EUROPARC Conference 2022: Register now!
The EUROPARC Conference is the event of the year for those working in Europe’s Protected Areas and Natura 2000 sites.
Communicating in the 21st Century? Question your mindset!
Communication is everywhere: from technical reports and social media posts to stakeholder engagement. Those working in Protected Areas need to be equipped with exceptional skills if they want to communicate effectively. That’s why during this year’s EUROPARC Conference, we will dive into the world of Communication and give you the opportunity to question your mindset!
How are we speaking to our audiences? What is our perspective on the numerous challenges Protected Areas face? Can technology help us understand and respect nature more? These are just some of the questions we will ask ourselves.
From May 2 – 6, Neusiedler See – Seewinkel National Park in Austria will host the biggest gathering of Protected Area professionals — the EUROPARC Conference 2022.
It’s time to come together.
This will be the first EUROPARC gathering since the pandemic and our conference hosts are making sure it is a safe and secure environment. We warmly invite you to a reunion of friends and colleagues old and new, to share, learn and work together.
Our so-called “Early Goose” prices run until 14th of April, so be sure to register by then to enjoy a discount!
The programme
Get inspired by our wonderful Keynote Speakers and intrigued by great case studies from Europe’s Protected Areas.
A birdwatcher’s paradise: will you spot a hoopoe? © R. Kogler
As we need to build a new mindset and approach to communication, our workshops this year will be interactive Mind Factories. In our Knowledge Marketplace, you will have a chance to host a stall to tell everyone about your Park or projects. Please note: if you are running funded projects, they usually require dissemination activities and this may be a route through which you can access funding to attend the conference. For those who love exploring, the Field Trips will offer a range of opportunities to dive into nature. Nationalpark Neusiedler See-Seewinkel in May is a bird watcher’s paradise, so don’t forget to pack those binoculars! For those that cannot come to Austria: the plenary sessions (Keynote Speakers + Speakers’ Corner), as well as 3 Mind Factories will be live-streamed. Access to this is granted through a special online ticket.
What’s even better: all the information about the conference, what is happening day to day, will be available at your fingertips through the WHOVA app. We will let you know when you can access this!
So don’t delay. Reacquaint yourself with what is happening in Protected Areas across Europe. Develop and gain new ideas and insights about your communication and REGISTER NOW!
Please note: This schedule is still open to change. Detailed information on Mind Factories and Field Trips can be found in the sidebar of this page.
World Café
It’s Time to Come Together.
We start off our EUROPARC conference, by gathering around the table to meet, to chat to learn and to share our experiences, our concerns and needs for the future.
Our World Café is a unique opportunity to connect directly with colleagues from across Europe. Utilising a café setting, discussing in relaxed and open conversations, we will explore common issues in small table groups. You will have the chance throughout the morning to mix, meeting many fellow Protected Area colleagues on the way.
Bringing our collective wisdom and know-how together, this participatory activity will enable us to hear how others have managed in this past two challenging years, what has changed and how Protected Areas have responded. You will surely, pick up some new ideas and insights about our work in Protected Areas and re-establish our common bonds as a Protected Area community.
So don’t miss this exciting new element of the EUROPARC conference experience!
Marketplace
There are also opportunities for conference delegates to present their work. While registering, you can book a spot at the Marketplace. Here you will have the possibility to set up at stall and present your Park, work or project. You can send in your materials beforehand to this address:
- Hauswiese, A- 7142 Illmitz
After registration, the hosts will be in touch with you to take care of all logistics.
If you have any questions, send them to this email address: epc2022@npneusiedlersee.at
Speakers’ Corner
Would you rather present on stage? Then the Speakers’ Corner is just the thing for you! Following the version we had during the online EUROPARC Conferences, you will get 10 minutes on the main stage to present your work, project or idea. Just select “I want to attend the Speakers’ Corner as a presenter” and the hosts will be in touch with you.
Award Ceremony
It’s time to celebrate success!
The winner of the Alfred Toepfer Natural Heritage Scholarship in Jurmala, Latvia – EUROPARC Conference 2019
In EUROPARC we like to recognise the great work being done, managing our Protected Areas around Europe. So join us and be inspired by the stories from the Transboundary Parks who will be awarded. Hear of the great projects our young professionals have planned as they receive the Alfred Toepfer Scholarship, and there may even have a lifetime achievement award too.
Make sure you are there to join in the celebration and be rewarded yourself with a great Gala Dinner to finish off our conference.
