It is not just in school that young people spend most of their time indoors: in their spare time too, many of them sit in front of the TV or computer. The new “whatsalp youth” project is intended to tempt them to go outdoors. The project is led by CIPRA’s youth advisory council together with CIPRA International and other project partners.

Young people from every Alpine country are meeting in Austria, France and Liechtenstein, where they will also meet the “whatsalp” walking group, consisting of Harry Spiess and Dominik Siegrist. From June onwards they will spend four months crossing the Alps from the Austrian capital Vienna to the French city of Nice, documenting the changes in the Alpine regions as they go. Both groups will walk some stages together and exchange ideas about the environment, Alpine culture and communication. Indoor workshops will thus be replaced by the open and picturesque landscapes of the Alps, with learning provided along the way.

These young people will be co-ordinating the activities for the “whatsalp” meetings independently, thus learning to develop and implement their own projects. The CIPRA youth advisory council is taking a leading role here, with its members responsible for selecting participants, organising and realising the programme and producing reports. The “whatsalp youth” project is financed by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme.

Anyone wishing to join the “whatsalp” walkers can find all the necessary information and registration details on the website www.whatsalp.org.

Sources and further information:

www.whatsalp.org , www.cipra.org/en/cipra/about/people/cipra-youth-council