ICPDR's We Pass Project Holds its 1st Stakeholder Workshop

News & Media
Stakeholder members pose for a photo in front of river

On Thursday 12 December 2019, We Pass – an EU-funded project with the ICPDR aiming to facilitate fish migration and habitat conservation in the Danube River Basin – held its first stakeholder workshop on the banks of the Danube River in Vienna, Austria.

For the first stakeholder workshop under Activity 4 – communication, pertaining to We Pass, a slightly different approach was taken from a typical stakeholder workshop. The aim was to make the event more of a ‘training and brainstorming session’, with a view towards equipping key project players with the tools necessary to conduct stakeholder workshops at both the national and local level. We Pass’ aims of addressing the very specific issue of how to open up fish migration routes in the DRB (in particular at the Iron Gates hydropower plant in Serbia & Romania) require the project to take a people-first approach to building its messages and communication methodology.

For this purpose, a variety of related projects from throughout the region were invited to attend the workshop. In attendance were representatives from the following organisations addressing the plight of migratory fish and dealing with this dialogue and interaction between the environment and other sectors:

  • Danube Sturgeon Task Force (DSTF)
  • MEASURES
  • LIFE Sterlet
  • Ex-Situ / Hatchery facilities
  • Plovput Stakeholder Forum
  • EUSDR PA4

On a broader scale this workshop represented the next major step forward in raising awareness on the plight of migratory fish (in particular sturgeons) around the Iron Gates, and was a coming together of the key players able to take the project forward into the future.

This event, following the success of the kick-off event held in Kladovo, Serbia in April 2019, the 1st We Pass Stakeholder Workshop was a resounding milestone, with us now heading towards the final phase of the We Pass project in 2020. 

It is particularly important to highlight the ongoing support of the EC, which was emphasised by their representative at the event. The EC assured us of the importance of a project such as We Pass and positioning it in the wider goals of the EC.

As a result of this workshop, We Pass has a new set of messages and goals designed to drive the project through to its conclusion, with a final event due to be held in 2020.

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