I enjoyed reading your entry and its clear that you have a sincere concern for the local culture and environment. I have a few questions:
1. How many people/organizations make up the Geotourism Stewardship Council?
2. You mention a website that you use to hold online discussions. This sounds like a great idea. How many active users take part? Are there any challenges around participation because of lack of access to technology?
Thanks for your responses.
Dana Frasz
Ashoka's Changemakers
At this time we have fourteen organizations and private individuals participating in the Geotourism Stewardship Council.
The make up of the council is as follows: 1) Conservation - 1 individual, 2) Communities - a local NGO, 3) Indigenous Peoples and Other Cultural Minorities - a community based tourism group, 4) Art and Artisanry - an indigenous community group, 5) Traditional Performing Arts (music, dance, theater, storytelling, reenactments, etc.) - a local art and culture foundation, 6) Culinary, farm/restaurant programs, agritourism - a sustainable farm, 7) Public Institutions - we are still working on this one (the administration changes in one month), 8) Other Stakeholder groups emblematic of the locals - the local boatmen's union, and 9) Private companies compatible with geotourism - 3 eco-lodges, 1 restaurant, 1 volunteer program and 1 butterfly farm.
Our website has just gone live in the last few weeks. We are sending an invitation out to over 150 people to participate in our forums and the website. We have found that many of the local people and indigenous communities do not have internet access on a regular basis, however they do check email and spend time on the internet about one time a week. So, while the interaction may be a bit delayed in comparison to other discussion groups, we believe that it will include many of the different tourism stakeholder groups.
Comments
Hello Ms.Kimball,
I enjoyed reading your entry and its clear that you have a sincere concern for the local culture and environment. I have a few questions:
1. How many people/organizations make up the Geotourism Stewardship Council?
2. You mention a website that you use to hold online discussions. This sounds like a great idea. How many active users take part? Are there any challenges around participation because of lack of access to technology?
Thanks for your responses.
Dana Frasz
Ashoka's Changemakers
Dana -
Thank you for taking a look at our application.
At this time we have fourteen organizations and private individuals participating in the Geotourism Stewardship Council.
The make up of the council is as follows: 1) Conservation - 1 individual, 2) Communities - a local NGO, 3) Indigenous Peoples and Other Cultural Minorities - a community based tourism group, 4) Art and Artisanry - an indigenous community group, 5) Traditional Performing Arts (music, dance, theater, storytelling, reenactments, etc.) - a local art and culture foundation, 6) Culinary, farm/restaurant programs, agritourism - a sustainable farm, 7) Public Institutions - we are still working on this one (the administration changes in one month), 8) Other Stakeholder groups emblematic of the locals - the local boatmen's union, and 9) Private companies compatible with geotourism - 3 eco-lodges, 1 restaurant, 1 volunteer program and 1 butterfly farm.
Our website has just gone live in the last few weeks. We are sending an invitation out to over 150 people to participate in our forums and the website. We have found that many of the local people and indigenous communities do not have internet access on a regular basis, however they do check email and spend time on the internet about one time a week. So, while the interaction may be a bit delayed in comparison to other discussion groups, we believe that it will include many of the different tourism stakeholder groups.
Thanks again for reviewing our application.
Renee H. Kimball
President
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