If you have any questions, please contact epc2022@npneusiedlersee.at
Green event
The EUROPARC Conference in Austria aims to adhere to the Austrian’s environmental label for Green Meetings and Green Events. This is Austrian’s environmental label for organisers, participants and locations that are involved and committed in the greening process to create a really sustainable event. You can read more about the label here.
Please note that a second EUROPARC Conference will take place in Argelès-sur-Mer, France from 3 – 7 October. The conference will focus on Climate Change Adaptation for Protected Areas.
EUROPARC Conference 2022: Register now!
The EUROPARC Conference is the event of the year for those working in Europe’s Protected Areas and Natura 2000 sites.
Communicating in the 21st Century? Question your mindset!
Communication is everywhere: from technical reports and social media posts to stakeholder engagement. Those working in Protected Areas need to be equipped with exceptional skills if they want to communicate effectively. That’s why during this year’s EUROPARC Conference, we will dive into the world of Communication and give you the opportunity to question your mindset!
How are we speaking to our audiences? What is our perspective on the numerous challenges Protected Areas face? Can technology help us understand and respect nature more? These are just some of the questions we will ask ourselves.
From May 2 – 6, Neusiedler See – Seewinkel National Park in Austria will host the biggest gathering of Protected Area professionals — the EUROPARC Conference 2022.
It’s time to come together.
This will be the first EUROPARC gathering since the pandemic and our conference hosts are making sure it is a safe and secure environment. We warmly invite you to a reunion of friends and colleagues old and new, to share, learn and work together.
Our so-called “Early Goose” prices run until 14th of April, so be sure to register by then to enjoy a discount!
The programme
Get inspired by our wonderful Keynote Speakers and intrigued by great case studies from Europe’s Protected Areas.
A birdwatcher’s paradise: will you spot a hoopoe? © R. Kogler
As we need to build a new mindset and approach to communication, our workshops this year will be interactive Mind Factories. In our Knowledge Marketplace, you will have a chance to host a stall to tell everyone about your Park or projects. Please note: if you are running funded projects, they usually require dissemination activities and this may be a route through which you can access funding to attend the conference. For those who love exploring, the Field Trips will offer a range of opportunities to dive into nature. Nationalpark Neusiedler See-Seewinkel in May is a bird watcher’s paradise, so don’t forget to pack those binoculars! For those that cannot come to Austria: the plenary sessions (Keynote Speakers + Speakers’ Corner), as well as 3 Mind Factories will be live-streamed. Access to this is granted through a special online ticket.
What’s even better: all the information about the conference, what is happening day to day, will be available at your fingertips through the WHOVA app. We will let you know when you can access this!
So don’t delay. Reacquaint yourself with what is happening in Protected Areas across Europe. Develop and gain new ideas and insights about your communication and REGISTER NOW!
Please note: This schedule is still open to change. Detailed information on Mind Factories and Field Trips can be found in the sidebar of this page.
World Café
It’s Time to Come Together.
We start off our EUROPARC conference, by gathering around the table to meet, to chat to learn and to share our experiences, our concerns and needs for the future.
Our World Café is a unique opportunity to connect directly with colleagues from across Europe. Utilising a café setting, discussing in relaxed and open conversations, we will explore common issues in small table groups. You will have the chance throughout the morning to mix, meeting many fellow Protected Area colleagues on the way.
Bringing our collective wisdom and know-how together, this participatory activity will enable us to hear how others have managed in this past two challenging years, what has changed and how Protected Areas have responded. You will surely, pick up some new ideas and insights about our work in Protected Areas and re-establish our common bonds as a Protected Area community.
So don’t miss this exciting new element of the EUROPARC conference experience!
Marketplace
There are also opportunities for conference delegates to present their work. While registering, you can book a spot at the Marketplace. Here you will have the possibility to set up at stall and present your Park, work or project. You can send in your materials beforehand to this address:
- Hauswiese, A- 7142 Illmitz
After registration, the hosts will be in touch with you to take care of all logistics.
If you have any questions, send them to this email address: epc2022@npneusiedlersee.at
Speakers’ Corner
Would you rather present on stage? Then the Speakers’ Corner is just the thing for you! Following the version we had during the online EUROPARC Conferences, you will get 10 minutes on the main stage to present your work, project or idea. Just select “I want to attend the Speakers’ Corner as a presenter” and the hosts will be in touch with you.
Award Ceremony
It’s time to celebrate success!
The winner of the Alfred Toepfer Natural Heritage Scholarship in Jurmala, Latvia – EUROPARC Conference 2019
In EUROPARC we like to recognise the great work being done, managing our Protected Areas around Europe. So join us and be inspired by the stories from the Transboundary Parks who will be awarded. Hear of the great projects our young professionals have planned as they receive the Alfred Toepfer Scholarship, and there may even have a lifetime achievement award too.
