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Industry Leaders to Participate in IIPT Panel at World Travel Market – Cultivating Sustainable and Peaceful Communities and Nations Six of the world’s travel and tourism industry leaders will participate in this year’s IIPT panel at World Travel Market speaking on the theme:
Cultivating Sustainable and Peaceful Communities and Nations through Tourism, Culture and Sports
Wednesday, 5 November, 10:30 to 12:00 Noon South Gallery Rooms 21 and 22
Featured industry leaders include: Dr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary General, UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Martin Craigs, CEO of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA); Amb. Yamina Karitanyi, Head of Tourism and Conservation, Rwanda; Hiran Cooray, Director, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Chairman, Jetwing Hotels Ltd. and Past Chairman of PATA; and Mrs. Wahida Jaiet, Managing Director, Tunisian National Tourism Office (TNTO). Professor Geoffrey Lipman will Moderate the Panel.
The world is currently faced with conflict on every continent – some that began as much as 70 years ago. As well, there are many conflicts in this same period that have been resolved. What lessons can we learn from countries that have resolved their conflict? How can we work towards building sustainable and peaceful communities – sustainable and peaceful nations? As one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries -what role can tourism play in reconciliation and healing wounds of conflict; in post-conflict socio-economic re-development? Our panel will share their experience, perspectives and insights on these questions and more based on their experiences in Jordan, Northern Ireland, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Tunisia – as well as their global views on “Building a Culture of Peace through Tourism” across regions of the world. This will be an interactive session with the experience and insights of those in attendance encouraged. The World Travel Market session will be a preview of the ground-breaking IIPT World Symposium: Cultivating Sustainable and Peaceful Communities and Nations to be held at Emperors Palace, Ekurhuleni (City of Peace), Gauteng Province, South Africa, February 16-20, 2015. The Symposium will honor the legacies of three champions of Peace and Non-Violence: Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. and commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the African Union, 20 years of South African Democracy, and 50th Anniversary of Civil Rights Legislation in the United States.
Please join us at World Travel market and share your experiences and insights. IIPT also welcomes your suggestions for action initiatives and nominations of Success Stories for the World Symposium to be held in South Africa. |
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IIPT Interactive World Symposium, South Africa to be Groundbreaking Event
The interactive and action oriented IPT World Symposium: Cultivating Sustainable and Peaceful Communities and Nations through Tourism, Culture and Sports being held in Ekurhuleni, South Africa, February 16-19, 2015 promises to be a groundbreaking event for the travel and tourism industry. The Symposium will honor the legacies of the world’s three champions of Peace and Non-Violent Resistance: Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Symposium has been endorsed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Symposium Aim Aim of the Symposium is to build on the legacies of Mandela, Gandhi and King in developing building bridges of tourism, friendship and peace in regions throughout the world - and in this process, cultivating sustainable and peaceful communities and nations.
Your Suggestions for Action Initiatives Invited Towards this end, we are asking for your action initiative suggestions that can be paired with other ideas and proposals to develop collaborative action oriented projects/programs to be implemented as a legacy of the Symposium. Please send your ideas/suggestions/proposals to IIPT, email: ljd@iipt.org with the subject line Symposium Action Initiative.
Call for Success Stories
Other keynote speakers will include: Hon. Derek Hanekom, Minister of Tourism, South Africa (Invited); Hon. Alain St. Ange, Minister of Tourism, Seychelles; Martin Craigs, CEO, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) (Invited); Geoffrey Lipman, President, International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP); Mok Singh, Skal International President (2012 – 2013).
Anita Mendiratta, Founder and Managing Director, Cachet Consulting, will be a plenary session Moderator.
The highly interactive Symposium will have two basic aims:
Both with a view to initiating concrete actions towards the implementation of these goals.
Pre-Symposium Forums As with past IIPT Conferences and Summits, Pre-Symposium events will include a full day Educators Forum and full day Student/Youth Leadership Forum. As well, following the precedent of IIPT’s Fifth African Conference in Lusaka, Zambia, a full day Traditional Leaders Forum is also planned. These will each take place on Monday, 16 February.
