Delegates from 21 countries gather in Greek partner town

49th General Meeting underway

Preveza, Greece – The 49th Douzelage General Meeting has gotten underway in the Greek partner town of Preveza.

Events began yesterday (Thursday 16th October) as members of the Presidency, together with Mayor Nikolaos Georgakos of Preveza and Vice Mayor Leonidas Argyros planted a tree marking a new tradition by the Douzelage team.

The tree planting is symbolic of the theme of the conference “The integration of city and nature and protection of natural habitats in relation to tourism” with many aspects of sustainability to be discussed over the coming days.

Planting a new tradition for Douzelage

Delegates from 21 member states of the European Union, and the UK, have travelled to Preveza to take part in meaningful discussions on the conference theme and to network together following a near 18-month gap between General Meetings.

Attendees assembled Thursday night (16th October) at the Nino’s Grand Hotel and Resort for a welcome dinner before the gatherings of the General, Youth and Education Meetings take place through Friday and Saturday.

Raising the flag to signify the start of the meeting

Douzelage President Shane Smyth (Bundoran, IE) said ‘we are happy to be back together as one giant Douzelage family. First and foremost, I wish to thank our generous hosts here in Preveza who have organised the meeting and the programme for our delegates. Everyone is looking forward to catching up with old friends as well as making new ones – as is the Douzelage way! We also have important work to do in our discussions of sustainable tourism as well as planning for the next generation of Douzelage, so there’s plenty to be covered over the short few days.’

Delegates will have the opportunity to take a boat trip, visit the Nicopolis and take an historic guided tour of Preveza as well as being immersed into Greek culture.

Speaking about Douzelage to Greek TV

Mayor of Preveza Nikolaos Georgakos added his welcome saying ‘we have a special relationship with Douzelage as we were among the first 12 countries to join it back in 1991. The organisation does wonderful work in unifying partner towns across Europe, creating a unique partnership between likeminded towns and citizens. We wish everyone a successful and enjoyable time here in Preveza.’

Conference organiser and Vice Mayor of Preveza, Leonidas Argyros added ‘it is our great pleasure to welcome our friends from across Europe to Preveza. This will be the third time that the city has organised the meeting, having hosted the 4th meeting in 1994 and the 19th in 2000. As the European Union has grown, so too has Douzelage and now we are welcoming almost 140 delegates to Preveza to meet but importantly to also experience the Greek hospitality and culture. I extend a warm welcome to all of those attending.’