Make sure you are there to join in the celebration and be rewarded yourself with a great Gala Dinner to finish off our conference.
If you have any questions, please contact epc2022@npneusiedlersee.at
Green event
The EUROPARC Conference in Austria aims to adhere to the Austrian’s environmental label for Green Meetings and Green Events. This is Austrian’s environmental label for organisers, participants and locations that are involved and committed in the greening process to create a really sustainable event. You can read more about the label here.
Please note that a second EUROPARC Conference will take place in Argelès-sur-Mer, France from 3 – 7 October. The conference will focus on Climate Change Adaptation for Protected Areas.
Support for the Protected Areas in Ukraine
Dear EUROPARC members and friends,
There is a time when we the community of Protected Areas of Europe need to stand together and show our support for our fellow Parks. That time is now.
Never had we thought in Europe that we would face war again, and few of us have for decades, witnessed invading tanks rolling through our lands.
Our Protected Area colleagues through Ukraine are now caught up in not just protecting their nature, but their own families.
EUROPARC is supporting the initiative by the Frankfurt Zoological Society, aided by our colleagues in EUROPARC Germany (NNL) to help support the basic necessities of our Ukrainian Protected Areas at this urgent time.
Thank You
EUROPARC.
In these difficult times for Ukraine and for all humanity, it is our urgent concern to work together as Protected Areas in Europe and to stand up for the people and their livelihoods in Ukraine. After all, nature knows no boundaries. In order to act as quickly and as efficiently as possible, we want to unite our networks and capabilities and therefore we join the call of the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS).
The FZS has been active in Ukraine since 2002 and cooperates with almost 20 national parks and biosphere reserves in Ukraine. Most of these Protected Areas are located in the Carpathians and Polesia, which are one of Central Europe’s most important natural and cultural landscapes. Part of the Carpathians are part of the joint UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site “Ancient Beech Forests and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe,” while Polesia, in northwestern Ukraine, is home to one of the largest natural river floodplain landscapes on the continent, which also extends across parts of Poland, Belarus, and Russia.
The war in Ukraine has deeply shaken us all. In the last days, the FZS has mainly tried to bring its Ukrainian project partners and colleagues to safety. Some of them have already reached Poland. However, the majority of the Ukrainian Protected Area staff is still on site and all are helping where they can. The FZS is supporting this team to cope with the massive challenge posed by the large inflow of people, as many Ukrainians are fleeing their homes to the west of the country, to parts of Poland and the Carpathian Mountains. These regions are relatively calm at the moment. Ukrainian Protected Area staff and the FZS are continuing their work on the ground to the best of their ability, but in a new reality. The Protected Areas now accommodate many displaced people.
In the Carpathians, the FZS works not only in Ukraine, but also in Poland, Slovakia and Romania. Partners in these neighboring countries have mobilized to get much-needed relief supplies across the border. Within Ukraine, the FZS and Protected Area staff are distributing these materials to people in their region. Protected Areas in neighboring countries also open their doors to welcome people who make it across the border – including families of staff members in Ukraine.
The FZS aims to provide the Protected Areas in Polesia and in the Carpathians with the support and relief supplies that are continuously urgently needed, as Protected Areas are cut off from other funding in these times. This includes sleeping bags and mats, other camping equipment, flashlights, heaters, and support for the basic operating costs of the Protected Areas – fuel, heating, salaries. The FZS continues to be in direct contact with the Protected Areas in Ukraine and has a needs list from them of much-needed supplies. In order to provide these relief goods, the FZS collects donations and subsequently organizes a transport to Ukraine made possible by these donations.
In our view, the FZS is the partner throughout Europe that guarantees that our support will most effectively benefit the Protected Areas and the people living and working there.
We therefore call on all Protected Areas in Europe to join us and call for donations in their regions for the purpose of supporting the helping and refugee people in the Protected Areas of Ukraine.
Please use the following designated donation account of the FZS for this purpose:
Emergency support for Protected Areas in the Carpathians:
IBAN: DE63 5005 0201 0000 0800 02
BIC: HELADEF 1822
More information on the FZS’s call for donations is available here!
Report on the fundin raising action
Thank you for your support! Our thoughts are with our colleagues in Ukraine.
“There is no [nature] conservation without people, without public support!”
