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For the first time, members of the CIPRA Youth Council were also present at the YPAC General Assembly in the Parliament of Ljubljana. © CIPRA International

Around 70 students, representing nine different schools from all Alpine countries, met from 11 to 15 March 2024 in Kamnik/SI. In four committees, they drew up demands on climate change, quality of life, biodiversity and cultural assets that were presented, discussed and revised at the General Assembly on Thursday. Educational trails on biodiversity; the introduction of excursions to protected areas for schoolchildren; an Alpine-wide label for food produced in protected areas – many of the measures were aimed at raising awareness. Vita Fink (Innsbruck/A), who took part last year, was delighted with her active role as a delegate: “It’s a lot of fun expressing my own opinion and it’s exciting to see how all the ideas compete with each other and are then discussed!” Žan Gerič (Kamnik/SI) sees an urgent need for action: “We need to do something about the pillars on which the world stands, and we need to do it now – while the pillars are still standing.” In the end, the assembly agreed on eight resolutions.

On the last day, a meeting was held between the three youth organisations – YPAC, CIPRA Youth Advisory Council and EUSALP Youth Advisory Council – at which topics relating to the current Slovenian EUSALP presidency were discussed, e.g. the management of Alpine water resources. Problems such as water shortages, extreme weather events and water pollution along with possible solutions were discussed together.

Sources and further information:

www.ypac.eu, www.cipra.org/de/cipra/international/projekte/laufend/ypac