For information only - not an official document
UNIS/OUS/344
28 June 2016
VIENNA, 28 June (International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River) - Creative events for children, behind-the-scenes tours in water management institutes, field visits in nature reserves: Danube Day reflects the diversity of the Danube River Basin.
On 29 June, tens of thousands of people in 14 countries will celebrate the biggest river festival in the world.
"Danube Day links the people of the Danube basin with their rivers," said Peter J. Kalas, International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) President 2016. "The many participants in the Danube Day celebrations demonstrate how much we need passionate individuals who think global and act local. With growing pressure from climate change, creative solutions in water management will become ever more important. The display of creativity shown on Danube Day makes me optimistic - I see many young people enjoying our rivers today to become their guardians tomorrow."
Danube Day, which encourages people throughout the Danube River Basin to "get active" for rivers, lakes and groundwater, is an annual event organized by the ICPDR in partnership with Coca-Cola Hellenic, The Coca-Cola Company and national partners. Danube Day 2016 is taking place during a special year for the ICPDR, as it marks the adoption of a milestone document that will shape water management in the Danube Basin for the next six years.
In February 2016, the ministers of 14 Danube countries and the European Commission adopted the Danube Declaration. Ivan Zavadsky, Executive Secretary of the ICPDR, said: "The aim of this Declaration is to make the Danube cleaner, safer and healthier for everyone to enjoy. Danube Day reminds us that the future of our rivers and lakes is not the responsibility of politicians only, but in our hands. Let us enjoy our rivers and keep up the good work to protect them."
Danube Day has many faces: every country celebrates it through local, often personal ways. Open-air events with music in Serbia, lectures in Romania, social media activities in Austria - the basin's diversity is reflected in these many and varied events.
Since 2004 Danube Day has grown into the biggest river festival in the world, and with more than 350 events held in 2015 and tens of thousands of participants, Danube Day 2016 is expected to build on this success.
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About Danube Day
Danube Day is celebrated on June 29, the signing date of the Danube River Protection Convention, throughout the Danube river basin, to pay tribute to the vital role the Danube and its tributaries play in people's lives: providing water, food, power, transport, recreation and prosperity; while drawing attention to the importance of conservation. Danube Day was first held in 2004.
To find more information about local events in your country visit: www.danubeday.org.
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For more information contact:
Benedikt
Mandl
ICPDR Secretariat
Telephone: (+43-1) 26060-4373
Email: benedikt.mandl[at]unvienna.org
Web site:
www.icpdr.org
