Events

International Mountain Day (IMD)

From: 11.12.2016 to: 11.12.2016

International Mountain Day (IMD) is an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of mountains, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build partnerships that will bring positive change to the world’s mountains and highlands. Celebrate with us!

This year, the theme for IMD is ‘Mountain Cultures: celebrating diversity and strengthening identity’. The celebration will focus on the intrinsic link between heritage, culture and spirituality and peoples’ livelihoods in the mountains. Many mountain areas host ancient indigenous communities that possess and maintain precious knowledge, traditions and languages. At the same time, mountains are places of tourism and cultural trails. From skiing to climbing to visiting the rock churches in Ethiopia, mountains offer all types of possibilities to all kinds of tourists. If sustainably managed, mountain tourism can have a role in promoting and protecting traditional cultures as well as creating incentives for the protection of mountain ecosystems, their goods and services. IMD 2016 provides an occasion to highlight the variety and richness of mountain cultures, promote the vast array of mountain identities and ensure that indigenous rights are recognized and traditional ways endure.

While Mountain Cultures is the suggested theme for 2016, countries, communities and organizations are welcome to celebrate International Mountain Day through the choice of a different theme that might be more relevant to them. The United Nations General Assembly designated 11 December “International Mountain Day” in 2002. IMD has been observed every year since 2003 to raise awareness about the importance of mountains to life and to bring positive change to mountain peoples and environments around the world. The official hashtags for IMD are #WeLoveMountains #MountainsMatter

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