EUROPARC at the Euro’Meet – The Conference on Outdoor Sport

Multiple areas of collaboration between EUROPARC and ENOS.

EUROPARC at the Euro’Meet – The Conference on Outdoor Sport

The EUROPARC Federation and European Network of Outdoor Sports have built up a good working partnership over the last decade. Evidence of this can be seen in the presence at one another’s Conferences, as well as the development of the 10 Good Principles and a recent Trails Policy Paper. Last year, ENOS was active at the EUROPARC Conference in Lithuania, and this year EUROPARC attended their Euro’Meet Conference in Sweden. The event took place in Sundsvall, Sweden’s Outdoor Recreation Municipality for 2026, from 8- 10 September 2026.

Renewal of the Partnership

A major step taken at the Euro’Meet was a renewal of the commitment to work together for the next five years – a partnership that is successful and fruitful for both the Outdoor Sport sector and the Protected Area sector. A new Partnership Agreement was signed in the closing ceremony!

The collaboration began a decade ago, led by different people in both organisations. Ten years on, with a new EUROPARC Director, Alberto Arroyo Schnell, and the Chair of ENOS, Benjamin Billet, the collaborative spirit remains just as strong, if not stronger. This lasting partnership is made possible by the dedicated teams working together across both organisations.

Multiple meetings over the year resulted in a formal signing of the new Partnership Agreement at the Euro’Meet closing ceremony.

Collaboration between the outdoor recreation sector and Protected Areas is necessary, possible and effective. We learn from and inspire one another, recognise each other’s contributions, and challenge outdated perceptions.

Over the years, this partnership has delivered tangible results: shared principles, joint events, policy papers and projects that build on one another. Initiatives such as CONNECT – Outdoor Sports and Protected Areas are helping identify the key ingredients for successful, long-term cooperation-a partnership we are already proud to exemplify.

Winners of the EUROPARC/ENOS Joint Award

The EUROPARC Federation and the ENOS have launched the 2nd edition of a Joint award. This initiative aims to highlight and reward innovative projects that harmonise Outdoor Sports with protecting Europe’s treasured natural landscapes. The joint award has been designed to serve as a recognition of sustainable practices and collaboration, championing efforts that balance the enjoyment of Outdoor Sports with the conservation of natural environments.

The winners of the 2nd edition were announced publicly at the Euro’Meet in Sundsvall, Sweden, on the 10th September.

The 2026 winners were Barnim Nature Park (Germany) and HIKING HERO, an outdoor hiking event organised by SCC EVENTS, who also run the Berlin Marathon every year. The SCC Events team was looking into doing more in the field of sustainability and approached the Barnim Nature Park about possibilities for collaboration. This was how the HIKING HERO event was born; an annual hiking marathon that brings many visitors into the Barnim Nature Park and promotes sustainable hiking.

In addition to this event, SCC Events also contributes €1,000 annually to Barnim Nature Park’s “Project of the Year” competition, which supports and celebrates local initiatives contributing to nature conservation, environmental education and community engagement.

Their partnership reminds us that the future of outdoor sport depends not only on enjoying natural places responsibly, but also on building lasting relationships with the communities and organisations working to protect them.

This collaboration and the mechanisms that have made it possible will be analysed by the CONNECT project in November. Barnim Nature Park is a pilot site of this ERASMUS+Sports project aimed to strengthen relationships between local Outdoor Sports organisations and Protected Areas by identifying key elements for successful cooperation.

Workshop on the CONNECT Project

As part of the CONNECT project, a joint project together with ENOS, IMBA Europe, ERA, Surfrider Europe, Leave no Trace Ireland and Mid-Sweden University, EUROPARC co-led a participatory workshop “Connecting nature protection and outdoor sports – The Connect Project”  at the Euro’Meet. The aim of the workshop was to analyse the different steps needed to move from a shallow collaboration to a deeper one. 

Participants agreed that Outdoor Sports and Protected Areas share one complex ecosystem, and that collaboration benefits both. It brings one voice for awareness-raising, shared norms that avoid conflicts and general bans, access to volunteers and resources, and mutual knowledge. 

Collaboration should start informally and small: build personal relationships, create a safe space without “us and them”, and begin with non-controversial common ground and small mutual objectives. Key barriers identified are a lack of information, the legal framework, funding and the number of stakeholders. One of the ways to overcome some of these is having a neutral mediator to facilitate the initial discussions. 

Long-lasting trust depends on communication, joint projects, clear roles and leadership, and openly recognising power struggles. Examples from Belgium (an MTB federation invited to PA meetings and a state-funded trail specialist) and North Macedonia (MTB users building trails in a national park) show how this works in practice. 

Co-creation requires open minds, respect, shared responsibility and neutral facilitation, though concrete joint actions remain to be defined. Co-governance was seen as ambitious: it raises the question of who holds power, and needs an institutional framework and a stable stakeholders’ forum. The European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas was cited as an inspiring model. 

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The collaboration and the CONNECT project with ENOS are funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.