IIPT Scholarship Award A US $2,500 scholarship award will be presented to the inter-disciplinary team of 3-5 students writing the best paper on the Symposium Theme of Building Sustainable and Peaceful Communities and Nations through Tourism, Culture and Sport.
Community Tourism and Media Workshops
As well, a Pre-Symposium half day Media Workshop will be conducted by Bea Broda, Producer/Writer/Host/Speaker and President of BC PICTURES: multimedia and tv productions. Bea is a Past President of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW).
Both workshops will be held on Monday, February 16.
Sponsorship Opportunities Organizations interested in sponsoring the Symposium are invited to contact: Louis D’Amore, Email: ljd@iipt.org. In South Africa, please contact Bernadette Nickol: bernadette@nickolandpartners.com
Website now Open for Registration For more information and to register for the Symposium, please visit our Symposium website http://www.iiptsymposium.com/ Early bird registration closes 28 November.
Host Partners
Symposium Partners
Media Partners
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IIPT World Symposium to Feature Leading Practitioners The IIPT World Symposium: Cultivating Sustainable and Peaceful Communities through Tourism, Culture and Sports will bring together a number of leading practioners who will share their experience and insights during a series of interactive sessions.
The Symposium, honoring the legacies of Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. is being held February 16-19, 2015 at Emperors Palace, Ekurhuleni, South Africa.
Leading practitioners who will be participating in the Symposium include:
Thomas Steinmetz, Founder and Chairman, International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) and Publisher, eTurbo News.
Dr. Toni Neubauer, Founder and President, Myths and Mountains; Founder, award winning Rural Education and Development (READ Global) that has served 211 rural communities with its libraries/community centers and positively impacted the lives of 211 million persons. Toni and READ Global are a recipient of the IIPT Ambassador for Peace Award.
Gopinath (Gopi) Parayil, Founder of the award winning The Blue Yonder
Martha Honey, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Center for Responsible Travel (CREST)
Hani Abu Dayyeh, President, Near East Tourist Agency (NET) and negotiator of the Tourism Section of the Oslo Peace Accords for the Palestinians
Dr. Jovan Popesku, Full Professor at SINGIDUNUM UNIVERSITY, Belgrade, Serbia and President, Centre for Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Development, Belgrade; former Director of National Tourist Office, Serbia.
Dr. David Adams was the Director of the UNESCO Culture of Peace Program and currently the Founder and Coordinator of the Culture of Peace Network.
Kitty Pope, prominent award winning African American Travel Journalist, Creator of the Africa Diaspora Heritage Trail World Tourism Awards; founder and director of the International Association of Black Travel Writers; President of the Pan African Cultural Heritage Tourism Society and Assistant Director of the National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center
Dr. Patrick Kalifungwa, former Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources, Zambia; Vice Chancellor of the award winning Livingstone International University of Tourism Excellence and Business Management (LIUTEBM).
Glendyrr Fick, Managing Director, Knysna Tourism and Founder, Green Chefs.
Steve DeVoss, Founder and President Global Sports Partners, utilizing sports to foster post-conflict reconciliation and healing.
Judy Karwacki, President, Small Planet Consulting, prominent international consultant in sustainable tourism.
Jean Marc Mignon, President, Bureau Internationale du Tourisme – promoting social tourism in regions throughout the world.
Lucky K. Chhetri, President of award winning Three Sisters Trekking, empowering the women of Nepal.
Todd Walters, Founder and Executive Director, International Peace Park Expeditions fostering an interdisciplinary approach to leadership and collaboration for advancement of cross-border environmental collaboration, and to support community driven development.
Additional presenters will be announced in the weeks ahead. We welcome your nominations for “Success Stories” and their project directors.
