Danube Day 2013: celebrating rivers in 14 countries
Danube Day 2013:
celebrating rivers in 14 countries
For a decade, Danube Day festivities have linked local activities with an international perspective and brought the basin together to celebrate the Danube in the world’s largest river festival.
In every Danube Basin country, Danube Day festivities have their own special flavour, ranging from educational lectures on environmental topics to fun events that show how important rivers and their ecosystems are to our lives. © ICPDR/A. Iarochevitch/Blue Rivers, UA
For the tenth time, Danube Day will be celebrated on the 29th of June 2013 with the motto “Get active for the sturgeons!”. Hundreds of organisations in all 14 countries of the Danube Basin
have been preparing for events in June, transforming it into a month of river celebrations from the Black Forest to the Danube Delta. Read on for a short preview of what to expect of Danube Day in the UN International Year of Water Cooperation.
“Shared waters – joint responsibilities” is a motto often used by the ICPDR to highlight that rivers connect people and commit them to joint actions to improve water quality. This happens on various levels – from the international roof-level to the local grass-root environmental activity. Danube Day on the 29th of June celebrates all of these efforts and invites tens of thousands of people throughout this unique river basin to join in the world’s biggest river festival. This year, it will do so in the light of a very special group of fish: “Get active for the sturgeons!” will be the motto, which will highlight habitat protection, fish migration and poaching which has driven Danube sturgeons to the brink of extinction.
Building on successful cooperation. The June 29, 1994, was the day on which the major countries of the Danube Basin signed the convention that set up the ICPDR: the Danube River Protection Convention. Since then, remarkable progress has been made in improving water quality in the Danube and its main tributaries. The celebrations of Danube Day link the local initiatives and people with this international perspective. Last year, no less than 350 events were organised through over 900 partner organisations. For 2013, the UN International Year on Water Cooperation, even more events are expected.
Offering something for everyone. Take a look at www.danubeday.org to learn about events in your country or region. In every Danube Basin country, the festivities have their own special flavour, ranging from educational lectures on environmental topics to fun events that show how wonderfully rivers add to recreation. And yet the 10th Danube Day has succeeded in providing a frame that contains the entire basin, mobilising people in 14 countries.
In Germany, for example, celebrations will take place at a sturgeon breeding site; in Austria, slack-liner Lukas Irmler will cross the Danube Canal of Vienna; Slovakia is planning a public event at the Gabčíkovo dams; the Hungarian initiative Danube Flows will organise events throughout the country; in Serbia, over 350 partner organisations are preparing for the biggest Danube Day celebration the country has seen so far; Bosnia and Herzegovina, holding the ICPDR presidency this year, will target schools in educational events; in Romania, the 11 water basin management centres will host festivities; and Ukraine will try to enter the Book of Records of Ukraine with the longest photo exhibition showcasing riverine environments in Uzghorod. Throughout the Danube Basin, children will compete in the Danube Art Master competition organised by ICPDR and Global Water Partnership, Central and Eastern Europe.
These events are only a small selection of many festivities planned. As Danube Day 2013 comes closer, more plans are being finalised and further details will be announced. Keep checking www.danubeday.org and national websites for updates!
