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Writer's picture: Zavod KrogZavod Krog

From September 4th to 15th, 2024, Institute Circle, together with partners, organized two youth exchanges in Sousse, Tunisia. These exchanges, conducted with organizations from Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, and Turkey, focused on enhancing young people's understanding, knowledge, and skills in the field of sustainable tourism. The youth exchanges are part of projects funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ program.

 

Sustainable tourism addresses the threats posed by mass and conventional tourism by reducing its negative impacts on nature and society, and balancing the needs of visitors and host countries. Managing resources in ways that meet economic, social, environmental, and spiritual needs leads to protecting and enhancing future development opportunities. More and more tourist organizations and agencies are shifting their strategies towards tourism that is friendly to both local and global environments, as well as their residents and cultures. To harness the opportunities of sustainable tourism, we provided young people who want to work in tourism with training on sustainable tourism practices, sustainable destinations, the green aspects of tourism, and the importance of engaging with local communities, which will help them in the long term in finding employment in the tourism sector.

 

In the first project, "Youth Travel Sustainably," more than 30 young people from the mentioned countries were educated on sustainable development in general, with a particular focus on sustainable tourism. The project activities enhanced their entrepreneurial skills for planning sustainable tourism projects. During the first part of the project in Izmir, Turkey, the young participants gained knowledge and skills in these areas and, with the support of mentors, developed business plans for their own sustainable tourism projects. In the second part of the project in Sousse, Tunisia, they acquired further skills in financial management and employment skills such as teamwork, creativity, communication, etc.

 

The activities from the first project were further built upon in the new project, "Promoting Youth Employment in Sustainable Tourism." Groups of trained young people will pass on their knowledge of the importance and principles of sustainable tourism to their peers through a series of activities, using their knowledge on sustainable tourism, as well as the creative and entrepreneurial skills they acquired during the training.

 

In all participating countries, they will design, organize, and conduct short trips based on the principles of sustainable tourism. They will invite their peers on these trips and introduce them to the core pillars of sustainable tourism and the sustainable aspects of the organized trip, while also showcasing the sights they visit along the way. They will also design short workshops on sustainable tourism for young people who are still studying tourism or want to work in this field. The final activity will be organizing round tables for young people in all participating countries, where experts from this sector will be invited.

 

Both projects contribute to the promotion of sustainable tourism and raising awareness and knowledge among peers about sustainable development in general. The project activities will help young people strengthen their organizational, communication, and other employability skills, as well as project management skills. Additionally, the project will support youth entrepreneurship and creativity in the field of sustainable tourism and reinforce values such as solidarity, awareness of interconnectedness, and the need to care for each other and the environment. The exchange of young people from all five partner countries will also strengthen mutual understanding among Mediterranean countries.



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