The first and second “General mountaineering” courses of the Iran Nature Friends’ club

The first general mountaineering course of the Iran Nature Friends’ club was held with the cooperation of the Embassy of Austria and Tehran municipality. The host of the first course was the district 3 Municipality of Tehran.

The purpose of these courses, which are counted as international activities of Sport Organization of Tehran municipality, is to invite people to the natural environment and to introduce Nature friends of Iran to the great family of Tehran municipality.

This cooperation is an important step in the international sports activities of Tehran municipality since 800 employees of Tehran municipality have signed up for these courses from all 22 districts of Tehran.

By holding these courses that are following sustainable tourism development goals, the presence of Tehran municipality staff in the courses and their acquaintance with eco-tourism and mountaineering essentials will be observed.

The inaugural ceremony of the first eco-tourism and mountaineering course was held with the presence of Ms. Barbara Grosse, the first secretary of the embassy and head of the cultural department in the embassy of Austria; Dr. Sabbaghpour, deputy of international affairs in Tehran municipality communication and international affairs center; Dr. Moghaddam, secretary of the mountaineering federation of Iran; Mr. Mohseni, the head of sports organization; and Mr. Hashemi, CEO of Nature friends of Iran.

International Nature friends club, which has 40 countries as its members, is one of the greatest sport and cultural clubs in the world and has a history of 125 years. Iran has joined this club in 2017.

Iran nature friend club aims for developing sustainable tourism, standardization, and continuing inclusive educational programs about eco-tourism and mountaineering. In line with these goals, the Iran nature friends’ club has started its cooperation with Tehran municipality to educate 800 people of the personnel weekly in 2020.

The presence of the first secretary of the embassy and head of the cultural department in the bassy of Austria, deputy mayor of Tehran municipality, secretary of the mountaineering federation, and CEO of Nature friends of Iran in Inaugural ceremony

Living the nature and providing recreational activities for societies and attempting to reduce the gap between nature and people are the main purposes of this club.

Public awareness of destructive impacts on urban lifestyle, filling the gap between nature and society, reconciling communities and nature through education, and public awareness based on regional ecosystems, are the most important philosophies of the club.

Deputy of international affairs in communication center of Tehran municipality, Dr. Sabbaghpour

Iran nature friends’ club has been chosen as the first country that has joined international nature friend in Asia based on its rich nature and culture, the experiences of experts, and its history of eco-tourism by the general assembly and international Nature Friend board of directors.

The missions of this club, which tries to achieve its goals in the most favorable way, are inclusive information and education besides living the nature in the approaches of maintaining natural and cultural heritage in societies for all humans, sustainable tourism, and preservation.

We hope that these provided educational projects result in an increase in public knowledge and encourage the societies to play their role in eco-tourism and observe environmental tips.

The first course of Eco-tourism and mountaineering introduction was held on 10-12 January in two morning and evening shifts. The two first days of the course were dedicated to theoretical education in the Pardis Gholhak complex and the last day was operated as a workshop in the oak circle (Meydan-e Balut) of Taleqani park.

Educational presented topics in the first and the second courses of nature friend:

Nature and mountains geography

Natural environment preservation- Sports and entertainment

Nutrition in nature and personal health care in mountains

Photography in nature

Leadership in groups- Nature hazards

Landscapes in eco-tourism

Eco-tourism equipment

Navigation in nature

Photography in nature taught by Mr. Farid roshanaee

Theoretical topics of two morning and evening shifts were taught in 6 hours each day of each course (12 hours each course in general) by the masters of provided fields.

Masters of theoretical courses:

Mr. Beitollah Sirayi

Mr. Farid Roshanaee

Mr. Hosein Rasaee

Dr. Khojasteh

Masters of practical courses:

Mr. Maziyar Heydari

Mr. Arash Iravani

The first day, 10th January, Sunday:

The inaugural ceremony was held with the presence of Ms. Barbara Grosse, the first secretary of the embassy and head of the cultural department in the embassy of Austria; Dr. Sabbaghpour, deputy of international affairs in Tehran municipality communication and international affairs center; Dr. Moghaddam, secretary of the mountaineering federation of Iran; Mr. Mohseni, the head of sports organization; and Mr. Hashemi, CEO of Nature friends of Iran.

Dr. Hosein moghaddam, secretary of the mountaineering

At the beginning of the inaugural ceremony, Dr. Sabbaghpour, Ms. Barbara Grosse, Mr. Mohseni, and Dr. Moghaddam had their speech.

“The sports diplomacy can cover the diplomacy of the country,” Dr. Sabbaghpour said. “Tehran city capabilities especially in the field of sports are unique. Thus, we should analyze our needs at first to be able to do great works in the field of sports”.

Ms. Barbara Grosse, the head of the cultural department in the embassy of Austria, had participated in the inaugural ceremony too. She spoke about the relationships between the countries and sports and named the precious attractions of natural sources and mountains.

Also, the following educational topics were taught on the first day:

Nature and mountains geography

Natural environment preservation

Sports and entertainment

Nutrition in nature

Personal health care in mountains

 

The second day, 11th January, Monday:

The second day of the course was held in two morning and evening shifts and the following topics were taught:

Photography in nature

Leadership in groups

Nature hazards

Landscapes in eco-tourism

Eco-tourism equipment

 

The third day, 12th January, Tuesday: Timeline

The third day of the course was held in the forest park of Abbas Abad (Taleghani park) and It was the practical day which was held in 4 hours (9-13). Navigation in nature was taught on this day and participants were introduced to the climbing equipment and different kinds of backpacks.

The number of first-course participants	46	1-3 districts
The number of second-course participants	54	1-3 districts
Timeline	8-14	14-20