Danube Festivals are the yearly events that bring together the Protected Areas from all along the Danube to present themselves to the population in one of their regions. This year, we joined together with the Bodrog Festival in Backi Monostor (Serbia), to celebrate our joint work and inform the local population as well as tourists of the Gornje Podunavlje Special Nature Reserve.
The festival itself offered modern and traditional music, a fish soup cooking competition, regional crafts, photo exhibitions, round tables and presentations, a horse parade, and much more. DANUBEPARKS contributed with information stands, children programs, as well as participation in the thematic round table. It was also a great experience to visit the ethno houses, taste local products, and meet with NGO's working in the region. With 15,000 visitors in two days and good atmosphere, the cooperation with Bodrog Festival definitely was a perfect decision for the communication of our efforts!
Adjacent to the Festival, again a Steering Committee Meeting took place on Friday, August 8th. Some major decisions were taken regarding the joint future, e.g. to continue with the founding process for an association and on project submissions for the whole next year. The Network was also joined by three partners: The Iron Gates Natural Park, the Small Wetlands of Braila (both in Romania) and the Danube Valley in Passau region (Germany) were welcomed as new network partners. We are looking forward to the strengthened cooperation with these Protected Areas and will soon provide more information about them on our website!
