Vis Archipelago UNESCO Global Geopark at the 18th European Geoparks Network Conference in Finland

Representatives of the Vis Archipelago Geopark Lana Schmidt and Nikola Nemec participated from September 16th to 18th in the 18th International European Geoparks Conference, held at the Saimaa UNESCO Global Geopark in Finland.

The conference program brought together geopark representatives through numerous expert lectures, parallel sessions, workshops, poster presentations, a GEOFAIR, and final field trips.

The Vis Archipelago Geopark also presented its own professional and educational work at the conference.

Our geologist Nikola Nemec delivered a lecture titled “Scientific Data in the Service of Geoeducation: Collaboration Between the SALTECTA Project and the UNESCO Global Geopark Vis Archipelago”, as part of the session “Research and Innovation: Science and society: in, about and for UNESCO Global Geoparks”. The lecture was dedicated to the collaboration between the SALTECTA project and the Vis Archipelago Geopark, as well as the possibilities of using scientific data in geoeducation. The presentation sparked great interest from the audience, leading to numerous questions afterward.

Lana Schmidt delivered a lecture titled “From Fieldwork to Scientific Presentation: A Geopark Model for Student Research Education”, in which she presented a model for involving students in the research process – from fieldwork and data collection to processing and presenting the results.

In addition to the lecture, she also presented a poster “Cape Stupišće Marine Reserve: Integrating Geological Heritage, Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management in the Vis Archipelago UNESCO Global Geopark”, dedicated to connecting geological heritage, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable management at the Cape Stupišće special reserve.

During the conference, Lana and Nikola attended a series of other expert lectures and participated in an experience-sharing program with colleagues from the European Geoparks Network.

A particularly interesting part of the program was a workshop on water, led by Massif des Bauges UNESCO Global Geopark, in which Lana Schmidt participated. As part of the workshop, an educational animated film by the Vis Archipelago Geopark about drinking water on the island of Vis was shown, thereby presenting one of our educational materials to the international geopark community.

At GEOFAIR , representatives of the Vis Archipelago Geopark, together with colleagues from Papuk UNESCO Global Geopark and Biokovo-Imotska Lakes UNESCO Global Geopark , presented at a joint Croatian booth, showcasing the geological, natural, and cultural heritage of Croatia's geoparks.

The conference concluded with a full-day field program. Lana and Nikola participated in Field Trip 5 – Saimaa Islands, during which they toured Lake Saimaa and its islands by boat and learned about the natural, geological, and interpretive features of the host area. Field trips were the final part of the official conference program.

Participation in the conference was a valuable opportunity to present the work of the Vis Archipelago Geopark, exchange experiences and ideas, and learn about best practices from other UNESCO Global Geoparks.

We would like to thank our hosts from Saimaa UNESCO Global Geopark for the hospitality and organization of the conference.