Danube Day 2008 in Izmail, Prydunav’e – Ukrainian Low Danube

Series of events were organized to celebrate the DD 2008 in Ukrainian Danube. The main celebration events took place in Izmail city and were focused on the theme of the DD 2008: "The Danube Rivers: Let’s use them not abuse them!"

The DD 2008 was organized by 8 NGOs and institutions in partnership with the Department of culture of the Izmail City Council and with support of Coca-Cola Beverage Ukraine. It was already the third Danube Day actions funded by Coca-Cola.

Among initiators — organizers of the DD 2008 there were NGOs: All-Ukrainian environmental NGO "MAMA-86" (Kyiv); South-Ukrainian NGO "Dobra volya" (Izmail); "Vidrodzhennya" (Tatarbunary); Danube biosphere reservoir (c. Vylkove), Black Sea Department of Ukrainian Ecological Academy (c. Odesa), Youth ecological centre named after Academician Vernadskiy (c. Odesa).

Main local partner of the DD 2008 celebration in Izmail was the Izmail City Council and the Department of culture of the city. Main donor and partner of DD 2008 is Coca-Cola Beverages Ukraine Ltd, Victoria Zhygunova took part in the DD 2008 celebration.

The actions to the DD 2008 celebration were started on the beginning of June. At that time in Izmail there were organized education actions with involvement of schoolchildren and students. 58 children from Izmail participated in creative contest "Danube Art Master 2008". 34 schoolchildren had the open air exercises/out door paintings "Danube beauty". There were 3 master classes "Danube Gifts" on hand making organized for 63 children — orphans from Izmail school for orphans. These master classes will be continuing in September when children return to the school. For young people of Izmail there were organized the competitions of mini grant on project idea for Danube Day 2009. The winner is the Student social service of the Izmail State Humanitarian University. It is planned that at the end of September the results of DD 2008 in Izmail will be presented and discussed by young dwellers of Izmail, who is interesting to participate in future DD actions.

In June the first clean up actions took place in Vilkove and in Izmail. On 22—23 June youngsters together with teachers and adults cleaned up the area of Danube delta reserve spit — from "zero" Km till "Bystroe" arm (about 7,5 km). The action on gathering plastic garbage was organized by WWF together with Danube biosphere reserve (DBR). Plastic garbage was collected and remove to the town, children made attempts to recognize the most popular brand, who’s plastic wastes were gathered on Danube delta banks.

More then 50 schoolchildren of School-Lyceum and members of Youth Danube Club took part in the action. 3 activists Balatskyi Nikolay, Gozhulyan Elena and Busheva Victoria were the most active participants of the action, who received the possibility to attend the DD 2008 celebration in Izmail.

In Izmail the cleaning up action "Let’s keep clean the Danube banks" was started in on 1 June and it will run till September 2008. It is expected that 450 activists will take part in this action.

From 10th of June the information about the DD 2008 was disseminated via 8 local newspapers in Izmail, Kilia, Reni, Vilkove and Tatarbunary.

Near 3000 post card on Danube Day were disseminated among broad public in Izmail and other Prydunav’e cities and towns. 2 special DD 2008 editions of newspapers: "Delta and men" (1300 copies) and "Ecological box" (1000 copies) were published and disseminated among the visitors of DD 2008 in Izmail and Information center of DBR in Vilkove and in Odessa.

Danube Day celebration in Izmail city

On 28—29 June "Green innovations for sustainable development of Low Danube — Prydunav’e region" exhibition took place in Izmail city. The Izmail City Council helped with arrangements of venue for exhibition in the City House of Culture. 10 organizations and private companies presented their projects on organic agriculture, small scale alternative energy supply (solar battery, solar water heater and biogas devices), ecological sanitation (dry urine-diverting toilets) and waste water treatment (constructed wetlands and bioplato), water supply for agriculture/gardening with using of water adsorbents, Danube WWF’s project, hydro technical projects (channels, erosion, marinas etc) others. More then 700 visitors saw the exhibition during 1.5 days. (Annex 1. List of participants of the "Green innovations for sustainable development of Prydunav’e". 

On 29th June the Seminar on green innovative technologies for sustainable development held as a side event to the exhibition. During 2 hours 5 technologies and projects were presented for the visitors of the exhibition. More then 50 participants were able to discuss in details the new technologies (such as water absorbents using in agriculture, solar bataries, solar water heating devices, biogas technology, ecological sanitation, constructed wetlands) and potential of the traditional crafts in Danube delta.

Info materials on the themes presented at the exhibition were gathered for future publishing, which can be published later in autumn (September—October 2008).

The main cultural events of DD 2008 celebration was a festive concert. The official opening of the DD 2008 celebration was made by the Head of the department of culture of Izmail City Administration — Ms. Tatyana Repkina. She welcomed Izmail dwellers and gests with the Danube Day and expressed a hope that DD celebration will be developed as a good tradition and will have more support in each settlements of Prydunav’e in Ukraine. After short welcome speech of Anna Tsvietkova — coordinator of DD 2008 and Member of PP EG to ICPDR the 1.5 hours festive concert was began on open air on the square in front of the City House of Culture. The fronton of the House was decorated by big banner "29 June — the International Danube Day", which was on DD 2007 and the gests from Vilkove delivered it to Izmail for DD 2008 celebration. Eight folk groups (157 participants from 8 villages of Izmail rayon) presented the cultures of the nationalities living in Izmailskiy rayon of Ukraine Low Danube — Prydunav’e. At the end of the concert the group "Solar singer" of two singers from Russia and Belarus singed their songs on beauty of nature.

Just after concert the DD 2008 briefing for mass media was held, in which the representative of City administration — Tat’yana Repkina and DD 2008 coordination group members: Anna Tsvietkova and Yaroslav Kichuk took part. 6 journalists of local Mass media were able to receive the information about DD 2008, theme of this DD and actions in the framework of the DD.

Jornalists and gests of the DD 2008 visited the exhibition and photo exhibition "Nature riches of Danube" in the House of culture of Izmail city. 30 photos of landscapes, fauna and flora resources of Danube delta made by Maxim Yakovlev, Igor Gerzhyk and Gennadiy Golubev were presented at the photo exhibition.  

Organizers of DD 2008:
Anna Tsvietkova MAMA-86 Kyiv – general coordination,
Yaroslav Kychuk – South-Ukrainian NGO “Dobra volya” – Izmail DD 2008 local coordination
Iryna Vychrystyuk “Vidrodzhennya” (Tatarbunary);
Maxin Yakovlev - Danube biosphere reservoir (c. Vylkove)
Tatyana Balatskaya  Eco-Club “Danube” (c. Vylkove), Danube Youth club (c. Vilkove),
Oleg Rubel - Black Sea Department of Ukrainian Ecological Academy (c. Odesa),
Tatyana Chernaya - Youth ecological centre named after Academician Vernadskiy (c. Odesa)