On 25th November 2022 from 9:00 to 12:00 CET the DANUBEPARKS General Assembly was held in Linz, Austria (Tabakfabrik).
The agenda of the General Assembly 2022 included the closing of the business year 2021, an update about ongoing activities and projects as well as the activity and budget plans for 2023. Also, according to the statutes, the new Management Board members were elected after the resignation of two former Board members. A newly approved Horizon project (starting in 2023) was announced and a request to join Association from one additional Protected Area was reviewed. You can find more details below.
DANUBEPARKS General Assembly 2022 - agenda:
- Welcome
- Activity Report 2021
- Financial Report 2021
- Approval of the acts of the Management Board
- Election of new Members of the Management Board
- Presentation Activity Plan 2023
- Budget Plan 2023
- Discussion & other issues (by all members of the Association)
After the welcoming speech of Mr. Vlatko Rožac (President), the activity report was presented by Mr. Georg Frank (General Secretary), and the financial report for 2021 was presented by Mr. Thomas Schneider, Treasurer of the Association. The General Assembly unanimously approved the acts of the Management Board. The highlights of the activity report were related to the implementation of two big LIFE projects (LIFE Danube Free Sky and LIFE WILDisland) whose development started in the framework of the Interreg project DANUBEparkCONNECTED and Interreg Transdanube Travel Stories project (closing by the end of 2022).
After many years in the service of DANUBEPARKS and great contributions, Mrs. Eszter Buchert and Mr. Ion Munteanu resigned as members of the Management Board. Both former members received symbolic gifts on behalf of the whole DANUBEPARKS as a sign of gratitude. Also, it was stated many times during the General Assembly that DANUBEPARKS Network would not be the same without them and their contributions. The nominated candidate for Middle Danube was Mr. Tomáš Kušík (president of BROZ, Slovakia), and for Lower Danube Mrs. Liliana Ivancenco (Chief of Department for Internal and International Relations in DDBRA, Romania). Both of the candidates presented themself and General Assembly unanimously supported both candidates.
After the elections, Action and Budget Plan for 2023 was presented. The plan was strongly influenced by ongoing project activities but also by the new Horizon project DANUBE4all - which is starting on the 1st of January 2023. DANUBE4all will develop a fundamental and fully public Restoration Action Plan for the Danube basin lighthouse of the Mission “Restore our ocean and waters by 2030”.
Finally, a new application for membership in DANUBEPARKS Network was received from Đerdap National Park! According to the Statutes, Đerdap National Park will be accepted as an Observer member for at least one year before they apply for the status of a Full member. A new member was welcomed by General Assembly with unanimous support.
Strengthened by newly elected Board members and new Protected Area in the Network, we are ready to take on new challenges and continue to work to protect and conserve the Danube river!