Author:
Franz Nahrada
Short summary:
On May 20th, 2026 200 students from Slovenia and Austria will celebrate their common watershed as part of the Interreg project "Mura Calling". This is a cordial invitation to teachers and students in the watershed region to participate.
We warmly invite you to join us on May 20 in Bad Radkersburg for a unique cross-border learning event within the Mura Calling initiative.
Mura Calling is a growing cross-border collaboration initiated by DorfUni and Mura Rafting in the framework of INTERREG SI-AT, and increasingly shaped and carried forward by schools such as BORG Bad Radkersburg and Gymnasium Ljutomer. Their active involvement is key to spreading and sustaining the initiative – something that will be clearly visible in this upcoming Austrian event.
Around 200 students from Austria and Slovenia – from kindergarten to upper secondary level – will come together to explore their region as a shared learning space. Through both digital and analogue formats, they will engage with the landscape, ecosystems, and cultural context of the biosphere park.
A central element of the day will be the use of place-based learning, a method applied by our partner Green Steps: students discover their environment through mapping nature elements and cultural points of interests, identifying ecological relationships, and interacting with their surroundings in a geo-caching-like experience. This approach has the potential to scale across the entire 5-country biosphere region. But this event is more than a local activity. It is a pilot for future collaboration across the wider region - both a first step and a tangible example of how we can act together across borders.
We are convinced that either we shape a **cooperative, bioregional future across borders** – or we will face increasing fragmentation and decline. The latest global developments are showing us the urgency of a bottom-up collaborative future.
Today’s students will be the stewards of this shared landscape in 10–15 years. If they grow up with a common understanding of their natural environment and its regenerative potential, this can become a strong foundation for long-term resilience in the region.
For this reason, we warmly invite:
* educators,
* school representatives,
* and observers from Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, and beyond.
Your role could be to:
* experience the methodology in practice,
* exchange perspectives,
* and explore opportunities for future collaboration.
At the end of the day, we will hold a **joint reflection session** to discuss:
* potential project developments,
* relevant funding opportunities and calls,
* and next steps toward scaling this approach across the wider bioregion.
Program overview:
* 09:00 – Arrival and start in Bad Radkersburg
* Morning – Guided explorations in mixed student groups
* 12:00 – Public gathering at Frauenplatz, a smaller square near the main square
* Afternoon – Older students, teachers and guests meet at Pavelhouse (lunch, music, exchange, food&fire, informal networking)
* End approx. 15:30–16:00
We would be delighted if you could join us – not only as guests, but as partners in shaping a shared learning and living space across borders.
Please let us know if you are interested in participating or would like further details.
Warm regards,
Franz Nahrada
for the MuraCalling Cooperation
reply to: [email protected]
Further reading on project and concept:
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/398572966_Scaling_bioregional_identities_in_the_5-country_biosphere_park_Mura-Drava-Duna
