IIPT is pleased to announce confirmed Keynote Speakers to date for the 1st IIPT European Conference being hosted by Stenden University (formerly CHN University) and to be held in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, October 21 – 24 2008. The Conference is in support of the U.N. designated Decade of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World and the UN Millennium Development Goals. Theme of the conference is:

“Bridging the North–South Divide
through
Sustainable Tourism Development”

Conference Aim
Build on, expand, and leverage current North – South, and South – South initiatives towards sustainable tourism development, poverty reduction, and societal betterment.

Conference Goals
1. Provide a Forum for governments, private enterprise, donor agencies, foundations and NGO’s to debate and reach consensus on more effective models of achieving North – South and South – South collaboration towards sustainable tourism development, poverty reduction, and societal betterment.

2. Identify Models of Best Practice in North – South and South – South collaboration in achieving Sustainable Tourism Development

3. Facilitate effective knowledge transfer on Models of Best Practice and state of the art contribution of technology to Sustainable Tourism Development, Community Empowerment, and Destination Marketing.

4. Enhance the role of the Media, and the role of Culture and Sport in nurturing North – South and South-South dialogue, relationships and collaboration.

5. Engage Educators and future leaders of the industry in the debate, and in conducting innovative research that will contribute to enhanced North – South and South – South collaboration towards sustainable tourism development.

6. Identify potential synergies with other industries for sustainable wealth creation, poverty reduction, and societal betterment in the Group of 77 Countries, and
particularly Least Developed Countries (LDC’s), Land Locked Developing Countries (LLDC’s), and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Keynote Speakers who have been confirmed to date include:

Luigi Cabrini
Director Sustainable Development of Tourism Department

Fiona Jeffery
Chairman, World Travel Market

Johanna Fragano
President, European Hotel Managers Association (EHMA)

Richard R. Miller
CEO & Managing Partner, TourismROI LLC

Lyndall De Marco
Executive Director International Tourism Partnership
The responsible tourism programme of the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum.

Taj Hamad
Secretary General, World Association of NGO’s (WANGO)

Additional Keynote Speakers will be announced in the weeks ahead.

Conference to Feature Media Exchange

The 1st IIPT European Conference will feature a media exchange bringing together prominent journalists from Europe, North America and Developing Countries to debate the critical role of the media in “Bridging the North – South Divide through Sustainable Tourism.” Confirmed media panelists to date include:

Bea Broda Connolly
President Elect,Society of American Travel Writers

Thomas Steinmetz
Publisher, eTurbo News

Sandy Dhuyvetter
Travel Talk Media

Other prominent journalists will be announced in the weeks ahead.

Call for Success Stories
In addition to plenary sessions with keynote speakers, the conference will feature a series of Concurrent Sessions and workshops where “Success Stories” related to the conference theme will be presented – and workshops held to discuss programs and methods by which to gain greater synergies in achieving sustainable development in developing and emerging economies.
Topics to be addressed in the context of “Bridging the North – South Divide through Sustainable Tourism Development” include:

• Gaining greater leverage from North – South initiatives including the roles of Donor Agencies, Foundations, and NGO’s
• South – South Initiatives in Sustainable Tourism Development
• Innovative Initiatives within Developing Countries
• Innovative Private Sector Initiatives
• Recent developments in Micro-Enterprise
• Volunteer Tourism, Philanthropic Tourism, Fair Trade Tourism
• Knowledge Transfer and the Contribution of Technology to Sustainable Tourism Development
• The Role of Culture and Sport

Persons wishing to nominate “Success Stories” and/or “Models of Best Practice” in any of the above topics – or other areas relevant to the above stated goals – are invited to send project or program descriptions to: Amy Sotherden, Email: amy@iipt.org

Educators Forum and Student Forum
As with other IIPT Conferences, a full day Educators Forum – and full day Student Forum will be held on 21 October. Papers, presentations and posters are invited on the topics indicated above, and other areas related to the conference theme. Please provide an abstract of your paper to: Dr. Omar Moufakkir, Lector in Peace through Tourism, Stenden University, Email: o.moufakkir@chn.nl; with a copy to Ian Kelly, Coordinator, IIPT Educators Network, Email: iankelly@picknowl.com.au

