Romania, alongside the other 13 countries of the Danube Basin, celebrates on 29 June the International Danube Day, for one of Europe’s greatest river systems and the people and wildlife that rely on it. All 11 Water Basin Administrations in Romania have prepared over 40 events for the following two days, including summer parades and 10 national or cross-border celebrations.

Moldova Nouă – Băile Herculane is the location for this year's national celebration, where a high-level Basin Committee Meeting and Children's Environmental Education events are scheduled. Attending the special Committee Meeting will be Minister for Waters and Forests, Ioan Deneș, along with General Director of the Ministry, Simona Olimpia Negru; Deputy Director of Romanian Waters, Dorel Marcel Dume, and Prefect of Caraș-Severin County, Matei Lupu. Also participating will be ministry specialists, local government officials and invited guests. Events are organised by the Ministry of Waters and Forest and Romanian Waters, with the participation of local authorities, institutions and civil society.

Aimed at engaging the next generation of Danube stewards, the children's event is sure to educate, entertain and enthral! Come along to find out about how we make sure the Danube waters are fit to drink and safe for wildlife. Meet the experts responsible for checking the rivers are healthy and see how water is analysed in the lab. The fascinating sessions will be led by specialists from the Banat River Basin Administration laboratory and Integrated Nutrient Pollution Control Project.

Opening ceremony and concert for the events dedicated to the International Danube Day has taken place on 28 June in the City of Galați, where until 30 June there’s the Danube Festival with regatta and street sport contests. For all those aged 6-18 years, the Danube Art Master challenges them to create a 3D artwork or 1-minute video that celebrates the environment. Theme is to use inspiration and creativity to show how rivers are important or perhaps what should be done to look after them. Participants can submit a photo or video to national organisers, Eco Counselling Centre Galați, and they can win a top prize. National winners will also be invited to take part in the 14-country Danube Art Master final.

RRA Correspondent Mihai Bădescu: Second largest river in Europe, with 1,075 km on Romanian territory, the Danube offers Romania a huge economic potential. From its entrance to Romania, the river passes through the most spectacular strait in Europe, where one of the most interesting tourist area in Romania has developed over the recent years. Next comes the Iron Gates I and II Hydroelectric Power Station, which provides over 15% of Romania's electricity, one of Europe's largest hydrotechnical constructions. River Danube then flows past Drobeta-Turnu Severin, heading to the Romanian Plain in the South, where the river is able to provide water for hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops, but since irrigation system is destroyed, Romania is not yet using the potential of the River Danube. Before leaving Romania and going to the Black Sea, the River Danube offers a real treasure to Romania and to tourists coming from all over the world – the Danube Delta. Specialists say that from start to end, the Danube represents the largest uninterrupted wetland area in the world. The river hosts not less than 320 species of birds, most of which can be met, of course, in the Delta Paradise, where tourism has also exploded in recent years.

International Danube Day, “29 June”, was first celebrated by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) in 2004 to highlight the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Danube River Protection Convention.

Eighty-one million people in all 14 Danube countries are invited to ‘Get Active for a healthier Danube’ on 29 June as part of the celebrations for the 15th annual Danube Day. The theme this year is a “Healthier Danube”.

Throughout June and July, 165 riverside festivals, public meetings and fun, educational events pay tribute to the Danube rivers, their peoples and the progress being made.

This week, festivities are being held in Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine. Previous weeks have seen events also in Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.Montenegro marks the day with a main event in July.

At international level, International Danube Day is coordinated by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) Permanent Secretariat, and supported by corporate partners, in particular through the “Clean Danube Partnership” with Coca-Cola Hellenic and the Coca-Cola Company.

“On June 29th, we celebrate the strength and vitality of our Danube family that has successfully worked together to make the Danube rivers healthier. The state of our rivers is not only a barometer for the health of the wider environment, but also for the state of relationships between the countries and communities that share the Danube (...) ICPDR pursues its mission by making recommendations for the improvement of water quality, developing mechanisms for flood and accident control, agreeing on standards for emissions and by assuring that these measures are reflected in the Contracting Parties’ national legislations and are applied in their policies. In addition, the International Danube Art Master - a creative schools’ competition - is being held in all Danube countries in cooperation with the Global Water Partnership Central Eastern Europe (GWP CEE) during Danube Day. The contest invites young people from 14 countries to create artwork inspired by the rivers and their surroundings. The international winner will be announced in autumn 2018”, said ICPDR President, Helge Wendenburg.

Source:RRA, DanubeDay.org, United Nations Information Service, Romanian Waters National Administration