March 21st celebrates and raises awareness of the importance of all types of forest and trees outside forests for the benefit of current and future generations. Themes and activities associated with this day often emphasize education, conservation, and sustainable practices, aiming to foster a deeper connection between communities and their local forests. International Day of Forests 2024 will be celebrated on the theme – Forests and Innovation: New solutions for a better world.
ForestValue2 is all about boosting the value of forest resources through teamwork and innovation. It tackles big forest challenges through international research projects. From making forests more sustainable to boosting the bioeconomy, ForestValue2 aims to benefit the environment, society, and economies worldwide.
In the world of research and innovation, when initiatives like ForestValue2 align with events like the International Day of Forests, it creates a fantastic chance to deepen our knowledge and care for forest resources. This combo emphasizes how crucial forests are to us and showcases how innovative research can help us better manage and conserve them sustainably. Research and science are pushing the boundaries of what we can do with wood and other forest products. From construction to medicine, innovations in forest products are helping create alternatives to unsustainable materials such as concrete, steel, plastics and synthetic fibres, while sustainable wood products store carbon for their lifetime.
Some of our partners of ForestValue2 are organizing various events to celebrate International Day of Forests. Have a look:
- Finland:
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe will celebrate the International Day of Forests with a two-part event. PUBLIC EVENT: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FORESTS 2024 | UNECE
Forest Talk: Innovation 4 Climate – experts from diverse industries will present ongoing research on innovative applications of wood components. Finland will have a representative there (Dr Marjaana Suorsa, Manager/ Innovation policy, Finnish Forest Industries) to speak about the forest innovations in Finland.
Glacial Threads: From Forests to Future Textiles – a symbolic ceremony involving the unrolling and laying of a glacier fleece made from wood-based fibers onto Michelangelo Pistoletto’s iconic sculpture “Rebirth”.
- Italy:
National Rural Network of CREA Policies and Bioeconomy (CREA-PB) prepared great presentation on forest strategies, innovation and forest value. https://www.reterurale.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/25716
- Latvia:
Two importatn events already took place; March 15th, the president of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs visited the Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”. During the visit, current issues related to forest science were discussed, as well as the role of forest science in the growth and strengthening of the Latvian economy.
BioRural Knowledge-exchange Workshop: Advancing the European Rural Bioeconomy was held between March 12th – March 14th . It provided a unique platform for networking, knowledge exchange and collaboration among rural businesses, industry professionals, community leaders, policymakers and other actors sharing the passion and ambition of advancing rural bioeconomy.
- Slovenia:
Slovenian Forest Service: Mednarodni dan gozdov – 21. marec (zgs.si) organizes many events from March 16th to March 30th; The main event on the occasion of the International Day of Forests is innovative in terms of content, professional and cultural-artistic presentation of two new thematic routes – the Path of the Giants and the Historical Forest in Pečovnik, city of Celje.
