Naturally barrier-free! The European Year of Youth annual event of the Interreg ATHU programme

Dedication, attention, devotion, perseverance: these are among the many virtues that enable children with special needs to benefit from activities that can be an experience and a source of knowledge. In 2022, youth is the focus of programmes, events and special initiatives across Europe, so it was no question that the Austria-Hungarian programme, ourselves, would like to put youth at the heart of our annual event. This was particularly supported by Katalin Pénzes, our Programme's Desk Officer in the European Commission, who confirmed the Commission's commitment to youth in a live broadcast from Brussels.

In this spirit, we hosted almost 100 children with special needs from 6 schools from both sides of the border in Lászlómajor at the Visitor Centre of the Fertő-Hanság National Park.  In the framework of small group activities, the kids could get acquainted with the natural treasures and animal species of the region, guided by the experts of the national park. Parallel to the children's activities and during the afternoon thanks to the workshops with social educators, and experts in the field from Nuremberg to Sarród in cooperation with the PaNaNet network and the Programme staff, we were able to gain valuable information on special and nature education, the further development of the cross-border PaNaNet network, and the plans and priorities of the Programme for the period 2021-2027.