News

Celebrating mountains in Europe

20.01.2015

Governments and organizations in Europe engaged in celebrations of International Mountain Day (IMD) in December 2014 throughout Europe. Among the event organizers was Club Serres for the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) who, together with the National History Museum of Serres' Municipality and the non-governmental organizations of Praxis and Astropili, held an educational session for primary and secondary schools in Serres, Greece, to raise awareness about the environment and mountain development. Club Serres for UNESCO was the first Greek organization to join the Mountain Partnership.

In Turkey, the General Directorate of Forestry celebrated IMD with a special conference, which attracted several representatives of academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, government and others. At this event, eco-school teachers and kindergarten, primary and secondary school students were given pine trees to plant on their school grounds or at home.

The Romanian Mountain Forum (RMF) organized at the headquarters of the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, in Bucharest, the Eleventh Conference of the RMF. The conference developed around the theme "Mountain agriculture - family agriculture" and included a speech by the Former Minister of Agriculture. Furthermore, the RMF has set up an exhibition for the launch of the "mountain agri-food product" label.

The Russian Institute of Geography celebrated IMD at the Russian Geographical Society’s headquarters in Moscow. The meeting was attended by government officials, including members of Parliament, and mountain farmers involved in sustainable mountain development - family farming and agro-tourism, in particular. A publication about the challenges of sustainable development in Russian mountain areas called, “Mountain Research in Northern Eurasia,” was presented during the event. Real life examples of family farming and the challenges and benefits of mountain farming were given. The farmers’ speeches emphasized the important role of agricultural management and mountain landscapes in the lives of many ethnic groups in Russia. Government representatives and the public emphasized the need for closer cooperation between scientists and practitioners.

The Municipality of Dénia, Spain, set up a worldwide photo contest on Instagram. The contest featured pictures from all over the world. “We love mountains and want the whole world to know how important they are,” said Vicente Chelet of Dénia, explaining that the contest aimed to draw attention to mountains and the need for their development to be sustainable.

More pictures of IMD celebrations are available on the Mountain Partnership’s Flickr gallery. 

For a full list of events, read more on the IMD website