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As part of the European Green Belt Initiative, Green Belt Day is celebrated annually from 18th to 24th of September.

This year, Green Balkans, together with the Svilengrad Historical Museum and the Turkish NGO Association of Back to Nature Youth and Sports Club, is organizing a youth international conference on biodiversity, culture, and history within the European Green Belt Initiative.

The event will be held on 24 - 25.09.2021 in Svilengrad, in the region of Sakar Mountain, which falls both in the Green Belt and in the European ecological network 'NATURA 2000'.

The territory of Sakar is emblematic of the conservation of the Lesser Kestrel - an extremely rare bird. The species was recently restored as a breeding ground in Bulgaria in this region, within the Green Balkans project implemented under the LIFE Program of the European Union.

The purpose of the event is to present the efforts of young scientists working in the European Green Belt, along with the border areas of Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece.
Each of the participants will have the opportunity to present the results of their work in the field of biodiversity and nature, culture, and history. The conference aims to draw the attention of the general public to the preserved and unique nature, culture, and history of the European Green Belt, to raise public awareness and knowledge about the Green Belt, as well as to improve cross-border exchange and cooperation, to help develop cultural-historical, wine and ecotourism in the border area.
The conference is included in the official program on the occasion of the celebrations of the day of Svilengrad on October 5, 2021.

The form of participation includes a presentation, as well as an extended abstract for compiling an edition of the submitted reports.

The organizers have a limited budget, covering the travel, accommodation, and food of a certain number of participants. In this regard, the candidates should submit no later than 15.09.2021 a completed form for participation, which can be found HERE.

In connection with the epidemic requirements related to Covid-19 in Bulgaria, the conference can be held online.
Further information on the European Green Belt can be found HERE.

Green Belt Day is international cross-border cooperation that is traditionally celebrated on this date in various European countries. These are countries that in the recent past have fallen on both sides of the former Iron Curtain, which divides Europe into two warring blocs. The border that divides the continent into East and West and the limited access to the resulting region have helped to preserve exceptional biodiversity and culture in these areas. Today, these territories are united in the initiative.
The European Green Belt forms a 12,500 km long pan-European ecological corridor along the former Iron Curtain from the Barents Sea in the north to the Mediterranean south of Europe and the Black Sea coast, preserving exceptional biodiversity. The Balkan Green Belt covers the southern part of the European Green Belt, which covers the territory of 9 countries.