Educators are requested to encourage their students to attend and submit papers for the Student Forum. Communication should be made to Anna Krupp, Email: a.krupp1@chn.nl, With a copy to Nishit Charadva, Coordinator, IIPT Student/Youth Leadership Network, Email: iiptyouth@gmail.com

IIPT will award a €1,000 Scholarship to the inter-disciplinary team of 3 to 5 undergraduate and/or graduate students who write the best paper related to the conference topic:

‘Bridging the North-South Divide through Sustainable Tourism Development’

Length of Essay:
There are no restrictions on the paper length. However, the suggested optimal length is between 2,500 and 3,000 words. Bibliography should be included.

Eligibility:
Each member of the inter-disciplinary team must currently be enrolled as a graduate or undergraduate student through October 2008. Essay must be the result of original scholarly research of significant merit.

Submissions:
Essay Entry Deadline is 30 August 2008. Submissions in MS Word format should be sent via email to o.moufakkir@chn.nl with subject: “Essay Entry.” Please include contact, university, and study information for each team member.

Award:
The winning team will be announced by 15 September 2008. Members of the winning inter-disciplinary team will have the opportunity to present their essay at the Student/Youth Leadership Forum on 21 October 2008.

The €1,000 Scholarship Award, to be shared among members of the winning team, will be presented at a Special Awards Luncheon at the 1st IIPT European Conference.

The 1st IIPT European Conference will bring together senior executives from both the public and private sectors of tourism; senior officials of UN Agencies, the European Union, World Bank, UN World Tourism Organization, and other international organizations; and relevant NGO’s, as well as policy makers, educators, leading practitioners, entrepreneurs, future leaders of the industry, and senior representatives of related sectors including culture, environment and economic development.

The Conference builds on the foundations of: three Global Summits: Amman 2000; Geneva 2003; and Pattaya, Thailand 2005; three Global Conferences: Vancouver 1988; Montreal, 1994; and Glasgow, 1999; four African Conferences: Nelspruit, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa 2002; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 2003; Lusaka, Zambia, 2005; and Kampala, Uganda 2007; and several smaller conferences, symposia and workshops in Europe, Australia, North America, Middle East and Caribbean.

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Dr. Tim L. Fort

Louis D'Amore

Dr. Donald Hawkins

Dawn Drew

Raymond Gilpin

Timothy Marshalll

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Featured speakers included:

Dr. Timothy L. Fort, Executive Director of Institute for Corporate Responsibility and Lindner-Gambal Professor of Business Ethics, George Washington University

Louis D’Amore, Founder and President, International Institute for Peace through Tourism

Dr. Donald E. Hawkins, Eisenhower Professor of Tourism Policy and Executive Director, International Institute for Tourism Studies, George Washington University

Dawn Drew, Vice President and Publisher, National Geographic Traveler and Vice Chair Travel Industry Association of America (TIA)

Raymond Gilpin, Director of Economics and Conflict Center of Innovation, U.S.Institute of Peace

Elliot Bloom, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, Travelport

H.E. Professor Perezi K. Kamunanwire, Republic of Uganda Ambassador to the U.S.

James Early, Director of Cultural Heritage Policy, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Dr. Edwin Epstein, Emeritus Professor of Corporate Responsibility, University of California-Berkeley

Tom Miller, Vice president, Business for Diplomatic Action

Ginger Smith, Academic Chair, Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management, New York University

Martha Honey, Executive Director, Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development

Timothy Marshall, President, Jamaica Business Resource Center and Board Chairman, International Institute for Peace through Tourism

Robert McNulty, Founder and President, Partners for Livable Communities

Jamie Sweeting, Vice President for Environmental Stewardship, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd

Steven L. Green, Commercial Officer, US Commercial Service, International Trade Administration, US Department of Commerce

And others.

