EPA: Bundled expertise in Klagenfurt
The European Parks Academy 2019 in retrospect.
"Klagenfurt has become a centre of excellence for protected area research and education," says Boris Erg, Director of the IUCN Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He led a seminar on “Effective Transboundary Management” at the European Parks Academy (EPA) 2019. Participants were able to get to know the new IUCN toolbox and try it out right away. The EPA 2019 took place from 15 to 18 July at the Lakeside Campus Klagenfurt. Under the motto "Learn.exchange.enjoy", the EPA is held every year in cooperation with the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA/IUCN) and E.C.O. Institute of Ecology in Klagenfurt.
The four seminar days were dedicated to the topics "World Heritage & Sustainable Tourism", "Transboundary Protected Areas & Successful Management" and "Ecological Monitoring & Innovative Technologies". The corresponding inputs were provided by speakers who are among the best and most sought-after in their field internationally.
"We are proud to have welcomed speakers and guests from Germany, the United States, Slovenia, Serbia, Israel, Switzerland, Uzbekistan and Austria," says Michael Jungmeier, Scientific Director of the European Parcs Academy. "We are particularly pleased about the numerous guests from the Ukraine. The great interest shows that the country is seriously taking its need to catch up in the field of nature conservation and this despite many other challenges".
At the end of the seminar programme, the participants received their certificates, which confirm and document their intensive discussion of the respective topic. The presentation of the certificates seamlessly turned into a cheerful summer party at the Lakeside campus in the evening.