Commission members delivered three presentations online (Mohana Basu from India, Hugo Capellá-Miternique from Spain and Daichi Kohmoto from Japan). Another four presenters were present at the conference in Krasno (Borna Fuerst Bjeliš from Croatia, Walter Leimgruber from Switzerland, Stanko Pelc from Slovenia and Raularian Rusu from Romania) and they also attended the field trip on the second day of the conference.

The book of abstracts is available in PDF here and also at the webpage of the conference.

Report by Walter Leimgruber

The two paper sessions were held in different locations at a considerable distance. A change was therefore not possible. Given the density of the programme and the limited time, few questions were asked and there was unfortunately no final discussion.

Papers by Commission members (as scheduled in the programme):

Borna Fuerst-Bjeliš gave opening plenary talk: Shaping modern Croatian Geography. The Work and Legacy of Prof. Veljko Rogić

Stanko Pelc: Geographical marginality and the processes of marginalisation and demarginalisation in European context

Walter Leimgruber: The challenge of living in the mountains. Disaster in the Alps

Hugo Capellá i Miternique: The Highlander's glance legacy. The recovery of Mallorca' integrated insularity from Tramuntana's range mountains (online)

Mohana Basu: Border-induced urban stress: assessing health and quality of life of informal workers in Kolkata, West Bengal (online)

Raularian Rusu, C. Ursu, C. Moldovan & T. Man: Demographic issues in post-socialist Hunedoara county, Romania. An administrative unit that shifte from core to periphery

Daichi Kohmoto, A. Kotaro: Geographical perspectives to the education in mountainous and island areas of Japan (online)

Few other presentations with strong marginality focus were presented by other participants, e.g.:

D. Ceci, K. Laginja, B. Novotny, L. Zvonarić, A. Popović, I. Šišak & P. Radeljak Kaufmann: Development possibilities and limitations of Žumberak from the point of view of local actors

D. Pečaver: Identification of the rural periphery in the Area of Karlovac County (Croatia) and Bela Krajina (Slovenia) through a preliminary analysis of selected indicators

The whole programme is available at the following link: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGubUq3of0/Zp4eOqBZuFBrFKimtoM33Q/view?utm_content=DAGubUq3of0&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hc6068f7640

The second day was devoted to a field trip in Velebit National Park that included the Zavižan weather station (part of the Europen network of meteorological stations), the Velebit Botaanical Garden, Veliki Lom, Mirevo, Alan Pass, Zavratnica bay and back to Krasno.

A complement to the meeting was the visit to the school in Sveti Juraj where an introduction to the geomorphology of the region was provided, along with an exhibition of rocks from the Velebit mountains. This provided a good conclusion to the conference as it took participants back to our proper task: to teach our subject to the next generation.

Although it was not a ‘marginal’ conference in the strict sense of the word, it took place in a region that can be described as marginal. Home to the Velebit National Park, the region is sparsely inhabited and characterised mainly by dense forests and pastures. It is a beautiful region with a special appeal and has a distinct tourist potential although most holiday makers prefer the coast. The Velebit range separates inland Croatia from the Mediterranen (the Adriatic) and acts as a climate barrier. It is responsible for the Bura (Bora), a strong wind that blows from the mountains to the coast and can cause considerable damage, particularly in the valleys that act as channels.