Rok Rozman and the Balkan Rivers Tour (BRT) win the 2016 Foundation Award
BALKAN RIVERS TOUR - Winner of the 2016 'Foundation' award.
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Lead by former Slovenian Olympic rower, biologist and pro kayaker Rok Rozman, the Balkan Rivers Tour (BRT) aims to raise awareness about ‘the dam craze’ in the Balkans and bring people together to help put an end to it. Winning the 2016 WPA Foundation Award for his amazing efforts, Rok hopes this recognition will help unite paddle sports as a whole and encourage all paddlers to make a difference.
"I sincerely hope this elite recognition will have the power to help us raise awareness and open eyes to people in general and especially kayaking community. I used to be Olympic rower and I know how hard it is to be a professional athlete, sometimes it is hard to do anything more than sleep, train and eat, but as athletes and sport as whole we have much bigger responsibility and impact than we might imagine," he said.
"People are coming to realization that nature conservation is anything but boring and reserved just for experts in biology - it is true rock'n'roll and fun and it gives things we do a reason and sometimes this really feels liberating. Projects and campaigns are dead things, it is organic growing movement that I have trust in that it can do great things."
Dedicating his entire life to this cause, Rok explains that without adequate awareness this project is very difficult.
"My big wish is to unite the sport of kayaking; that paddlers in big colorful plastic boats will be seen as an equal part of whole scene and have joint forces by paddlers in super fast carbon boats. Those carbon boat paddlers will hopefully get the feeling that it is wrong to paddle in concrete channel with artificial flow that is powered by power from pristine rivers being dammed for this purpose. That it is not all just about fame and money. That we will all see that kayaking is all about freedom - freedom of moves, mind and decisions."
With momentum building, Rok has some big plans for BRT but all of it will only be possible with the support and financial backing from likeminded individuals.
"For this spring I am preparing Balkan Rivers Tour II. It just feels like we have go south again, leave computers, meetings and presentations behind and make direct actions where they are most needed. This year's tour will begin with a mass event on the famous Slovenian river Soča - we will paddle it from source in Julian Alps to Adriatic Sea in Italy to show what dams in middle stretches of this stunning river do to the ecosystem as it turns out that global public still isn't aware of the destruction this 'green' energy source makes."
"Then our crew will move south to spend 3 weeks exploring the Dinaric Alps arch trough Greece, Albania and Montenegro where we will be trying to find remote valleys where you can do ski touring, world class kayaking and fly fishing in one day, just to prove the huge outdoor potential of the region."
"We will then end our tour with another mass event in Montenegro. A seven days long paddling trip to expose dam threats from source of River Morača, across Skadar lake and on River Bojana to the Adriatic sea on border with Albania."
Following this tour, Rok will dive into the production of a full length documentary, The Undamaged. With footage captured throughout the last year, this film will showcase some amazing stories which highlights the passion of river people, exposes the problem and encourages people to fight for rivers.
If you would like to support Rok on his mission to raise awareness about the 'Dam Craze,' please contact him through his website.
Read the full profile of Rok Rozman - Project Balkan Rivers Tour here.