News
Celebration of International Day of the Sava River – 1 June 2015 -
05/29/2015
Every year, four countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia celebrate International Day of the Sava River on 1st June with the aim of promoting the exceptional ecological values and economic potential of this river, its sustainable use and development of economic activities, as well as the importance of regional cooperation that contributes a better state of water and water ecosystems, and thus a higher quality of life of residents in the basin.
The organizer of the celebration is the Sava Commission (International Commission for the Sava River Basin), an international institution that coordinates the efforts of all countries in the Sava River basin related to its preservation and development. Bosnia and Herzegovina has become a full member of this institution by signing the Framework Agreement on the Sava River Basin (Official Gazette of BiH, no. 7/11).
International Day of the Sava River is celebrated every year by organizing numerous events including sports and educational activities, fairs, and others. One of the events that draw special attention is the international cycling tour “Sava 2015” and “Youth Parliament 2015”.
International cycling tour “Sava 2015”
- from source to mouth –
International Commission for the Sava River Basin organizes this event for the second time. The aim of the cycling tour is to promote development and sustainable use of all potentials offered by the river Sava, especially river tourism; the use of bicycle lanes along the Sava River; development of cycling tourism - one of the fastest growing segments of tourism in the world; significant possibilities of tourist boat trips, nature reserves and other natural beauties, as well as a wide variety of sports and other activities.
In the period from 29 May to 6 June 2015, a group of 6 experienced cyclists, representatives of cycling associations from all four Sava states, will cycle 962 km, from the source to the mouth of the Sava. The group will go through a large number of settlementsand in several cities along the Sava River, in cooperation with local communities, there are going to be organized commemorative events.
Everyday news about the cycling tour "Sava 2015", including blogs of the cyclists and photos, will be available on
www.savacommission.orgiwww.sava.pedala.hr
“Youth Parliament 2015“
As part of this year's Day of the Sava River on 29 and 30 May 2015, the Sava Commission will organizethe "Youth Parliament 2015" – the fourth meeting of high school students from the Sava countries which will be held in Bihać (Bosnia and Herzegovina), with the aim of informing and transmitting knowledge to youth and exchange of opinions regarding the exceptional ecological values and economic potential of the Sava River basin.
The Youth Parliament 2015 will gather students from 8 high schools from Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. The students and schools were selected based on a photo contest themed "Life with the river and on the river", which was organized by the Sava Commission with the aim to through photography encourage raising awareness of the natural beauty of the Sava River and its tributaries and on the importance of their preservation.
The activities of the Youth Parliament in 2015 include: visit to the National Park Una; choosing the bodies of the Youth Parliament under the Statute; presentation of the winning photos and analysis with experts; organizing exhibitions of selected photographs; proposals for the development of strategy and action plan for the next year; proposals for the improvement of communication among youth in the basin region using primarily modern communication technologies.
More information on these events is available on the website of the Sava Commission: www.savacommission.org