On 5 October 2024, our Programme has been celebrating the Interreg Cooperation Day with the GRASSLANDBIRDS project. This successful event was organized in the Special Nature Reserve Zasavica, 90km west of Belgrade.
Each year, 21 September is dedicated to celebrating cooperation through the official Interreg Cooperation Day. Events highlighting Interreg programmes, projects, and their impact often extend weeks beyond the day itself. Due to the intensive workload related to the contracting and launch of 56 new projects within the Interreg VI-A IPA Hungary-Serbia Programme, we did not organize a separate event for the 2024 Interreg Cooperation Day. Instead, we chose to participate in an event within the GRASSLANDBIRDS project, a newly contracted initiative that aligned thematically and in timing with this year's central theme—EU Values Overcoming Borders.
Our cross-border cooperation programme has always embraced bold and innovative approaches. This year, we decided to find a project that transcends borders in a unique way, and the birds-focused GRASSLANDBIRDS project stood out immediately. Officially titled "Joint Actions Involving Volunteers and Raising Public Awareness for the Protection of the Birds of Pannonian Grasslands," this project is led by the Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia, in collaboration with the Hungarian Society for the Protection of Birds and Nature (BirdLife Hungary). Among its many planned activities, the project organized an event during the European Birdwatching Weekend, inviting our Programme team to witness the awe-inspiring autumn migration of birds.
Autumn is the time when millions of birds leave their European nesting habitats to migrate to wintering grounds in the Mediterranean or Africa. Serbia and Hungary, with their rich protected areas, are situated along one of the major migratory routes. This makes the cross-border region an ideal place to observe a wide variety of bird species, often more than during the nesting season.
The central birdwatching event, one of nearly 30 held in Serbia during the weekend of 5-6 October, took place at the Special Nature Reserve Zasavica, 90km west of Belgrade. Our Programme was represented by Sanda Šimić, Acting Assistant Minister at the Ministry of European Integration of the Republic of Serbia, which serves as our National Authority, and Dejan Vujinović, our Communication Manager. They joined Milan Ružić, Director of the Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia and project manager of the Grasslandbirds project, field coordinator-ornithologist Vilmos Barkoci, for the opening speeches. Together, they emphasized the importance of cross-border cooperation, the current status of the Programme, and how perfectly this project activity embodied this year’s Interreg Cooperation Day theme.
The event featured three key activities: bird ringing, a lecture on the Zasavica nature reserve, and several hour and a half to three-hour birdwatching tours. Despite the rainy weather, more than 100 people attended, including many children eager to learn about wildlife and bird species. The bird ringing was expertly conducted by ornithologists Miroslav Dudok, who also serves as the project’s scientific coordinator, and Marko Šćiban. The engaging lecture was delivered by Mihajlo Miša Stanković, a highly experienced representative of the Zasavica Nature Reserve. The event had a family-friendly atmosphere, with each activity professionally organized and rich with fascinating information. It was inspiring to see the dedication of the ornithologists and to join the bird-watching community for a day. It truly was a pleasure to be part of such an enriching experience, to become a member of the world-wide bird-watching family.