Call for Success Stories Community Tourism Woman Empowerment Rural and Agri-tourism Youth Empowerment Community Capacity Building Community Peace Gardens Skills Development Universal Access Private sector contribution Poverty Reduction Youth Travel Micro Enterprise & SME Dev’t Community Peace Parks Peace with Nature Volunteer Tourism Culinary Contributions Healing Wounds of Conflict Post Conflict Socio-Econ. Dev’t Int’l Collaborative Initiatives Educating for a Culture of Peace Role of Technology Trans-border Peace Parks
Please send brief abstracts to Kunjal Charadva, Email: kunjal.charadva@iipt.org, with a copy to Elizabeth Smith, Email: elizabeth.smith@iipt.org
Supporters Welcome Organizations whose missions are aligned with the theme, aims and goals of the Symposium, and wishing to be supportive by promoting the Symposium to their respective networks are invited to contact IIPT President, Louis D’Amore, email: ljd@iipt.org. Supporters will be acknowledged in our future newsletters and in the official Symposium Program. Website is now Open for Registration For more information and to register – please visit: www.iiptsymposium.com Early bird registration closes 28 November
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Peace Towns and Villages across South Africa - Preparing the Foundations for IIPT World Symposium
Each IIPT/Skål Peace Town or Village will be actively committed to promoting values of tolerance, non-violence, gender equality, human rights, youth empowerment, environmental awareness, and sustainable social and economic development. Collaboration between and among IIPT/Skål Peace Towns and Villages will be encouraged as well as information sharing regarding Peace Town/Village initiatives.
How to become an IIPT/Skal Peace Town or Village South African Towns and Villages are invited to join in commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the African Union and 20 years of South African democracy by dedicating their town to Peace. For more information and to receive a registration form, please contact Louis D’Amore, email: ljd@iipt.org
Towns and villages in other regions of the world interested in becoming part of the IIPT/Skal Peace Towns/Villages Global initiative in support of the World War I Centenary and its theme “No More War” are also invited to contact Louis D’Amore, email:ljd@iipt.org
Skål International is the world’s largest membership organization of travel and tourism industry executives with more than 17,000 members in 405 chapters in 87 countries, and with members from each sector of the industry – several of these chapters are in South Africa.
The IIPT/Skål Peace Towns Initiative builds on the foundations of more than 400 IIPT Peace Parks that have been dedicated to Peace in cities and towns throughout the world beginning in 1992 with IIPT’s “Peace Parks Across Canada” project commemorating Canada’s 125th anniversary as a nation.
Eight Peace Towns and Villages have been achieved to date in South Africa. These are: Knysna - A spectacular tourism destination In Western Cape Province in the heart of the Garden Route featuring the annual Knysna Oyster Festival.
Stellenbosch, Western Cape - Proposed by Skal Cape Winelands - a college town and the proud capital of the Western Cape wine region. Founded in 1685, Stellenbosch is South Africa’s second oldest city, promoting itself as the “most inspiring and innovative town in Africa” and dedicating itself to the values of peace, human rights and sustainable development.
Skills Village 2030 – noteworthy for implementing a practical framework for workplace experience using festivals and events to identify and bring to market commodities, goods, services and experience unique to the local community. Cullinan - Home of the Cullinan diamond mine that produced the world’s largest diamond, the “Cullinan Diamond”. Diamond mine tours are a major tourism attraction of Gauteng Province.
Rayton – offering world class wedding and conference venues, lodges, horse ranches, dairy farms, Bed & Breakfasts, bass fishing, camping and two Museums - the Willem Prinsloo Agricultural and Sammy Marks museums.
Refilwe - Home of the Refilwe Community development initiative and a welcoming spirit towards international volunteers. (see banner photo)
Overwacht - Home of a proud Khoisan community, the original inhabitants of Southern Africa whose origins can be traced back 100,000 years.
Alexandra Township - The mother and father of townships in South Africa dating back to 1912. It was the only place where black people could buy free-hold land at the time. The Township includes a house where Nelson Mandela stayed.
Other peace initiatives in South Africa include the Dinokeng Game Reserve – IIPT/Skal Nature Conservation Peace Park - the first free-roaming Big 5 residential game reserve in Gauteng Province, South Africa (and probably in the world) next to an urbanized area. A private/public initiative opened in 2011.
