11-13 September 2024, Vjosa – Narta Protected Area, Albania
Application Deadline: 29 August
Background information
Despite EU calls, international efforts, and CSOs, the Albanian government, in the last five years, has worked and approved laws and decisions in contradiction with nature preservation. It started with the revision of Protected Areas’ borders and the decision to build Vlora International Airport inside Vjosa Narta Protected Area, which both acts were opposed vigorously and brought to the court. At the beginning of this year, the government continued with a new amendments on the law of PAs, which will pave the way to intense infrastructure development within protected areas, the gems of our country, and the whole Mediterranean region.
The Vlora Airport case was the product of these developments, where more than 300ha of land were removed from the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape and the intense infrastructure started to be built within one of the most important wetlands in the region. PPNEA together with national and international NGOs opposed this project since its beginning and brought the case to the EU level and at the Albanian courts. Our efforts intensified also in the field through conservation work and activism.
The Narta (Late) Summer School is a combination of fields such as nature conservation efforts and activism toward the common aim of nature preservation for us and future generations. Experts of birds, rivers, law, and activists will join in Vjosa’s delta and Narta Lagoon to share their experience on their ongoing work, studies, and efforts to preserve a river, a lagoon, or an endangered bird. “Man and nature” is the theme of this summer school, where our experienced national and international speakers will try to give their perspectives on the coexistence harmoniously of Man and Nature but also “To-Do” as experts and citizens on the preservation of nature.
Timeline of the event
Along the summer school it will be organized:
- Lectures on biodiversity, advocacy, and activism with the best national and international experts.
- Practical exercises (Birding, ringing, etc.)
- Study visit in a Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape.
- Social evenings.
- Graduation ceremony.
Information for applicants
The summer school is open for everyone from Albania and bordering countries, under 30 years old. Priority will be given to applicants who are students, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental science, natural sciences, agricultural sciences, social sciences, and related fields. The working language in the summer school will be English, thus participants are requested to have an adequate level of English proficiency.
Participation in the summer school is free of charge, with food, accommodation, and transport (train/bus). Further details regarding transport, accommodation, and the program will be provided to successful applicants.
Upon successful completion of the summer school, participants will be awarded certificates of completion.
How to apply?
All applicants are requested to fill in the online registration form below and submit a CV to [email protected] by midnight on August 29, 2024. All successful applicants will be notified by August 31, 2024.
Selection procedure
A commission of signors will evaluate each application and the selection procedure will be carried out based on aspects of the field of study, experience based on nature conservation, motivation to participate in the summer school; special professional interest, and the current professional role in line with the topic. According to the evaluation, there will be selected up to 20-25 participants. Successful candidates will be contacted via email.
Instructions PDF: HERE
Narta Summer School is organized in the framework of the project “Protecting Vjosa’s Delta from unsustainable urban development: an integrated approach for the long-term conservation of biodiversity values in the lower Vjosa Valley”, supported financially by the Donors Initiative For Mediterranean Freshwater Ecosystems (DIMFE).
