Visiting “Utopias” all over the Alps

The Via Alpina is not only an international hiking trail: it is also now used by the project to encourage young people and link utopias. “U-topos” are “non-places” that do not exist in the physical world per se, but are instead invented to recount experiences, stories and feelings. Utopias serve as good examples for a sustainable world, as mental creations of our making, places and projects and people that inspire us. “I am delighted that young people are exploring and shaping such exciting and diverse utopias”, says Maja Kogovšek, Via Alpina Youth Project Coordinator. “The collective immersion in stories that inspire or provoke thought creates a basis for dialogue about core values and social change.”

Organic farming, art, science and social initiatives

The first Visit Utopias of 2024 took place in summer. An excursion took young participants to two organic farms in South Tyrol: Tschoggler and Oberhaus in Reischach, which share a passion to produce healthy and sustainable food, as well as to promote biodiversity. Not far from there, in Val Visdende/I, the Lassù Cooperative Society created a platform made of the fallen trees from the 2018 Vaia storm, providing an event venue to reflect on the consequences of climate change. On the topic of biodiversity, the Visit Utopia in Switzerland worked with examples of sustainability and re-utilisation, building habitats for small animals, picking apples and transforming them into storable products. A similar experiment was done in Slovenia’s Istria region, where a little ecovillage community promotes sustainability and a regenerative lifestyle. Another youth group visited the Lautaret Alpine Garden in the French Ecrins National Park, where tourists can gain scientific insights into the effects of the climate crisis. A workshop organised by CIPRA Germany and an excursion to the Obersalzberg focused on the significance and impact of right-wing nationalist movements on environmental protection, both in the past and today. The first Visit Utopia of 2025 took place in Liechtenstein, with a snowshoe excursion into the mountains of Malbun. The next utopias await participants in summer 2025.

Sources and further information

www.cipra.org/en/good-practice/sharing-biodiversity-on-a-micro-farm?set_language=en (de, en), www.cipra.org/en/good-practice/never-again?set_language=en (de, en), www.cipra.org/en/good-practice/two-examples-of-sustainable-agriculture?set_language=en (de, en), www.cipra.org/it/good-practice/da-foresta-devastata-a-piattaforma-artistica (it, en), www.cipra.org/fr/bonnes-pratiques/tourisme-scientifique-en-montagne (fr, en), www.cipra.org/en/good-practice/sunny-hills-of-istria-a-sustainable-living-culture?set_language=en (sl, en).