Transnational Meeting Hateg, Romania

The First Transnational Meeting at UNESCO Global Geopark Hateg brought together partners to discuss strategies and share best practices. Here's a detailed report of the key activities and outcomes:

Input Session on SO 1 Presentation from ASPs Best Practice: We dedicated presentation slots to better understand vulnerable groups and the good practices being implemented across the project partners' regions. Key presentations included:

• Idrija Geopark: Focused on retired and elderly groups.
• Hateg Local Partners: Highlighted the women's association and youth volunteers.
• Styrian Eisenwurzen Geopark: Presented the employment promotion organization StAF for Nature- and Geopark organizations online.
• Papuk Geopark: Showcased activities around the Czech minority in Kaptol, and the societal roles of young people and women.

Workshop on SO 1 for the Building a Strategy Document: Partners structured and outlined the joint strategic document aimed at engaging vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. The workshop involved reading through the pre-designed document, discussing sections, and forming groups to work on specific parts of the strategy. The results will contribute to the final strategy paper.

Input Session on SO 2 for Presentations on GeoExperience Criteria: Project partners worked on the necessary criteria for GeoExperience. Insights were provided by tourism experts from Spain and Slovenia:

• Spain: Presented a natural walks experience based on geology and interpretative approaches.
• Slovenia: Discussed the process of designing guided experiences and criteria for creating unique experiences.

Workshop on SO 2 for the Forming of GeoExperience Criteria: This session focused on building new criteria to help partners pilot and sustain GeoExperience. Partners formed three groups to prioritize directions and develop criteria, later presenting their results with assistance from an external expert from Hateg.

Workshop on SO 3 for Discussions on visitor counting and visitor management: Partners worked on initial outputs for SO3, including insights from questionnaires to develop a new visitor counting system and management approach. Workgroups focused on ROUTES, HOT SPOTS, and larger open landscape territories, identifying existing data, strategic problems, and potential solutions.

Beside the Meeting:

• Partnership Agreement Signed: UNESCO Global Geopark Hateg and UNESCO Global Geopark Bükk signed a partnership agreement, committing to closer collaboration.
• Media/Public Event: A press conference with LP and WP leaders communicated the project's goals and achievements.
• Site Visit - Local People and Target Groups: Project partners visited local communities, target groups, and GeoExperiences to gain further insights.

This meeting marked a significant step in advancing our shared goals and strengthening partnerships across regions. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue our journey towards sustainable development and community engagement.