 1st IIPT International Community Tourism Retreat
June 20 –23 2008

The 1st IIPT International Community Tourism Retreat will be held from June 20-23, 2008 in Kingston , Jamaica at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. The Retreat is sponsored by the Jamaica Tourist Board, Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, and Countrystyle, with support from Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association (JHTA), Jamaica Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), Heart Trust/NTA, Positive Tourism Network, and Panos Caribbean.

Theme for the Retreat is “Tourism Entrepreneurship –Sustaining and Transforming Communities.” 

Participants will include Communities, Community Based Organizations, Non-Government Organizations, Public Sector, Private Sector, special interest organizations, educational groups and international community tour operators and travel agents.

The Retreat will also include a Trade Show, special community tours and the hosting of delegates in communities.

IIPT Caribbean President & Co-coordinator of the IIPT Community Tourism Network, Diana McIntyre-Pike said,“this Community Tourism Retreat will sensitize everyone to the business of community tourism and give us an opportunity to present Jamaica’s two year community tourism entrepreneurship programme, the Ministry of Tourism’s Spruce up Programme to community representatives here and  internationally and allow them to interact with established community tourism entrepreneurs.”

Community Tourism encourages the visitor to discover the appeal of indigenous attributes within a community, along with their local resources and talents. Through visitor-community interaction, respective cultures are explored, ideas and information are exchanged and new friends are made. Community Tourism fosters opportunities at the community level for local people to participate more fully in the tourism industry. These opportunities range from establishing bed and breakfast accommodation in a rural home to creating income-generating commercial tourism opportunities for an entire village.

Individuals or communities who wish to be involved in the IIPT Community Tourism Retreat and potential sponsors may contact : IIPT Community Tourism Secretariat : consec@cct-jamaica.com Danielle Cunningham Retreat Co-ordinator, Tel.: 876-371-1490.

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2nd World Peace Tour to Bhutan Announced

IIPT is most pleased to announce its second World Peace Tour to Bhutan in collaboration with and organized by Sacred Himalaya Travel. The tour comes at an auspicious time in Bhutan’s history. Bhutan is a Kingdom where its peoples still wear centuries old robes, monks swirl in sacred dances and Kings dare to risk change in governance on the greater behalf of their people’s happiness.

In March 2008, on the King’s urging, the country held its first elections to cast ballots for National representatives. They ushered out the last century of wise monarchy with a new era of constitutional monarchy. A unique example in our modern world, Bhutan continues to balance material with spiritual development, Blessed with some of the world's highest and youngest mountains, glacial lakes, and an intricate network of deep forests rich with life, Bhutan protects the jewel of its lands as well as its peoples’ traditional culture with their guiding principle of Gross National Happiness.

The focus for this second IIPT World Peace as a Tour of Kindness 2008 began when Sacred Himalaya Travel’s Wendy Erd, met a primary school teacher last summer from Berkeley, California. She said that the addition of a young Tibetan student and his family to their school brought lovely changes to her classroom. At the end of the year the parents and young students said the new student and his family taught them so much about kindness and gentleness. Bhutan shares this same surround of kindness which emanates from its people and arises from their same gentle compassionate values.

On the 2nd IIPT World Peace Tour to Bhutan, with a small group, maximum 10 guests, we’ll spend 13 days and 12 nights in Bhutan. A Tour of Kindness combines stays in lodges and an overnight in a traditional farmhouse with a local family, with a few nights tenting under a beautiful Himalayan sky brimming with stars. Focused in the Bumthang area, with its gentle wide valleys and ancient spiritual sites, we’ll take easy day hikes along a sparkling river and climb a gentle trail under tall pines to visit young nuns in a small nunnery.

Camp under stars for 2 nights nearby Tangbi village; join together with villagers as they celebrate sacred Tangbi Mani festival; share stories and songs with young students at a primary school in the high rural valley of Tang; meet with a Lama and listen to his insights and wisdom. Please click here for the full details of our tour. Keeping a flexible schedule, please join us to experience the gentleness and good humor of Bhutan’s warm-hearted people and take time to receive and share kindness along the way.

