CIC Magazine 2021/2 - English version

Page 7

ONE WITH NATURE & THE CIC After two years of official preparatory work, Hungary finally held its One with Nature (OWN) – World of Hunting and Nature exhibition between 25 September and 14 October, 2021. Organised to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hungary’s iconic 1971 World Hunting Expo, the aim of the exhibition was to raise public awareness on the significance of sustainable use and its contributions to conservation. The world’s biggest players in wildlife conservation converged in Budapest over the course of the event. NGOs, state wildlife ministries, private industry, and more were all in attendance to celebrate this historic occasion. At the opening ceremony, Honorary CIC President (CIC President at the time) George Aman took the stage to discuss the need for this exhibition at a time when people are increasingly alienated from nature. In addressing this issue, he stated there is a need for sustainable use to be rightfully recognised as the effective conservation tool that it is. A total of 616,000 people visited the HUNGEXPO exhibition site, with this number growing to almost 1.5 million when looking at the attendance at supplementary OWN sites around Hungary. The exhibition itself consisted of six international conferences, as well as events and programs in six different halls that spanned an area of 75,000m2. 50 states had their own exhibits, and a total of 100 countries were represented throughout the proceedings.

were organised directly through the CIC. These were the 67th General Assembly of the CIC, the 3rd CPW Wildlife Forum and the 35th IUGB Congress.

The CIC was invited to be a patron of OWN, mirroring the course of events that took place for the 1971 World Hunting Expo. In addition to assisting in the organisation of the event, the CIC was fundamental in bringing certain integral elements of OWN to the table.

To be able to host the General Assembly at the home nation of the CIC Administrative Office was a great opportunity to show CIC members the work of the organisation and its relationships within Hungary. The theme – One with Nature; Rural Voices, Global Responsibilities – mirrored that of the OWN exhibition. The technical sessions focused on the central theme of our countryside and rural spaces, and the need to create alliances to support one another, as well as nature itself.

Three of the six international conferences that took place within the framework of the exhibition

The Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW), of which the CIC 7


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