The 20th Council of Europe Meeting of the Workshops for the implementation of the European Landscape Convention on “Council of Europe Landscape Award Forum of National Selections - 5th Session 2016-2017”, was organised in Daugavpils (Latvia) on 19-21 June 2018, by the Council of Europe – Secretariat of the European Landscape Convention, Directorate of Democratic Citizenship and Participation – in co-operation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Republic of Latvia and Daugavpils City Council, within the context of the Work Programme of the European Landscape Convention of the Council of Europe.

The European Landscape Convention provides for a Landscape Award of the Council of Europe that recognises policies or measures which local or regional authorities or non-governmental organisations have adopted to protect, manage and plan their landscapes, and which have proven to be lastingly effective and which can thus serve as an example to other territorial authorities.

On 20 February 2008 the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted Resolution CM/ (2008)3 on the rules governing the Landscape Award of the Council of Europe. The Award is given every two years by the Committee of Ministers, further to proposals from the Committee of Experts of the Council of Europe in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Convention.

The achievements of high value achieved in the Member States of the Organisation on the occasion of the 5th Session of the Landscape Award of the Council of Europe – 2016-2017 – were presented in this Meeting. They show that it is possible to promote the territorial dimension of human rights and democracy by improving the landscape features of people’s surroundings.

The Ceremony of the 5th Session of the Landscape Award of the Council of Europe took place on this occasion.