Between the 29th April to 5th May, hundreds of young Europeans are gathered in Brussels, enjoying the European Youth Week. Every two years, the European Commission (DG EAC with the cooperation of other DGs), organises a week full of conferences, workshops, and networking activities specially dedicated to youth. This year, with the theme “Democracy and me”, participants will be challenged to think and commit to new ways to influence decisions and be active in society.

What nature does for you – What you can do for nature

Nature and biodiversity were among the main topics discussed by the young participants over the past days. To spark engagement for nature among participants, DG Environment organised a participatory workshop, on the 30th April. The almost 50 participants were challenged to consider “What nature does for you” and commit on their own future actions for nature. To inspire them, young volunteers with experiences in nature conservation projects were invited to share their experience – and Leonardo Cerno was one of the guests. This is his story.

Leonardo, the (young) voice of the Prealpi Giulie Nature Park

Leonardo has witnessed almost twenty-five springs in the Julian Alps. Since his childhood, he was only to be found outdoors… a tendency that obviously grew after he joined the Junior Ranger programme in his park. The Prealpi Giulie mountains seeded him a wish to work for nature and to have a positive impact in the development of his region, of is so-called home.

Junior Rangers in the Prealpi Giulie Nature Park © Leonardo Cerno

The last years of Leonardo´s life were shared between classrooms, exams (he is studying natural sciences), and projects in the Park. After he reached the 18-year limit of the Junior Ranger programme, he kept engaged with the Park´s activities and, together with other colleagues from across Europe, formed the first generation of the Youth+ programme. 

Currently, Leonardo organises workcamps and several activities for schools and volunteers in the Park, and is also a member of the local civil protection. Not to mention Leonardo is also an excellent guide… those that know the mountains by heart.

Leonardo Cerno, Prealpi Giulie Nature Park, Italy © Luca Deganutti

Youth, committed for the Future

Meanwhile, Leonardo and some of his young mates who shared the same passion for the mountains established the first Youth Advisory Board in the region. Young people the local municipalities are now connected and organised to start playing a proactive role in the regional activities, local governance structures, and in the work of the Park.

Participants of the Workshop “What nature does for you – What you can do for nature”, at EU Youth Week 2019, European Parliament, Brussels

Well, but let´s go back to Brussels, during the workshop Leonardo shared his experienced and introduced the EUROPARC Youth Manifesto project, – which has precipitated a series of interesting questions in the ongoing activities, told us Leo:

It was a great experience and I had a lot of questions from participatins about the Junior Ranger and Youth projects, but many more about the Youth Manifesto! So I am convinced the interest is raising, and we should continue our work!

What needs to be done to address the biodiversity crisis to save the planet?

In the afternoon, a second session organised by DG Environment took place. This time the focus was on understanding what is being done – and what needs to be done – to halt biodiversity loss.

Leonardo joined this session too, this time to share the Nat2Care Project, an INTERREG project between Italy and Slovenia with the aim to improve the conservation status of 3 protected areas across borders. Interesting is the focus given to citizen engagement initiatives envisaged in the project to promote awareness raising and personal involvement.

Micheal O’Briain, Deputy Head of Unit, Nature Protection Unit in DG Environment, and moderator of this session, closed with an important remark to the European Union, and the importance of networking and cooperating – as problems are similar all across Europe, we need to connect and share our experiences.

We want to hear from you too. Tell us how you are engaged in the activities of your Park, how your park is giving opportunities to young people. Share them with #EUROPARCyouthmanifesto or send them to youth @ europarc.org.

The EU Youth Week is still running! You can follow live some of the events and check the full programme here.

Welcome to the EUROPARC Sustainable Tourism Partners’ Award.

Tourism is one of the main economic drivers of Europe’s rural areas. EUROPARC has long recognised the need to ensure we have a thriving, living, working landscapes that support nature and people. Tourism, therefore, has to be developed and managed along with sustainable principles, if we are to ensure a positive future. Parks and Protected Areas are at the core of the natural and cultural assets of an area and are often the main reason for visiting.

However to be a Sustainable Destination, depends on businesses, community, and municipalities all working to that common purpose.

In these STAR Awards, EUROPARC seeks to celebrate, champion and acknowledge the effort and investments made by tourism businesses to be more sustainable and help care and protect their natural and cultural heritage.

