EUROSITE NETWORK

Management Body of Mt. Aenos National Park – Member of Eurosite (follow the link of the logo)

Eurosite is a network for Europe’s natural site managers. Eurosite brings together non-governmental and governmental organisations, and individuals and organisations committed to its vision. Founded in 1989, the network has grown to include members across Europe – from the Atlantic islands to the Black Sea; and from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean.

Nature knows no boundaries: therefore, in order to manage Europe’s natural resources sustainably and effectively, we believe that the future protection and conservation of nature will be achieved through international co-operation. This works best through personal contact and through personal contact comes mutual understanding, shared experiences, knowledge and innovation. This delivers better support and management of protected areas, which ensure the future protection and conservation of nature in Europe.

In order to facilitate joint working, our work is split into four key objectives:

1. Networking for Europe’s nature – we organise a range of networking events, from three-day workshops with hundreds of participants, to exchange visits between members. We also organise an Annual Meeting, which gives our members the opportunity to network in a relaxed environment and share their work with each other.
2. A Gold Standard for information – knowledge and information exchange continues outside of meetings and online, where we share activities, achievement and good practice from our members and from the European nature conservation arena in general through our website, newsletter and social media.
3. Advocacy for site-based nature – we attend EU level meetings and events in order to ensure the needs and views of site managers are represented in Brussels.
4. Building a strong future – ensuring that Eurosite remains a resilient organisation with the human and financial resources necessary to meet the expectations of our members is also central to our work and we are accountable to our members through our Council and Annual Meetings.

The Management Body of Aenos National Park joined the Eurosite network in April 2019 and participated with great success in the work of the network’s annual conference. More specifically, the annual meeting was held in Modiciano, Italy from 4 to 7 November 2019 and the Agency was represented by Ann. Director Dr. Michael Xanthakis and Mrs. Sofia Moschopoulou, Head of Environmental Education of the Organization. The representatives of the Organization had the opportunity to discuss with people of the Eurosite network as well as with several of the participants in the meeting, who arrived in Modiciano from various parts of Europe, issues related to the operation and promotion of the National Parks. They also exchanged views, experiences, and got to know best practices from The Orbetello National Park in Italy. At the same time, during the annual conference, information material on the National Park of Enos was made available to the participants, aiming at the promotion of the area and the attraction of collaborations with other parks and European institutions. The participants were informed about the ecological and aesthetic value of the Ainos National Park and the Environmental Information / Awareness Actions of its Management Body (e.g. guided tours, environmental education, hiking trails, mountain biking, etc.). During the above conference there was an exhibition with local products from the area of each participant. The Management Body participated with traditional products from our island, offered by local professionals.