PROGEO for the first time in Ukraine. (V International Symposium “European Policy for the Protection of Geological Monuments. Theory and Practice”)

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September 11, 2006, 09:50

For the first time ever, Ukraine hosted the V International Symposium initiated by the European Association for the Conservation of the Geological Heritage (PROGEO). The Ukrainian Association of Geologists was among the organizers of the event, which took place in Kyiv and Kamianets-Podilskyi on 4-8 September 2006.


The working organizing committee provided an extremely interesting three-day field geological excursion to Kamianets-Podilskyi. It features a famous geological attraction - a wall near the village of Kitaygorod. It is a unique object where one outcrop has deposits of Vendian, Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Cretaceous, Neogene and anthropogenous.

The total number of symposium participants was 70, including 20 specialists from various European countries. The program of the symposium highlighted individual thematic sessions: “Protection of geological objects”, “Classification and databases of geo-sites”, “Geopark and geological tourism”, “Geological and cultural heritage” and the project “Geology at school”. It was also discussed the possible participation of Ukraine in the following international projects for the protection of the geological heritage: “Geopark”, “Geological paths (geo-trails)”, “European network of geo-sites”, “Geological schools”. It was started a discussion on the problems of using geo-sites in the educational process with the aim of attracting students to an independent study of geology. There was a talk about about the use of geological objects for educational practices of students. The problems of improving the geological expositions of museums and the means of international cooperation in the field of protecting "Earth's memory" could not be circumvented.