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IIPT to Partner in Africa Travel Association IIPT resumes its fifteen year relationship with the Africa Travel Association (ATA) by partnering in its 39th World Congress, being held in Uganda, November 11-16, 2014.
ATA Executive Director, Eddie Bergman stated, “ATA is pleased to have IIPT as a partner in our 39th World Congress given the long standing relationship between IIPT and ATA.”
IIPT Founder and President, Louis D’Amore said, “I look forward to again partnering with ATA as I have many fond memories of each of the Conferences I participated in during our many years of partnership starting in 1999. IIPT is also proud to have awarded its only “Life Time Achievement Award” to ATA Executive Director, Mira Berman, at the IIPT Fourth African Conference – also in Uganda, in 2007. So returning to Uganda for the 39th ATA World Congress will be particularly special for me.”
IIPT is also proud to have ATA as a partner in the IIPT World Symposium: Cultivating Sustainable and Peaceful Communities and Nations through Tourism, Culture and Sports to be held in South Africa, February 16-20, 2015.
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IIPT Peace Mission to Syrian Refugee Camp Jordan
That was the question the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) delegation was trying to answer as they recently visited Jordan.
Donald King, Ambassador at Large for the International Institute for Peace through Tourism, led the tour--which was facilitated by H.E. Akel Biltaji, mayor of Amman and member of the International Advisory Board for IIPT.
John Jenkins, Lee Tate. Mike Lindsey, Mark Clayton, and Chris Snowden (pictured below) were the members of the delegation. In addition to a brief tour of Jordan, the group visited Za'atri Refugee Camp, where they met with the camp's director Colonel Abdelrahmin Al-Aroush (third from left in photo) who received the delegation graciously, and in providing the overview of the camp told them: "It is important we help maintain the dignity of the refugees. Za'atri Camp is not a prison and we do not want it to appear like a prison."
The delegation was able to tour the facilities, including one of the hospitals, a grocery store and to visit one of the families--a father, mother and three children who had fled the fighting in Syria. After the tour, one of the delegates commented, "Given the scope of this crisis...we have to applaud the efforts of the Jordanian government and the United Nations. They are doing all they can."
IIPT hopes to soon develop a tour itinerary for Jordan that would allow participants to not only experience the rich tourist sites of Jordan (Petra, Wadi Rum, Jerash, Amman and others) but also come alongside the Jordanian government and the United Nations to provide assistance to the refugees from Syria. That information will soon be available here on the IIPT web site.
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About IIPT The International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) is a not for profit organization dedicated to fostering travel and tourism initiatives that contribute to international understanding, cooperation among nations, an improved quality of environment, cultural enhancement and the preservation of heritage, poverty reduction, reconciliation and healing wounds of conflicts; and through these initiatives, helping to bring about a peaceful and sustainable world. It is founded on a vision of the world’s largest industry, travel and tourism – becoming the world’s first global peace industry; and the belief that every traveler is potentially an “Ambassador for Peace.” For more information: |
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eTurboNews
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proud to be the sponsor for this IIPT
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Mr. David Scowsill, President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) will also be a featured keynote speaker. WTTC is the forum for the Chairs, Presidents and CEOs of 150 of the world's foremost Travel & Tourism companies. It is the only global forum whose members consist of the top decision makers in the Travel & Tourism industry from all sectors of the industry. WTTC works to raise awareness of Travel & Tourism’s huge capacity as a Force for Good in the world, generating not only jobs, wealth and economic growth, but also as a driver of peace, creating a wider understanding of cultures and communities. 
In addition to the above Forums, a full day Pre-symposium Community Tourism Workshop will be conducted by Diana McIyre Pike, a pioneer and internationally recognized expert in Community Tourism from Jamaica “the home of Community Tourism.” 
ATA's signature event will address timely industry topics, offering a line-up of educational and professional development opportunities and showcasing Uganda’s newest products and services. Delegates will also have the opportunity to participate in ATA’s Young Professionals Program forum, a tourism ministers’ roundtable, business-to-business and networking events, an African Bazaar, host country day(s), gala dinners and pre- and post- country tours.
Can tourists to Jordan provide assistance to Syrian refugees?
