2006 Review
Danube Day 2006: A River of Life! Basin-wide events united the Danube countries across the Basin.
Danube Art Master competition
Danube Art Master 2006 brought 1000s of pupils together in a creative extravaganza. Jointly organised by the ICPDR and the Danube Environmental Forum (DEF), this ambitious contest saw children from 13 countries visit their local rivers and create artworks reflecting what the Danube means to them. More then 3500 applications from schools were submitted. Sculptures, paintings and mosaics lined river banks across the region, a visual representation of young people's vision for a positive future.
All national winners were treated to a 2-day trip in Vienna. Its highlight was an award ceremony in the frame of the ICPDR's Ministerial Meeting, where two young Romanians were crowned as the International Danube Art Masters for 2006. Their winning painting 'The Danube Flows Through Us' ilustrates the link between people and the Danube, using natural material from the Danube and paint.
Three Nation transboundary bicycle tour
The 2006 IAD's (International Association for Danube Research) international bicycle tour was one step further then the one from the previous year. The two day tour (Vienna - Bratislava - Gyor) on the 24 - 25 June gave journalists, environmental experts adn cycling enthusiasts from Austria, Slovakia and Hungary the chance to visit sites along the Danube and learn about each other's projects.
Swimming the Danube
American Mimi Hughes swam the 2850 km of the Danube River from its sourse in Donaueschingen, Germany. Mimi, a 49 year-old wife and mother of four children swam the Danube on a personal mission of social and environmental stewardship. Using her experience of her previous swims (from Alaska to Russia and the length of the Tennessee River, USA), her journey has risen awareness of the importance of international cooperation for social responsibility and the preservation of the environment.
