GreenEU – susret na Kalniku, Hrvatska “Spread the world”

MINUTES IN MUNICIPALITY OF KALNIK 21/3/2024-24/03/2024
MEETING IN MUNICIPALITY OF KALNIK (CROATIA)
WORK PAGE 8: SPREAD THE WORLD

MINUTES
Meeting in Municipality of Kalnik 21/03/2024-24/03/2024
MEETING IN KALNIK (CROATIA)
Work Package 8: FINAL MEETING: SPREAD THE WORLD
Partner organisations:
AYUNTAMIENTO DE DOLORES (Spain)
CAMARA MUNICIPAL DE AMARANTE (Portugal)
COMUNE DI CERVIA (Italy)
GODOLLO KORNYEKI REGIONALIS TURISZTIKAI EGYESULET (Hungary)
DRUŠTVO ZA RAZVIJANJE PROSTOVOLJNEGA DELA (Slovenia)
ATHIENOU DIMOS (Cyprus)
MUNICIPALITY OF AGIA (Greece)

OBJECTIVES:
– Reduce greenhouse gas emissions through measures such as transitioning to renewable energy sources, increasing energy efficiency, and implementing sustainable land use practices
– Enhance resilience to the impacts of climate change by implementing measures such as improving infrastructure, developing early warning systems, and promoting ecosystem- based adaptation strategies
– Integrate climate change considerations into development planning and policies to ensure a sustainable and equitable future for all, including addressing issues such as poverty, inequality and access to clean energy and water
– Increase public awareness and understanding of climate change and it’s impacts, as well as the importance of taking action at individual, community and societal levels.

I) DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITIES TAKEN PLACE

21/3/2024

Arrival of Participants from each delegation.
Welcome from Major of Municipality of Kalnik, municipality members and dinner.

22/3/2024

In the morning gathering of GreenEU partners and participants in the Kalnička hall. After a registration, Lovorka Krajcer, representative of the municipality, explained the project agenda and the

objectives of the event. Mladen Kešer, major of the municipality of Kalnik together with an expert Phd Ivan Jedvaj gave a welcoming speech to all participants. The major than presented the Municipality and ist best practice which is carrying out in the Municipality of Kalnik such as installing solar panels and solar lamps on most of the municipal and cultural facilities in the area of the municipality, associations were founded in schools and kindergarten where children are taught from an early age to save energy, to recycle and how to create new value from waste.
The involvement of the youth center and volunteers for public cleaning works in the area of the municipality and the cultural sights of ‘Old town’.

Expert Phd Ivan Jedvaj than take a word and brought us closer to the topic Green pact.
Windmills and nuclear energy attracted the most attention in his presentation where all participants joined the discussion and gave examples from their countries. Of course, nuclear energy caused the biggest controversy, Croatia is a co-owner of one together with Slovenia. Should low-carbon nuclear energy be counted under renewable energy goals? Nuclear energy is not renewable because it relies in nonrenewable source and it also produces radioactive waste. Many participants were divided, the majority expressed their opinion and we concluded that more than 50% of the participants are against the construction of nuclear power plant.
In the primary school of Kalnik the kids from 5th to 8th grade had the main word. They made a presentation on theme Ecology and said that ecology is essential for fostering environmental awareness and understanding among young. Their activities include: seed planting (learning about the life cycle of plants by planting seeds in small pots or in the school yard), recycling (proper waste disposal), compost bin building (composting in a small compost bin in the schoolyard, learning how organic waste can be turned into nutrient-rich soil for gardening), bird feeder craft (making bird feeders using recycled materials like milk or juice cartoons), environmental art(creating artwork using natural materials like leaves, sticks and flowers). For the end of their presentation they sang for us Ecology anthem and caused the amazement of all participants.

After the school we had the honor of being visited by a historian and tourist guide Mr. Đuro Škvorc who took us to the famous places of the municipality. We visited the 14th century church St Andrew in Kamešnica, the old town of Kalnik, the church of St. Brice from 16th century in front of wich is a lužnjak oak tree, one of the oldest trees in all of Croatia and biblical garden of peace, which is special in that nowhere in the world do people and events from the Bible- Old and New Testament exist in one place. The garden consists of 33 wooden figures.

After the wonderful sightseeing, we wanted to go to the vineyards but due to the bed weather conditions we continued the tour in the wine cellar of the major of municipality and his associates from whom we learned a lot about oenology. About the actual grape harvesting, processing and storage of wine all in the old way as generations before us did, without mechanization. The use of pesticides, herbicides and insecticides is strictly prohibited in production and in such production, we reduce the impact on the environment and promote biodiversity and animal welfare. The addition of sulfites is allowed but in very small extent.

23/03/2024

On the second working day we gathered in Chocolatery Hedona, in the city Krizevci, founded by the enthusiastic Association of Persons with Disabilities Križevci, headed by Mr. Petar Gatarić.
Today, Chocolatery Hedona has 39 employees, 19 of whom are disabled.
We tried some homemade pralines, had a personalized coffee and every participant got a homemade souvenir chocolate. During coffee time we discussed about the project and its sustainability and how can it be continued. Each country participant wrote one word what does the project means and what does its associate it with. Later we will make a tour through the city and spread the ideas with locals.

After we went to a city musem and Art gallery of Krizevci that was founded with the desire to bring the public closer to and present the rich and valuable history of the city and its surroundings.

The Greek Catholic Cathedral of The Holy Trinity, the seat of the Eparchy of Križevci, is an exceptionally valuable monument that we visited afterwards. We enjoyed watching the icons on the iconostasis, the Bishop’s Residence, The Library of the Greek Catholic Eparchy (the catalogue lists 5000 books dating from the 15th to the 20th century, which are stored in the Library).
During lunch we discussed on the future activities of project if it continues . The participants exchange ideas, thoughts and opinions, summarizing everything on and carried out. We conclude that all participants have some common advantages and disadvanteges that can be worked on. On a way to Observatory Krizevci all participants presented that one word to locals what that this project Greeneu means to them and with what it’s associate with.

On a way to Observatory Krizevci all participants presented that one word to locals what that this project Greeneu means to them and with what it’s associate with.

In Obseravtory we learned a lot of listening an astrophysicist Andrej Dundovic and we have the privilage to see the largest telescope in Croatia that is accessible to the public – only those in island of Hvar and Višnjan, wich are used exclusively for scientific purposes are bigger than it.

24/03/2024.

Departure of participants