3 Weeks to Outstanding Program of 1st IIPT European Conference Bridging the North-South Divide through Sustainable Tourism Development 21 – 24 October 2008 Leeuwarden, Netherlands

Delegates from Europe, Africa, Asia, North America and the Caribbean will come together for four days to share their experiences, knowledge, insights and visions on the conference theme:

Bridging the North-South Divide through
Sustainable Tourism Development

The exponential growth of international tourism arrivals from 25 million in 1950 to a projected 1 billion in 2010 is clearly one of the most remarkable economic and social phenomena of our time. An increasing proportion of these arrivals are in Developing Countries. Travel and tourism is currently the main source of foreign exchange for most developing countries and at US$ 200 billion annually is more than the total of foreign aid from all governments. Tourism appears to be one of the few economic sectors able to guide a number of developing countries to higher levels of prosperity and for some to leave behind their least developed country status.

The aim of the 1st IIPT European Conference is to build on this success, and to leverage current North – South, and South – South initiatives towards sustainable tourism development, poverty reduction, and societal betterment through greater collaboration among key stakeholders. This is the challenge to industry leaders and participants in the 1st IIPT European Conference.

The Conference is being organized in partnership with the UN World Tourism Organization (UN WTO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and hosted by Stenden University . The Conference is in support of the UN Decade of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World and the UN Millennium Development Goals.

The Opening Ceremony Keynote address will be delivered by Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, Jamaica.


HonHon. Edmund Bartlett

Plenary Sessions and their respective Keynote Speakers are as follows:

Plenary Session I
Global Perspectives on Bridging the North – South Divide: Sustainable Tourism Development and the UN Millennium Development Goals

Moderator: Dr. Noel Brown, President, Friends of the United Nations and Chairman, IIPT International Advisory Board

Keynote Speakers
Hon. Netumbo Ndemupelila Nandi-Ndaithwah, Minister, Environment and Tourism, Republic of Namibia ; Dr. Gil Alves, Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Industry, Timor-Leste; Kathy Sudeikis – Immediate Past President, American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and U.S. Travel Agent of the Year 2008

Dr. Noel Brown

Hon. Netumbo Ndemupelila Nandi-Ndaithwah

Kathy Sudeikis

Hon. Filippe Savadogo, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Communication, Burkina Faso; Dr. V. Morfopoulos, Managing Director, Basic International Development Corporation (BIDC); Mr. John Hummel, Regional Senior Adviser/ Network Leader, Pro-Poor Sustainable Tourism, SNV Asia; Ms. Monique de Greeve, UK and European Director, TourismROI

Hon. Filippe Savadogo

Dr. V. Morfopoulos

John Hummel

Monique De Greeve

Plenary Session III
Integrating Social, Cultural, and Sports Dimensions in Bridging the North – South Divide through Sustainable Tourism Development

Mr. Yianis Evangelou, President, Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (HATTA); Mr. Robert Zimmer, President, Zimmer Group International; Ms. Lyndall De Marco, Executive Director; International Tourism Partnership, Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum; Mr. Taj Hamad, Secretary General, World Association of NGO’s (WANGO).

Yiannis Evangelou

Robert Zimmer

Lyndall De Marco

Taj Hamad

Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, Jamaica; Mr. Luigi Cabrini Director, Sustainable Development, UN World Tourism Organization; Dr. Tom Selänniemi, Chairman, Tour Operators' Initiative for Sustainable Tourism; Janos Damon, Executive Director, Israel Hotel Managers Association

Hon. Edmund Bartlett

Luigi Cabrini

Dr. Tom Selänniemi

Janos Damon

Plenary Session V
Tourism and Peace – Myths and Realities:
Educational Foundations for a Collaborative Approach in Bridging the North-South Divide

Dr. Myriam Jansen-Verbeke, Member of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism, Leuven University , Belgium; Ms. Johanna Fragano, President, European Hotel Managers Association (EHMA); Dr. Dallen J. Timothy, Professor of Community Resources and Development; Arizona State University, Editor of the Journal of Heritage Tourism; Dr. Irena Ateljevic, Socio-Spatial Analysis Landscape Centre Environment Science, Wageningen University, the Netherlands

Dr. Myriam Jansen-Verbeke

Johanna Fragano

Dr. Dallen Timothy

Dr. Irena Ateljevic

MEDIA LUNCHEON
Role of the Media in Bridging the North – South Divide through Sustainable Tourism Development

Abdul-Sahib Shakiri, Editor and Publisher, Islamic Tourism Magazine; Bea Broda, President, Society of American Travel Writers; Thomas Steinmetz, Publisher, eTurbo News; Sandy Dhuyvetter, Travel Talk Media;

Abdul-Sahib Shakiri

Bea Broda

Thomas Steinmetz

Sandy Dhuyvetter

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
» Provide an international forum to discuss more effective models of achieving sustainable tourism development, poverty reduction, and societal betterment in developing and emerging economies

» Identify and convey research and models of best practice in North–South and South–South collaboration.

» Enhance the role of the media, culture, sports and technology in nurturing collaboration.

» Engage practitioners, educators and future leaders of the industry in a dialogue that will contribute to enhanced North–South and South–South collaboration towards sustainable tourism development.

» Identify potential synergies with other industries for sustainable wealth creation, poverty reduction and societal betterment.

The Conference will bring together Ministers of Tourism and senior executives from both the public and private sectors of tourism, European Union, U.N. Agencies, foundations, donor agencies, and NGOs, as well as educators, policy analysts, leading practitioners, entrepreneurs, future leaders of the industry, and senior representatives of related sectors including environment, culture, sport, and sustainable economic development.

