National sections

ECOVAST’s membership has grown rapidly in the last two decades of the 20th century and has reached at certain point over 500 members from twenty European countries. The membership is widely drawn, to include individuals, academic bodies, government and non-government organisations, from local to international level. ECOVAST can thus act as bridge between decision-makers and those who are active at local level, between experts and practitioners.

Ecovast has active national sections in Austria, Croatia, Hungary, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom. Some former national sections are no longer active, they include former organisations in Belgium, France, Germany, Estonia, Italy, Poland, Russia, Slovenia and Sweden. Many individuals were active in ECOVAST activities in the past, including those who served as members of ECOVAST managing bodies, coming from countries that never had organised national sections. These include members coming from Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and former Yugoslavia.

Below are the details regarding the active national sections.

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ECOVAST Austria

After some earlier attempts, ECOVAST Austria was finally founded in 1998 by a small group, led by the Viennese geographer Arthur Spiegler, in Murau (Styria) on the occasion of the ‘1st Central European Small Town Symposium’. For many years EA also had an institutional membership of a university spatial planning department (BOKU/AT).
The Austrian section was formally registered as an autonomous non-profit organisation according to the Austrian Law on Associations, has its own bank account and statutes.
Due to Arthur Spieglers widespread expertise, ECOVAST Austria could position itself as “generalist” organisation, spanning all facets of rurality from preserved nature, cultured landscapes, farms, villages and small towns. Notably the methodology of “landscape identification “remains as a valuable tool that comprises many patterns. In a partnership with the GIVE Lab (Globally Integrated Village Environment) ECOVAST Austria built a bridge from past heritage to exciting future possibilities made possible by new communication technologies. Nevertheless, for many years, the two main focuses of Ecovast Austria were the Small Historic European Towns and the ‘European Green Belt’ initiative, focused on its its Central European part. On small towns, EA organized several international Symposia. Green Belt: The former “Iron Curtain” has paradoxically saved a lot of natural cultural rural heritage, it stretches from the northern border triangle of Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria to the south, between Austria, Slovenia and Italy. The Green Belt resembles a pearl necklace of diverse landscapes and numerous small historic towns, wine villages with cellar lanes etc. In recent years, the focus has been successfully expanded through themed exhibitions in rural areas. On one side, EA has grown very small and is still looking for supporters and participants. On the other side we are convinced that civil society is the force of the future and will increasingly discover and value bioregional identities, and we stand ready fo help and assist.

Contacts:

Brigitte K. Macaria, secretary general of Austrian section
vice-president of ECOVAST International
E-mail: b.macaria@icloud.com

Franz Nahrada, founding member of ECOVAST Austria
E-mail: f.nahrada@reflex.at

ECOVAST Croatia

The Croatian section of ECOVAST was established in 1993, until then members from Croatia were active in the central organization. The Croatian section is formally registered as a non-profit organisation according to the Croatian Law on Associations, has its own bank account and provides regular reporting required by the laws. ECOVAST Croatia is one of the most active national sections of ECOVAST, gathering around 20 formal members and about 50 members who continuously follow and participate in the activities of the association. The main focus of its activities is the preservation and improvement of cultural-historical, environmental, social, and economic values, as well as the holistic and sustainable development of villages and small towns in Croatia. It operates through networking of human resources, ideas, activities, knowledge, and practice. The Croatian section regularly organizes annual gatherings dedicated to rural development and publishes conference proceedings and other publications.

Contacts:

Hrvatska sekcija ECOVAST-a (Europskog vijeća za sela i male gradove)
Froudeova 78, 10 020 Zagreb, Croatia

Sanja Lončar, president
Aleksandar Lukić, vice-president
E-mail: info@ecovast.hr
Website: www.ecovast.hr

ECOVAST Hungary

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Contacts:

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ECOVAST North Macedonia

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ECOVAST Romania

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ECOVAST Slovakia

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ECOVAST United Kingdom

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ECOVAST Germany

German section was sadly dissolved in 2023, but their website is still active and has valuable documents about the past activities of the German national section.

www.ecovast.de

Photo Credits: Image by Simon from Pixabay