 

 

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IIPT is again proud to be a partner in the 4th African Diaspora Heritage Trail International Conference: Catching the Fire being held in Bermuda from 26th to 30th July 2008 being hosted by Premier Dr. the Honorable Ewart F. Brown, JP, MP, and the Government of Bermuda.

The 2008 Conference will provide a continuing forum for the sharing of the vision, models, policy and resources that govern the development of the African Diaspora Heritage Trail - gathering diverse talented and experienced persons from throughout the African Diaspora who are committed to the authentic research, documentation, promotion and dynamic development of African Diaspora Heritage sites/venues, museums, monuments, and cultural expressions.

“Recapturing and revisioning the concept of a cross-border African Diaspora Heritage Trail, “CATCHING THE FIRE!” will translate the previous planning and valuable dialogue into solid structure by featuring the dynamic research of scholars, anthropologists, historical researchers, students, artists and other stakeholders as they uncover, recover, shape and ignite the Trail which retraces the footsteps of our ancestors.”

It was at IIPT’s First Global Summit on Peace through Tourism in Amman, Jordan, November 2000 that the late Hon. David H. Allen was inspired with the vision of “The African Diaspora Heritage Trail” (ADHT). Within six months, the ADHT was launched as a self-guided tour in Bermuda. It was subsequently presented in its full concept for the first time at the 1st IIPT African Conference on Peace through Tourism in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, March 2002.

In May 2002, Hon. David H. Allen’s inspired idea took full flight with international support at the First African Diaspora Heritage Trail Conference in Bermuda. In Hon. David Allen’s own words: “The aim of the African Diaspora Heritage Trail is to identify, conserve, and promote historic sites linked with the development and progress of people of African descent.”

Interactive conference offerings are designed to include the expertise of all participants, and convey the rich heritage and culture of the peoples of Africa and the African Diaspora as presented through their own artistic expressions, written and oral histories, institution-building and policy making. Conference attendees can expect to actively participate in educational and professional development sessions, share model heritage trail programs, enjoy networking on an international level, and receive unparalleled technical assistance for their heritage tourism programs.

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IIPT Pleased to be Sponsor of
2008 Travelers’ Philanthropy Conference

IIPT is most pleased and proud to be a sponsor of the 2008 Travelers’ Philanthropy Conference being held in Arusha, Tanzania, December 3-5, 2008. The Conference is being organized by the Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development (CESD), a nonprofit research institution based in Washington D.C and at Stanford University.

The Tanzania conference builds upon the initial international Travelers’ Philanthropy conference held at Stanford University in the USA in 2004. The three-day conference in Arusha will bring together 200-300 practitioners from socially responsible tourism businesses, experts in the field of sustainable tourism and philanthropy, community based organizations and global and regional NGOs doing development work, the United Nations and other development agencies, philanthropic foundations, government, and the media.

CESD aspires to promote and strengthen this emerging form of development assistance generated by travelers and the tourism industry by moving Travelers’ Philanthropy from a mere set of ideals to applied best practices. The Travelers’ Philanthropy Conference 2008 will provide a venue for collective learning and exchange among the group of global participants. It will facilitate discussion of the tools and capacity needed for effectively running and evaluating community projects.

More generally, the conference will build media and public interest in socially responsible travel and will include presentations on some of the leading Travelers’ Philanthropy initiatives around the world. It will also offer a range of optional safaris before and after the event, hosted by leading East Africa tour operators that include visits to community and conservation projects.

For more information, please visit: : www.travelersphilanthropyconference.org

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These items will remind all who see or receive them of what a privilege it is to travel freely throughout the world and the opportunity they have as they travel to be ambassadors of international understanding, good will and peace. These items will be admired and appreciated by everyone who sees them in your office, place of business or home.

Costs are $200 (US) plus shipping for an Acrylic Plaque, and $15 (US) plus shipping for a Gift Card pack of 10 Cards and Envelopes.  To order online or by fax/mail, please visit our website.