The 1st IIPT European Conference builds on the foundations of three Global Conferences: Vancouver, Canada 1988; Montreal, Canada 1994; Glasgow, Scotland, 1999; three Global Summits in Amman, Jordan 2000, Geneva, Switzerland 2003; and Pattaya, Thailand 2005; four African Conferences: Mpumalanga Province, South Africa 2001; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 2003; Lusaka, Zambia 2005; and Kampala, Uganda 2007; and other conferences and symposia in Italy, Turkey, Greece, Australia, the Caribbean, Pakistan, Israel, United States, and United Kingdom.

FOR REGISTRATION CLICK HERE

1st IIPT European Conference to Feature more than 80 Leading Practitioners and Educators in Concurrent Sessions

More than 80 leading practitioners and educators from countries of Europe, Africa, North America, Asia and the Caribbean will be presenting “Success Stories” – “Models of Best Practice” - and leading edge research in a series of thought provoking concurrent sessions during the 4 day 1st IIPT European Conference.

Presentations will be on a wide range of topics that will incorporate social – economic – cultural – environmental – and sustainable development perspectives within the context of the Conference theme: Bridging the North – South Divide through Sustainable Tourism Development, and will feature stimulating discussion between educators and practitioners – among both presenters and participants.

The full conference detailed program including speakers, their affiliations, and title of their talks is available on our website

Following are the session titles of Concurrent Sessions:

A wide range of topics will be presented by speakers from diverse geographical areas and organizations, and including executives from NGO’s, and both the public and private sectors, educators, leading practitioners, entrepreneurs, future leaders of the industry and executives from related sectors including environment, culture, and sport.

The concurrent session speakers will present “Success Stories” and “Models of Best Practice” related to the conference theme – and discuss programs and methods by which to gain greater synergies among key stakeholders in achieving sustainable development in developing and emerging economies.

FOR REGISTRATION CLICK HERE

• To nurture the growth of peace and understanding at home and throughout the world.
• To enhance awareness of a community’s commitment to peace and a healthy environment.
• To create a common ground for members of the community to come together in celebration of their nation’s people, land, and heritage, and the common future of all humankind.
• Reflect on our connectedness to one another as a Global Family and to the earth of which we are all a part.

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"Peace Through Commerce"
A Global Imperative to Catalyze Multi-sector Collaboration

November 13-15, 2008

Marvin Center
The George Washington University
Washington, DC

Can business be a force for peace? This simple question will be addressed at the Peace through Commerce Conference to be held November 13-15, 2008 at the Marvin Center of George Washington University.

The conference is based on the premise that “Peace is good for business, and business is good for peace” - and that this premise might be the key to creating widespread, sustainable peace.

IIPT Founder and President Louis D’Amore said, “IIPT is proud to again collaborate with the Institute for Corporate Responsibility, George Washington University together with other prestigious organizations including FLOW, The US Institute of Peace, APCO Worldwide, GW CIBER, AACSB, Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics, GW International Institute of Tourism Studies, and the Institute for Economics and Peace in the organization of this important conference.”

The Peace through Commerce Conference builds on the successful joint symposium: “Peace through Commerce – Harnessing the Power of the Global Tourism Industry” organized by the Institute for Corporate Responsibility (ICR), George Washington University and IIPT together with other collaborators this past May – and six earlier Symposia organized ICR.

Participants from academia, civil society, and public policy think tanks will convene with business and political leaders at George Washington University 13 – 15 November 2008 to build on – and expand an emerging multi-sector alliance to advance the understanding and cultivation of peace through commerce.

The conference will include dynamic speakers, provocative panels, and opportunities to explore collaboration based on responsible business practices that foster cross-cultural understanding and broad-based access to economic opportunity, with special emphasis on women and young people.

Some of the prominent speakers to be featured at the conference include:

Steve Killelea, Australian IT entrepreneur, Founder of the Global Peace Index; Walter Robb, Co-President, Whole Foods Market; Roger Dow, President, Travel Industry Association of America; John Sullivan, Executive Director, (CIPE) Center for International Private Enterprise; Carolyn Woo, Dean, Notre Dame University School of Business; Dr. Timothy L. Fort, Executive Director of Institute for Corporate Responsibility and Lindner-Gambal Professor of Business Ethics, George Washington University; Michael Strong, Chief Visionary Officer, FLOW; Raymond Gilpin, Director of Economics and Conflict Center of Innovation, U.S. Institute of Peace

Steve Killelea

Walter Robb

Roger Dow

John Sullivan

Carolyn Woo

Dr. Tim L. Fort

Michael Strong

Raymond Gilpin

The conference is hosted by the Institute for Corporate Responsibility at GWU, and organized in collaboration with FLOW with support from The International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT), The US Institute of Peace, GW CIBER, AACSB, Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics, GW International Institute of Tourism Studies,The Institute for Economics and Peace, and APCO Worldwide

Conference proceedings to be presented as a multi-media course by the World Bank Institute and selected conference papers will be published in a special edition of The Journal of Business Ethics.

For more information and to register, visit www.peacethroughcommerce.com

 

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IIPT Exhibits at The Trade Show

Seven tours for 2009 have currently been designated as “World Peace Tours”:
• Jordan
• Bhutan
• Algeria/Tunisia
• South Africa
• Arabian Peninsula
• Central America
• Armenia
• Iran

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.