STOWE, Vermont, USA –The International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) World Symposium on Sustainable and Peaceful Communities and Nations through Tourism, Culture and Sport will be held at Emperors Palace, Ekurhuleni (adjacent to O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg) 16 – 19 February 2015.
The interactive and action oriented Symposium will honor the legacies of the world’s three great champions of Peace and Non-Violent Resistance: Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. with the aim of affirming these legacies by building bridges of tourism, friendship and peace in regions throughout the world.
The Symposium, endorsed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, will also commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the African Union, 20 years of South African Democracy and 50th Anniversary of Civil Rights Legislation in the U.S.
IIPT is using its historical convening power to bring world leaders of the travel and tourism industry to South Africa as keynote speakers for this milestone event including: Dr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary General, UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO); Mr. David Scowsill, President and CEO, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC); Hon. Derek Hanekom, Minister of Tourism, South Africa; Salih Cene, President, Skal International; Martin Craigs, CEO, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA November 2011 to November 2014); Professor Geoffrey Lipman, President, International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP); Mok Singh, Skal International President (2012 – 2013) and member, IIPT International Advisory Board as well as leading Ministers of Tourism including the visionary Hon. Alain St. Ange, Minister of Tourism, Seychelles and creator of the Carnavales de Carnavales.
The Symposium will have two basic aims: to identify strategies and best practice in cultivating productive, sustainable, peaceful and welcoming communities through tourism, culture and sports; and to determine lessons learned from countries that have experienced conflict and the potential roles of tourism, culture and sports in reconciliation and post-conflict socio-economic re-development. As well, the Symposium will seek to launch creative initiatives that contribute to these aims.
Design of the Symposium will be highly interactive with international experts in community development, community tourism, sports, culture and peace engaging with delegates in the exchange of experiences and ideas. Ministers of Tourism from countries that have experienced conflict will share their insights and suggestions related to strategies for reconciliation and healing wounds of conflict and best practices in harnessing tourism, culture and sports in the post-conflict socio-economic re-development process.
In addition to Ministers of Tourism from Africa, selected Ministers from countries of Europe, Asia and South America that have experienced conflict will also be invited to participate in inter-active plenary session panels.
A special action initiative already begun in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the African Union is an IIPT/Skal Cities, Towns and Villages of Peace Across South Africa project with a goal of 50 cities, towns and villages dedicating themselves to peace in the weeks leading up to the Symposium. Some ten cities, towns and villages have already registered. Cities, Towns and Villages around the world are invited to join this initiative in solidarity with South Africa. Other action initiatives will be announced in the weeks prior to and during the Symposium
As with past IIPT Conferences and Summits, Pre-Symposium Events will include a full day Educators Forum and full day Student/Youth Leadership Forum. A full day community tourism training workshop and a half day media workshop will also feature as Pre-Symposium events on 16 February.
Host Partners for the Symposium include: South Africa Tourism, Gauteng Tourism, the Metropolitan Municipalities of Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg, South African Airways and Emperors Palace.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which has supported IIPT International events since the First IIPT Global Conference, Vancouver 1988, will again be a partner in the Symposium together with the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) the only global forum whose members consist of the top 150 private sector decision makers in the Travel & Tourism industry. Other partners include: Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Africa Travel Association (ATA), Skal International, International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) and the Jamaica Business Resource Center (JBRC).
This is IIPT’s seventeenth international event and seventh global summit since its founding in 1986, the UN International Year of Peace.
IIPT is most grateful for the enthusiasm and support being provided by its Partners and looks forward to a strong participation of tourism professionals from regions throughout the world taking part in the Symposium.
IIPT is dedicated to fostering and facilitating tourism initiatives that contribute to international understanding and cooperation, an improved quality of environment, the preservation of heritage, poverty reduction, and the resolution of conflict – and through these initiatives, help bring about a more peaceful and sustainable world. IIPT is dedicated to mobilizing travel and tourism, the world’s largest industry, as the world’s first “Global Peace Industry,” an industry that promotes and supports the belief that “Every traveler is potentially an Ambassador for Peace.”
For more information, please email: [email protected]
www.iipt.org