International Carpathian School- 2025 announces a recruitment for the spring session, which will take place on May 1-4, 2025 in Kosiv, Ivano-Frankivsk region, Ukraine, as part of the project “Shifting towards Ecotourism in Protected Areas through Heritage Interpretation”, implemented by the National Ecological Centre of Ukraine (NECU) with the support of the International Visegrad Fund.
The project aims to develop capacity in protected area management, visitor education, and the promotion of environmentally sustainable international tourism through the interpretation of the cultural and natural heritage of the Carpathian region. This approach is widely used in the EU and North America, opening opportunities for sustainable tourism while enhancing the role of national parks in community education on biodiversity conservation.
Experts from Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Ukraine will participate in the session. Due to martial law in Ukraine, the session will be held in a hybrid format. The goal of the school is to introduce a scientific approach to training young professionals for post-war recovery and Ukraine’s integration into the European Union. The coordination of interdisciplinary research is based on the principles established by the Science for the Carpathians (S4C) Research Program (2022–2030) and the Carpathian Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians.
The planned activities aim to strengthen cooperation between four national parks, educational institutions, and local communities, promote student mobility, and implement non-formal education for young people. Based on the session’s outcomes, a scientific proceedings volume with ISBN/ISSN indexing will be published.
THEMATIC DIRECTIONS
Section 1. Sustainable Tourism Development: Heritage Preservation and Protection
- Tools and practices for eco-friendly tourism, open-air museums
- Cultural heritage of the Hutsul region: Pokuttia – the unexplored Prykarpattia
- Natural resource management and conservation activities in the Carpathian region (biodiversity, forestry, agriculture, water resource protection)
Section 2. Education for Sustainable Development: Challenges and Prospects for Ukraine
- Development of the Carpathian Expert Network “Education for Sustainable Development”
- Methodological foundations of education for sustainable development: an ecosystem-based approach
- Non-formal education: the contribution of universities to community sustainability
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
We invite researchers, scholars, students, early-career professionals, environmental activists, and representatives of government and local authorities to take part in the session.
PARTNERSHIP
The Science for the Carpathians (S4C) Network, Ukrainian and European universities, national parks (Hutsulshchyna, Vyzhnytskyi, Carpathian, Verkhovynskyi), national and local NGOs, local governments, and eco-tourism businesses are involved in organizing the event.
The session is held under the auspices of the Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention within the framework of the Carpathian Expert Network “Education for Sustainable Development”.
PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITY
Participants can submit their research papers for publication. The organizing committee reserves the right to reject or request revisions for materials that do not meet thematic or formatting requirements.
The best papers will be recommended for publication in scientific journals, including:
Selected materials will also be recommended for presentation during the conference sessions.
IMPORTANT DATES
- Participant registration and paper submission
- Spring Session
- until April 1, 2025
- May 1–4, 2025
Terms of participation: Registration will open in mid-February 2025. Information on the venue and accommodation options will be provided to registered participants.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Email: carpaty@gw.necu.org.ua
Mykola Blyzniuk: +38067 408 1667
Valerii Mykhailenko: +48 538 424 751
The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund.
The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.