Dear friends of Senegal and The Gambia, dear Naturefriends, dear travel enthusiasts,

at the International Naturefriends meeting in Janjanbureh (The Gambia) in January 2020, the focus was not only on the 125th anniversary of the Naturefriends movement but also on celebrating two successful years of Landscape of the Year Senegal/the Gambia. This event was followed by a two-weeks trip to the most important venues and partners of the Landscape of the Year, which was regularly reported on in various NFI media.
Many people were expressing the wish that NFI would also be able to organise such a tour in 2021, which is now regrettably not possible due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

We would therefore like to offer all interested people the opportunity to join a virtual journey through the Landscape of the Year.

Daily travel information

Participants in this virtual journey will receive a description of the respective daily stage by e-mail each day from 20 January to 3 February 2021. These descriptions will be supplemented by thematic contributions, voices from the local population and photos. The contributions will be published in the respect_NFI-tourism_LOG - and will remain available for reading even after the end of the trip. The trip will also be accompanied by postings on the NFI's social media channels.

Participation in the trip is free of charge. If you have enjoyed the journey, you will have the possibility to donate to a project in the Landscape of the Year, which will be implemented by Naturefriends Senegal with regional partners. For example, with 30 euros you can finance the planting of five fruit trees as well as the necessary care and awareness-raising activities for climate protection.

25 years of co-operation NFI – ASAN

One reason for this journey is that NFI and ASAN (Association Sénégalaise des Amis de la Nature) will celebrate their 25-years cooperation in 2021. ASAN was welcomed as a partner organisation in the international Naturefriends network in 1996, after a pre-accession phase of several years carried out by Naturefriends France. Since 2002, ASAN has been a full member of NFI. In these 25 years, the cooperation has developed from loose contacts, small projects and journeys to a stable North-South partnership with many joint initiatives, and Naturefriends Senegal also played a key role in the expansion of the Naturefriends movement on the African continent.

The successful coordination and implementation of activities in the first African Landscape of the Year, which was led by ASAN, is the highlight of this cooperation so far. In 2019, the Gambian partner organisation Just Act also has become a member of NFI. This ensures that the concerns of the Landscape of the Year continue to have a lasting effect in the region and that the contacts, which have been established, are maintained in future.

Focus on encounters with the local population, culture and nature

Our virtual journey focuses on the people, the culture, and the nature in the Landscape of the Year. Visits to the villages and an exchange with the local population are just as much a part of the programme as encounters with women's groups, pupils and Naturefriends from the region. Visits will also be made to the fruit tree plantations, which were planted jointly by the local population and European Naturefriends during the kick-off event for the Landscape of the Year in January 2018.

Read the entire journey

All contributions of the virtual journey can be found in the respect_NFI-tourism_LOG.
 

Further information on the Landscape of the Year Senegal/The Gambia.

With this short video we look back on our journey:

Itinerary: