On 17 May, the Secretary General of the Alpine Convention Alenka Smerkolj paid a visit to Günther Platter, Governor of Tyrol, the Austrian federal province, where the Permanent Secretariat has its seat. The meeting took place in a very friendly and cordial atmosphere.
Secretary General Smerkolj presented the priorities of the current Swiss Presidency of the Alpine Convention, the overarching topic of which is climate change. In particular, she focused on the developments related to transport issues, such as modal shift and cycling tourism, on the new initiative Climate Hour, which will take place on 5 June with several events around the Alps including Innsbruck, and on the ninth Report of the State of the Alps, which focuses on the topic of Alpine towns. The Province of Tyrol is taking over the presidency of the Working Community of Alpine Regions ARGE ALP, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year. On this occasion, a cooperation between the Swiss Presidency of the Alpine Convention, the Permanent Secretariat and the Province of Tyrol is foreseen. Both Governor Platter and Secretary General Smerkolj agreed that such exchanges and the implementation of synergies foster the very good cooperation between the Province of Tyrol and the Alpine Convention.