Making Travelers' Philanthropy Work for Development, Business, and Conservation
MAJOR TOURISM CONFERENCE ON TRAVELERS' PHILANTHROPY: 'Making Travelers'
Philanthropy Work for Development, Business, and Conservation'
Arusha, Tanzania, December 3-5, 2008
The Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development (CESD), a non-profit organization based in the United States, announces plans to hold a major global tourism conference in Arusha, Tanzania, on December 3-5, 2008. The topic of the conference will be Travelers' Philanthropy, which is a growing part of the global tourism industry.
Travelers' Philanthropy supports a wide range of community development and conservation projects in the host countries where tourism businesses operate, and is part of the global movement towards ecotourism or sustainable tourism.
The central focus of the conference will be improving a practical understanding of Travelers' Philanthropy as a concept and in terms of how to design and execute effective social development and conservation projects. "Over the last decade, we've seen a growing trend among tourism companies and tourists to donate funds, material support, and expertise to assist health clinics, schools, protected areas, and other development projects in communities and countries where tourism takes place," says Dr. Martha Honey, CESD Co-Director. "We believe that, done well, this sort of philanthropic support is a potentially important new source of development assistance, as well as an integral component of sustainable and responsible tourism businesses."
The 200 to 250 conference attendees will include representatives from tourism companies from around the world, as well as experts from development and conservation organizations, representatives from the UN and other international agencies, academics, government officials, and others interested in how responsible tourism can contribute to poverty alleviation and environmental conservation.
The conference co-sponsors include a range of leading tourism companies, travel agents, hoteliers, and airlines; as well as NGO's and UN and government agencies including the Tanzania Tourist Board, the Jane Goodall Institute, UN Foundation, Conservation Corporation Africa, Micato Safaris, Intrepid Travel, World Wildlife Fund, and Ecotourism Kenya. 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, the Kenyan environmental activist Wangari Maathai, will deliver the conference's keynote address.
The conference opens with a special 4 hour tutorial on the 'nuts and bolts' of Travelers' Philanthropy and will showcase a documentary on Travelers' Philanthropy in East Africa and Costa Rica. It includes as well over twenty workshops and plenary sessions on topics such as education, health and HIV/AIDS, climate change, and biodiversity conservation.
The 2008 Travelers' Philanthropy conference - the first ever in Africa
-- will be held at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge on the outskirts of Arusha. Early-bird registration for the conference at a discounted price will remain open until September 30, 2008. For more information about the Travelers' Philanthropy conference, registration, speakers and program, pre- and post- conference trips, latest updates, as well as background information on the previous conference, please visit the conference website at: www.travelersphilanthropyconference.org
Travelers' Philanthropy is a Project of the Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development Website: www.travelersphilanthropyconference.org