New Romanian association AGPR organizes successful conference

On March 2^nd and 3^rd, the new Romanian association for landscapers and gardeners AGPR organized a very well-attended conference. During two days, nearly 140 landscape and garden professionals, designers and students were inspired about the benefits of working together in an association, garden design and maintenance, tree care and innovations. ELCA was invited to introduce the European association and why it is important to be aligned to lobby on European level.

The university of Cluj-Napoca was the place to be for this inaugural conference of AGPR. ELCA secretary general Egbert Roozen expressed his great appreciation for the wonderful work done by the organisation of the conference. In his first part of the presentation, he explained what ELCA is and what kind of activities are done for the national/associate members and the members of the Committee of Firms. In for example the project European Platform for Urban Greening (EPLUG), that is funded by the European Commission, Romania is already partner but there is no link yet to the national association. Theme of the second part of the presentation was the connection to European politics. Egbert explained the different initiatives under the EU Green Deal that can be translated to concrete actions for the landscape and garden sector in Romania. The audience showed great interest and asked enthusiastic questions about vocational training, green standards, common lobby actions and mutual cooperation.

AGPR arranged a various list of speakers and topics. Păunita Boancă, president of the Romanian association of landscape architects, explained about the activities of her association. She opened the discussion to think about the introduction of a protected professional title for landscape engineers. Nic Howard, designer and landscaper based in the United Kingdom, showed his wonderful work and creations. In pictures of before and after situation he demonstrated his passion for plants and flowers. Landscaper and designer Dani Zoltán, based in Hungary, is an expert in Japanese gardens. He took the audience with him on a journey through centuries to show how the art of Japanese gardening has evolved. Stefan Nica is tree care specialist. In his presentation he emphasized on the importance of understanding trees and how to maintain them in a proper way. The conference was made possible by sponsors. They had the opportunity to present themselves during the conference program and with an information stand. On Sunday the program continued.    

It was great to take part in the inaugural conference of AGPR and to introduce ELCA to the audience. We hope that this can be a new starting point of an intense cooperation with our colleagues of Romania. Thank you very much for the opportunity and we stay connected !