’s website.

Hotel Le Meridien N'fis Marrakech, with the support of several local organizations and institutions, celebrated International Mountain Day on 24 December in Imlil, a small village in the high Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Following a guided visit of the Toubkal National Park ecomuseum and a hike, the Tiwizi Association Centre hosted a round-table discussion on “Mountain Cultures : celebrating diversity and strengthening identity”. They debated how to respect mountain environments without degrading them and how to share their cultural heritage. [...]

The Himalayan Forest Research Institute held a conference on “Mountain Cultures: celebrating diversity and strengthening identity” in celebration of International Mountain Day on 11 December in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. In their discussions, the scientists, officers, research scholars and staff of the Institute highlighted the importance of mountains to life, and to the indigenous peoples and cultures that mountains in India are home to. They also expressed their concerns for the erosion of traditional culture due to urbanization and out-migration. [...]