The Tour du Valat invites you to a round-table discussion featuring Besjana Guri and Olsi Nika, the 2025 winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize, which honours environmental defenders engaged in remarkable campaigns. This event will explore these protected deltas, the power of citizen mobilization and the conditions necessary for the long-term protection of ecosystems, by drawing parallels between the stories of two iconic Mediterranean regions: the Vjosa in Albania and the Camargue in France.
Speakers:
- Besjana Guri, winner of the 2025 Goldman Prize, founder of the NGO Lumi, co-founder of the NGO EcoAlbania
- Olsi Nika, winner of the 2025 Goldman Prize, Chief Executive of the NGO EcoAlbania
- Marion Vittecoq, Research Director at the Tour du Valat)
- Jean-Luc Moya, eco-consultant, member of the THT 13/30 Collective
Moderator:
Jean Jalbert, Director General of the Tour du Valat
Introduction:
From the wild rivers of the Balkans to the vast wetlands of the Camargue, natural areas are facing increasing pressures: urbanisation, tourism development, and energy, industrial or road infrastructure projects… Yet all over the world, men and women are taking action to protect these coveted natural and cultural heritage sites.
The Tour du Valat invites you to a round-table discussion to compare the stories of two iconic regions of the Mediterranean:
- The Vjosa in Albania, where a citizens’ movement has succeeded in protecting one of Europe’s last great wild rivers and where the ‘Flamingo Revolution’ recently mobilised hundreds of thousands of people against destructive property development projects, and
- The Camargue, a wetland area of global importance and a jewel of European heritage, which today faces numerous challenges relating to development and conservation.
Through the testimonies of Besjana Guri and Olsi Nika, the 2025 winners of the Goldman Prize – the environmental equivalent of the Nobel Prize – which honours environmental defenders engaged in remarkable campaigns, and the differing perspectives of stakeholders in the Camargue, this event will explore these protected deltas, the power of citizen-led campaigns and the conditions necessary for the long-term protection of ecosystems.
An opportunity to share inspiring experiences from across the Mediterranean, exchange views and, together, envisage new partnerships between science, civil society and local communities.
* The SISMAE association will provide English–French translation
Monday 12 October 2026 – 6.00 pm
Chapelle du Méjan, Place Nina Berberova, Arles
Free admission
Besjana Guri
Besjana Guri is an environmental activist and one of Albania’s most internationally recognised figures in the field of river conservation. With a background in social sciences and community development, she was part of the founding team of EcoAlbania and was one of the leading figures in the ‘Save the Blue Heart of Europe’ campaign in Albania. This campaign brought together a coalition of communities, researchers, organisations and international supporters opposed to dam projects on the River Vjosa. Her greatest achievement came in March 2023, when the Vjosa and its main tributaries were designated a ‘Wild River National Park’ – a first in Europe.
For this work, Besjana Guri, alongside Olsi Nika, received the 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious awards recognising grassroots environmental activism, often dubbed the ‘Green Nobel’. In 2025, she founded LUMI – Movement for Water, the Environment and Inclusion, an organisation that places communities, women and young people at the heart of nature conservation.
She is currently one of the leading figures in the ‘Flamingo Revolution’, an Albanian environmental movement that has been active for over three months, working to protect the Vjosa Delta from destructive development projects and to defend Albania’s natural heritage against an environmentally unsustainable development model.
Olsi Nika
Olsi Nika is a biologist with a Master’s degree in environmental biology and a PhD candidate in conservation biology.
Olsi has over 10 years’ professional experience in the fields of the environment, environmental policy, civil society and nature conservation. His career began in 2010, when he took part in environmental monitoring projects in Albania, whilst studying at the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
Since 2013, he has been working in the civil society sector, where he has been involved in various projects relating to environmental protection, advocacy and public policy.
Olsi is the 2025 winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, in recognition of his efforts to protect the Vjosa River and establish the Vjosa Wild River National Park.
His key achievements and publications over the last five years include:
- Executive Director and founder of EcoAlbania, an NGO working to protect natural ecosystems in Albania.
- Expert at EcoAlbania specialising in biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems;
- Campaign manager and fundraiser
- Expert in biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of natural resources.
- Expert in marine and freshwater quality monitoring
- Winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2025