On 12th November 2020 from 9:00 to 13:00 CET the first online DANUBEPARKS General Assembly was held on the Zoom platform.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not possible to hold the meeting in a traditional way, but this form of online communication also proved to be successful.
The agenda of the General Assembly 2020 included the closing of the business year 2019, an update about ongoing activities and projects as well as the activity and budget plans for 2021. Finally, according to the statutes, the new management board was elected for the upcoming period of 3 years.
AGENDA:
9:00 – 9:10 Welcome (DANUBEPARKS President, Vlatko Rožac)
9:10 – 9:30 Activity Report 2019 (Secretary General, Georg Frank)
9:30 – 9:45 Financial Report 2019 (Treasurer, Thomas Schneider)
- Approval of the acts of the Management Board
9:45 – 10:45 Management Board elections (presentation of candidates & anonymous voting)
10:45 – 11:00 Break
11:00 – 11:30 Presentation Activity Plan 2021
11:45 – 12:00 Budget Plan 2021
12:00 – 12:15 Partnership and presentation of new members (Comana Nature Park)
12:15 – 12:30 Website redesign – danubeparks.org
12:30 – 13:00 Other issues (by all members of the Association)
After the welcoming speech of President Mr. Vlatko Rožac, Honorary President Mr. Carl Manzano presented his work related to DANUBEPARKS. After that, the activity and financial report for 2019 were presented, after which the General Assembly unanimously approved the acts of the Management Board.
Also, during the conference, full members of DANUBEPARKS voted anonymously for new members of the Management Board (for the next 3 years). New Management Board of DANUBEPARKS:
- for the Upper Danube: Mr. Thomas Schneider, Ms. Eszter Buchert
- for the Middle Danube: Mr. Vlatko Rožac, Ms. Radmila Šakić Peurača
- for the Lower Danube: Ms. Stela Bozhinova, Mr. Ion Munteanu
Mr. Georg Frank remains in the position of Secretary General of the Association.
After the welcome speech of President Mr. Vlatko Rožac, Honorary President Mr. Carl Manzano presented his work related to DANUBEPARKS. After that, the activity and financial report for 2019 were presented, after which the General Assembly unanimously approved the acts of the Management Board.
Following the election, the Activity and Budget Plan for 2021 was presented and approved, and Mr. Valentin Grigore presented a new Protected Area that will soon be a candidate for membership in DANUBEPARKS - Comana Nature Park from Bulgaria - a nature reserve near Bucharest. Comana Natural Park is well-known for its Delta of the Neajlov River. Stretching for nearly 25,000 hectares, it is the second most biodiverse wetland in Bulgaria.
The redesign of the official website was presented, and participants were invited to visit the website and participate in content development.
After the meeting of the General Assembly, a meeting of the Management Board was held, at which the roles of the board members were assigned. The President of the Association remains Mr. Vlatko Rožac, Treasurer - Mr. Thomas Schneider, and Ms. Eszter Buchert was appointed as Secretary of the Management Board.
Ms. Radmila Sakic Peuraca, Ms. Stela Bozhinova, and Mr. Ion Munteanu will remain the Vice-presidents of the Association.
With the newly elected Management Board of DANUBEPARKS, we are ready to take on new challenges and continue to work to protect and conserve the Danube as an important bio-corridor for the whole of Europe!