2010 Review

Danube Day 2010: Get active for the rivers!

"Get active for the rivers!" was the call for 2010 and it was a theme that people took 'onboard' and ran with! We danced, sang, canoed, climbed, swam, cooked, explored and rapped for the rivers. We celebrated by being active and by taking action. We marvelled at spectacle and involved ourselves in creating a sustainable future.

2010's event was an immense success: despite serious flooding in Danube countries, Danube Day continued to grow. More than 480 organisers - 60 more than last year - organised 140 events - click on the events map below. Actions built on previous years, cementing events in community life. They brought new partners, creating working relationships that will continue on into the future. Festivities stretched along the Danube and major tributaries, in 14 countries and 7 capitals. From international canoe tours to cross-border flag ceremonies, basin-wide and Danube-long art extravaganzas to bilateral workshops, the day provided an impetus to bring people, communities and countries together.

International events

Danube Day 2010 united the Basin in celebration, fostering friendships between Danube countries and enhancing "Danube solidarity". Events created a sense of camaraderie (and competition!) between nationals and forged community links across borders.

  • Danube Art Master Competition: This basin-wide art extravaganza inspired children across the region. Seven years of the DEF-ICPDR competition has resulted in over 20,000 artworks. At the international final in Vienna, Serbia's Martina Stanojević and Martina Mihajlović from Кnjaževac were crowned overall winners for "Recycle - Save the Danube", a floating island made from plastic bottles. See Inspiration and download the press release: Danube Art Master 2010 Press Release 43.93 KB

  • Danube "Fish United" Flag: This huge flag depicting 14 Danube fish, each in the colours of one of the 14 Danube countries was passed from Ukraine to Romania in 2010. Dangling high above the fast-flowing Tisza and linking the villages of Velyky Bychkiv and Bocicoiu Mare by rope, the flag floated across the sky from Ukraine to Romania - the start of its 14 year journey through the countries of the Basin. See Ukraine below.

  • UNDP-GEF workshop on land and water management in the Upper Tisza: Dilove in W Ukraine saw a joint Ukrainian-Romanian workshop examining progress on the Tisza management plan; pollution control; flood management and restoration. 200 children undertook river bank clean-ups and tree planting. See Ukraine below.

  • The Danube Box: 2010 saw the launch of Czech and Bulgarian versions of the interactive education kit developed by the ICPDR and expert educators with support from Coca-Cola. English, Austrian, Hungarian, German and Romanian versions are also available at www.danubebox.org.

  • The Danube Scroll: A unique international artwork for the Danube, the Scroll was created by artists to spread solidarity through the Basin. It was paddled in canoes almost 3000 km from the river's source to the Black Sea, reaching Budapest on Danube Day. The 35m canvas was painted at stop-offs along the way - local artists added their personal contribution, creating one enormous cross-border artwork. See Hungary (below) or the Danube Scroll web site.

  • Baja "Waters Unite" Canoe Tour: The 6-day, 150 km canoe fest brought together 47 Hungarian, Croatian and Serbian canoeists,  focussing attention on the 3-country floodplains. See Hungary below.

  • International Regatta in Serbia: 'Ships ahoy' for teams from Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Russia, Macedonia and Serbia in a 10-day Zemun to Golubac regatta. See Serbia below.

 

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