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The new board of CIPRA International: Gerlinde Zuber, Cristina dalla Torre, Serena Arduino, Eléonore Matuszak and Uwe Roth (from left to right); Wilfried Marxer and Peter Zajc (both not in the picture). © CIPRA International

CIPRA's Assembly of Delegates met on 26 September 2024 in Nova Gorica, Slovenia, during the AlpWeek and elected the new Executive Board of CIPRA International. Uwe Roth succeeds Serena Arduino as President; the geographer and mountain hiking guide was most recently director of CIPRA Germany. “The current challenges in the Alps call for international cooperation more than ever. I am driven by the vision of further strengthening cooperation within and outside CIPRA, providing the best possible support to the national and regional CIPRA organisations and increasing our political influence in order to achieve our common goals. With the new Executive Board, I now find myself in a fantastic team and am very much looking forward to making a difference for the Alps together”, says Uwe Roth.

Female support for the board

The current President Serena Arduino from Italy is supporting the Board as Vice President, while Wilfried Marxer from Liechtenstein remains Treasurer. Christian Baumgartner, Miro Kristan and Sofia Farina are stepping down as members of the Board after many years of service and commitment to CIPRA. Eléonore Matuszak from France, Peter Zajc from Slovenia, Cristina Dalla Torre from Italy and Gerlinde Zuber from Switzerland are the new additional Vice Presidents. As an agricultural and forestry engineer, 27-year-old Eléonore Matuszak, who comes from the French Southern Alps, contributes her expertise in biodiversity, ecology and forests. Geographer and environmental scientist Peter Zajc (born 1980) from Slovenia works as a project manager in regional development, among other things. He is an expert in mobility issues, spatial planning and the management of conflicts caused by outdoor activities in the Slovenian Alps. Cristina dalla Torre (born 1991) was a founding member of the CIPRA Youth Council (CYC), studied environmental economics and wrote her dissertation on the rural economy. She works at the Eurac Research Centre in Bolzano/I. Austrian Gerlinde Zuber (born 1986), who lives in Switzerland, studied architecture and urban planning in Zurich and has worked as a project and campaign manager and wilderness trainer. She came into contact with CIPRA through projects such as ‘Alpine Sabbatical’ and the organisation of campaigns and events on sustainable mountain tourism.