ECOSERT Partnership to expand into a Network for Sustainable Tourism The ECOSERT principal partners have agreed to enlarge the Partnership towards the formation of a Network of Local and Regional Authorities for Sustainable Tourism, in accordance with the Declaration of Volos. This follows the submission of the Final Report of the project to the European Commission DG REGIO at the end of March. The partners from Magnesia in Greece, Dee Estuary in the UK and Avellino in Italy will welcome local and regional authorities from other EU member states, including the new member states following the Athens treaty signed in April 2003, to join the new Network for Sustainable Tourism. The purpose of the Network will be to continue and further develop the work of the ECOSERT project, to exploit the project results and to exchange ideas and best practices in the fields of planning for sustainable tourism with environmental management, cultural heritage preservation, and promotion of eco-cultural tourism. This will allow the continuation of the five inter-regional Working Groups and the initiation of other Working Groups, as required. A high-level Steering Committee of elected representatives will be set up with a rotating presidency, as well as a technical secretariat. The aims of this Network dovetail perfectly with the stated policy aims of European Union institutions. This initiative could act as the nucleus of a "network of pilot regions to promote sustainability in tourism" establishing best practices and furthering tourism development principles for others to emulate, in accordance with the proposals in the recent EC Communication 665 "Working together for the future of European tourism" (November 2001). Furthermore, the bodies that provided management, scientific and technical support to the ECOSERT partnership could contribute their know-how to the establishment of "the technical body" (or tourism observatory), in association with other relevant organisations. The new Network for Sustainable Tourism may me part-funded by the INTERREG IIIC inter-regional co-operation programme. The ECOSERT Project Manager attended the INTERREG IIIC Forum in Vienna on 12-13 May, where representatives from authorities in Germany, Sweden, Bulgaria and Romania expressed their interest in joining the ECOSERT Network for Sustainable Tourism. A pre-requisite for the new members joining will be to counter-sign the Declaration of Volos for Sustainable Development through Tourism, signed by the top elected members of the three ECOSERT regions at the University of Thessaly in Volos on 5 September 2002. A proposal will be prepared for submission under the next call of INTERREG IIIC (closing date: 26 September 2003). Any interested potential partners should contact the ECOSERT management and co-ordination team at: ecosert@euro-trans.net.