Thinking Green: Sustainable Tourism for Sustainable Communities Erasmus Project

Project Title

Thinking Green: Sustainable Tourism for Sustainable Communities

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage

Project Summary

The project Erasmus+ THINK GREEN (SUSTAINABLE TOURISM FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES) arises from the need to ensue educational actions that prepare our students to become active and responsible citizens caring for our large enriching European cultural heritage, so that it may be a generator of wealth and social cohesion (Article 3.3 of the Lisbon Treaty, (https://ec.europa.eu/cultural-heritage-en). To this end, it is vital that the activities developed around it, tourism included, are respectful to the environment and sustainable in the long term. These actions are in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals addressing global challenges, e.g. poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, welfare, peace and justice. (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainabledevelopment- goals/).
Our key objectives are as follows: to define the concept of “Sustainable Tourism”; to analyze the type of tourism existing in the partners’ city/region (measuring its impact); to reflect upon what type of tourist one is. Within the project’s targets we plan to propose specific actions to promote a sustainable tourism practice and to ensure a sustainability strategy for the activities and their dissemination, too.
The project will directly address 250 students, 30 teachers, 10 non-teaching staff and 150 parents but within the school community it’s expected to indirectly influence 400 students, 60 teachers, 300 parents and 40 non-teaching staff. Public and private organizations related to the environmental, tourism and economic fields, tourism companies, chambers of commerce and business) as well as NGOs committed to environmental and heritage protection will cooperate. The participants will develop activities, e.g. research, data collection and analysis; reflection on their role while carrying out tourist activities; recognizing good practices in the field of sustainable tourism and proposing sustainable tourism actions which will be presented at the International Sustainable Tourism Fair. Both during the implementation and at the end of the project, dissemination activities will be promoted, showcasing the work that was developed and its results.
The methodology will be based on project work, cooperative and team-work with the aim of developing the planned fieldwork. The direct participants need to know first-hand the reality of the tourism activities that take place in their area, in order to obtain reliable data later on. Another pillar of the methodology is the work and personal reflection on the analysis of the type of tourist that each participant is, measuring thus the impact on the environment and its sustainability. Finally, we will use the Content Marketing Cycle methodology (Listening to buyers/people, deciding on the theme and topics, creating content, promoting content, measuring and evaluating, repurposing) to promote sustainable tourism activities. In order to develop this methodology, the participants will benefit from the training at local level and during the LTTAs.
As for the results, we will produce several outputs, some of which will be: infographics, presenting the concept “Sustainable Tourism”; Prezi and PPT presentations/videos, showing filmed interviews to significant actors in the field of tourism; an Online Test “What kind of tourist I am”; graphics and data of the impact of tourism in our area, thus analyzing and comparing the results at European level; an Online Quiz “The ecological footprint of the tourist activities”; proposals of sustainable tourism activities; the International Sustainable Tourism Fair; tutorials on “how to be a ‘Cool Tourist’”. We will create Apps, an eBook, addressing the promotion of Sustainable Tourism and “Tourist-Icons” (emoticons/emojis), measuring the sustainability of the tourist practices that organizations within our area of action promote. Leaflets produced will be handed out to tourists visiting our city/region. The Teaching Units on Sustainable Tourism (TUST) will be shared with nearby schools. Moreover, the project website and blog, the interaction established in social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) and the use of the eTwinning, Erasmus+, YouTube platforms will showcase the project results. Another important results will be the cross-cultural dialogue, thus improving our actions on sustainability; the alliances with NGOs, private and public organizations with which we will share good practices in the field of Sustainable Tourism.
THINK GREEN will provide all participants with a greater awareness and a more responsible action while carrying out tourist activities. We will continue collaborating with organizations that will have participated in the development of the project, proposing sustainable tourism actions that respect our heritage and environment. About our project partners, sustainability education will be maintained in the curriculum, as will other schools in our area through the TUST.

Project Website

https://thinkinggreenproje.wixsite.com/erasmus

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 152695 Eur

Project Coordinator

Colegio Carmelitas Sagrado Corazón Ikastetxea & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Agrupamento de Escolas de Castelo de Paiva
• inlingua Berufsfachschule für Fremdsprachenberufe e.V.
• Osnovna sola Hinka Smrekarja
• Anyksciu Jono Biliuno gimnazija
• Halikon lukio