To be less impactful on the environment in which the businesses reside, to work alongside the park, and to play a supporting role in the community are all the excellent actions of “Charter Partners”.

EUROPARC, therefore, invites all current Charter Partners and Tour Operators to apply for the awards in order to highlight the sustainable action being done which are Good for Nature, Good for People and Good for Business.

>>>> Download the Guidelines for Candidates <<<<

English – Guidelines for candidates

Spanish_- Instrucciones para los candidatos

Italian – Linee guida per i candidati_2019

French – Directives destinées aux candidats

Eligibility

The Star Awards is open to all Sustainable Business Partners or Tour Operators who have a current validated partnership (under Charter Part II or Charter Part III) with a park or protected area, itself currently awarded by EUROPARC. If you are unsure of your eligibility please contact your Park for further information.

Categories

We really want to learn of your experiences and share your stories, so we have endeavoured to ask questions in different areas in which you may contribute to the Sustainable Destination. We have tried to make the questions as intuitive as possible to answer. There are 3 categories you can choose from:

Apart from the 3 voluntary categories, there is one compulsory category- Contribution to Conservation, which each applicant must complete. Contribution to Conservation will appear at the beginning of each category. You need only fill in the questions once, if you choose to apply for multiple categories.

As this is a fundamental of the Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected areas, we are asking you to tell us about your direct actions or contributions for habitats and species of your protected area.

The Application Process

We invite you to apply in as many categories as you like. Using the only form in either French, Italian. Spanish or English.  The deadline for entries is 21st June.

APPLY in ENGLISH (French, Spanish and Italian Versions are also available)

Building My Community

• English (preview the questions)
• French (preview the questions)
• Spanish (preview the questions)
• Italian (preview the questions)

Reducing the Impacts on the Environment

• English (preview the questions)
• French (preview the questions)
• Spanish (preview the questions)
• Italian (preview the questions)

Communicating the Values of my Park and my Business 

• English (preview the questions)
• French (preview the questions)
• Spanish (preview the questions)
• Italian (preview the questions)

These will be assessed by an in-country jury and a representative from EUROPARC. The best from each country, in each category, will be adjudicated by an international jury who will select the overall winner in each category.

These will be announced at the EUROPARC Charter Award Ceremony 2019. A local handover ceremony can be arranged for each winner, but winners will be invited to attend the award ceremony at the European Parliament in Brussels, in late November/early December 2019.  (Date to be confirmed)

The winner in each category will go to a public vote, where the overall winner will receive, along with a representative from the park or Protected Area with which they are a partner, a free place at the EUROPARC Conference 2020.

For more information please contact: sustainable.tourism @ europarc.org.

It is time for the European Youth Week 2019, an opportunity for discussions with policy-makers and young people in the European Parliament that will open its doors to hundreds of participants.

What is the European Youth Week?

Every second year, the European Youth Week aims to celebrate and promote youth activities through events organised in all countries participating in the Erasmus+ programme. Next grass root activities at a national level, the European Youth Week will bring together young people, project participants, youth organisations and policy-makers in a European event held in Brussels at the European Parliament.

From 29 April to 5 May, events will be taking place across Europe under the theme “Democracy and me”.

The goal is to explore all the ways young people can influence decisions and be active in society.

Leonardo Cerno, ex-Junior Ranger and active member implementing the EUROPARC Youth Manifesto in Italy (Prealpi Giulie Nature Park) will be the voice of protected areas in the meeting, share his experience working with the park authority and the creation of a local Youth Council, and, of course, will present them the EUROPARC Youth Manifesto!

Why “Democracy and me”?

Because you can influence decisions that influence your life! Upcoming European elections on 23-26 May are approaching. Make sure that this time you are voting.

Also because what happens between elections is equally important for a democracy to thrive: getting involved in voluntary work, talking to policy-makers or making yourself heard in other ways in order to attract attention to the issues that are important, be they climate change or youth unemployment.

Democracy is a value that we may take for granted, but in Europe, we have developed and nurtured it for years. It’s ours. It’s our voices. It’s our achievement. It’s you.

Who organises the European Youth Week?

A European event is organised by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture in partnership with the European Parliament and involving other Directorates-General of the European Commission. At the national level, organisation and coordination are entrusted to the Erasmus+ National Agencies in close cooperation with the Eurodesk network.

You can check out the full program here!