Martina Hervat, a marine biologist from Brijuni National Park in Croatia, participated in one of the courses delivered by LIFEeNatura2000.edu project. In a short interview, she shared her experiences and the positive impacts this project has had on her career development.
Watch the full interview with Martina Hervat
Brijuni National Park
NP Brijuni, Photo: Tonko Bogovac
The Brijuni islands are one of the 8 national parks in the Republic of Croatia. The total surface area of the Park is around 3,395.00 ha almost 80% of which is the sea. In 2021, the Brijuni was awarded an international Blue Park award, from Marine Conservation Institute in Seattle, which recognises outstanding marine protected areas.
NP Brijuni, Photo: Tonko Bogovac
Joining LIFE.edu project
In 2020, LIFE.edu ran three courses:
- Applied conservation biology;
- Building alliances for Natura 2000 management and
- Competent Inclusive Communication.
They were created to develop the specific skills, knowledge, and attitudes required by Natura 2000 managers and Protected Area professionals and help them in their work. We wanted to hear why Martina decided to join the Communication course and how she heard about the project in the first place:
— Social media! I really like following the pages that are original and interesting, so I followed and saw the invitation to participate which was open to everyone. For me, it was interesting that the program was well-structured and that even before COVID-19, it was emphasised that it will be online.
Something that made this course particularly appealing for Martina was its interactive dimension:
— As emphasised in the invitation it was practical – not a passive webinar that we listened to, but they wanted to engage us, include us from the very beginning,
The course, as Martina states, exceeded her expectations because it helped her discover new job opportunities and make new friends:
— I met wonderful people during the project, and I am currently working with a colleague on the preparation of an international project… So the course truly opened the doors to new adventures.
Martina Hervat, NP Brijuni Photo: Nataša Sundara
Martina’s project applying for the Interreg Central EUROPE funding programme focuses on the Management and Restoration of Tiny Areas of Conservation Importance. It gathers 9 institutions from Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, and Slovakia.
Many of the skills obtained during the LIFE.edu course, helped her during the project preparation, and she believes these types of courses are very useful for Nature Professionals:
Whatever we do, we need communication skills, advocacy, conflict resolution, better explanations. We can be experts in our fields like biology, economics… but what our education does not prepare us for is communicating.
— Somehow I thought that my job would be diving, recording, working on conservation, but there is no [nature] conservation without people, without public support—because of the funds but also because of the implementation, and that is not our strong suit. Sometimes we do not know what to do.
NP Brijuni, Photo: Tonko Bogovac
— It is nice when consensus exists from the beginning when there is support, but what to do when we do not understand each other and then everyone pulls to their side, everyone thinks they are right and is not willing to listen to others, so it gets to: “Who will be louder?; Who will get to speak first?”. In order to be able to solve something together, we must hear, listen to and understand each other. And it’s not about who will win, but maybe it’s a solution we haven’t even thought about in the beginning, but we have to come to it together.
— That is why these courses are really useful, since they give us those skills that we lack from our background and our education and give us confidence, so we can get out of our comfort zone because we are all different. It’s not that we all feel comfortable talking in front of a large audience, we’re not comfortable when someone raises their voice and says: “I don’t agree; I won’t offer support; We won’t protect it; I have my rights; This is mine!”. Then we don’t know how to react, whether to get into discussions or withdraw, but the basis of it all is listening.
— This course was really wonderful because we heard the experiences of other colleagues, and each of us faces our own challenges through work. The course was very well-thought-out with excellent and professional trainers, and they are people who work with stakeholders and managers on a daily basis, and it is a great value of this course and a big plus.
NP Brijuni, Photo: Tonko Bogovac
Top 5 tips for Nature Managers:
According to Martina, the following tips are important for everyone working with Nature:
- Whatever we do, we need to invest in communication and set aside time and be patient. Investments should be made in improving knowledge in various fields.
- Today’s nature protection requires a multidisciplinary approach, getting out of the comfort zone.
- Let us not hesitate to ask for help.
- An honest approach opens many doors to new insights.
- Let’s try to take the time to be in nature, so we don’t lose sight of why we embarked on this adventure. It is crucial that we sometimes relax, reset because it gives us the energy to be able to move on.
Capacity building for Nature Professionals
We are continuing our journey through the LIFE ENABLE project. It will create the European training system called the European Nature Academy—the academy will be home to a range of practical courses and tailor-made learning activities, designed to help Natura 2000 & Protected Area managers in their work. A combination of face-to-face, and online possibilities will help Natura 2000 and Protected Area managers be more effective, competent and confident nature management professionals.
LIFE ENABLE Project in a nutshell
This interview is also available as a podcast episode.