About

Build a network of local advisors to put small tourism providers in watercourse regions on a more sustainable path

Project Overview

Due to COVID 19 epidemic, tourism industry has been hit extremely hard as restrictions to international travel have caused a decline of the tourism economy at least between 45 and 70% (OECD).

Through this project there is an opportunity to rethink tourism as a whole, by shifting more decisively from over tourism models to existing sustainable tourism models.

Aims

The aim of this project is to equip a network of future local advisors with the necessary competencies so they can support and advise small tourism providers in watercourse regions to be more sustainable and competitive, with a strategic focus on:

  1. Sustainable Tourism and SDGs;
  2. Ethics and Social Responsibility;
  3. Natural and Cultural Heritage;
  4. Competitiveness and Sustainable Local Business Development;
  5. Innovation and Digital Transformation;
  6. Networking and Local Partnerships
  7. Branding and Digital Marketing;
  8. Internationalisation Strategy.

Objectives

The objectives of the project are to:

  • Create a new competence profile for the tourism sector: the sustainable local tourism advisor
  • Contribute to local sustainable tourism development through the capacity building of small tourism providers
  • Promote less renowned watercourse touristic destinations, giving visibility to their sustainable and innovative practices in the tourism sector
  • Contribute to local sustainable tourism practices and policies by increasing awareness and discussion on the challenges and opportunities regarding the potential of watercourse tourism and sustainability

The target groups of the project are:

  • Sustainable tourism advisors
  • Small tourism providers
  • VET providers

Partners

Comunidade Intermunicipal da Beira Baixa (CIMBB)

The Comunidade Intermunicipal da Beira Baixa (CIMBB) (Intermunicipal Community of Beira Baixa), officially created in March 2009, is a collective person of public law, of associative nature and territorial scope. The geographical scope of CIMBB is the new level III Statistical Territorial Unit (NUT Beira Baixa), which comprises the Municipalities of Castelo Branco, Idanha-a-Nova, Oleiros, Penamacor, Proença-a-Nova and Vila Velha de Ródão. Among a wide range of attributions, the CIMBB has, as its objective, the accomplishment of the specific interests of its associates, the municipalities, in the areas of promotion, planning and management of the economic, social and environmental development strategy of the Beira Baixa territory, and is also responsible for the educational and professional training network. These attributions, therefore, include all the initiatives of intermunicipal scope that are developed in the areas of education and strategic and economic development.

CARDET

CARDET (Centre for the Advancement of Research and Development in Educational Technology) is the leading research and development centre in the Mediterranean region with global expertise in education, digital skills, and capacity building.
As the largest independent non-profit centre based in Cyprus, CARDET has completed more than 300 projects in more than 50 countries, relating to innovation and entrepreneurship, new technologies, gamification, digital skills, upskilling pathways, education and inclusion. CARDET brings together an international team of experts with decades of global expertise in education research and development. Members of our team, board of directors, and advisory board have served in high profile positions for organisations like UNESCO, Commonwealth of Learning, OECD, Google, and the American Educational Research Association.

International Center for Ecoremediations

International Center for Ecoremediations is an applicative research center operating at the University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts, for more than 10 years. The ERM Center deals with sustainable regional development, natural resources management, circular economy, pollution and degradation prevention, climate change mitigation and adaptation, environmental education and green job creation. The main aim of the ERM Center is the implementation of sustainable practices to increase environmental and social responsibility. In doing so, the ERM Center successfully collaborates with businesses, municipalities, development agencies, educational institutions and other partners on national, European and intercontinental level. Members of ERM Center were awarded with national prizes for social responsibility, best research and science communication and are also members of expert groups at the ministry for agriculture and ministry for education.

Mindshift Talent Advisory

Mindshift is a consulting company specialised in Human Resources that invests in the performance and upskilling of people’s competences, seeking to boost the digital and interpersonal maturity in organisations and society.
At national level, MINDSHIFT has as one of its main partners The Key Talent Portugal, a HR Tech Consulting specialised in Social Attraction and Talent Assessment that develops platforms, such as Panorama and AplyGo, that allow to optimise, implement and manage digital, agile and attractive HR processes based on data analysis.
At European level, we are a strategic partner for the development of transnational cooperation projects aiming to create innovative solutions in the area of youth and adult training, in six key-areas: upskilling & reskilling, inclusion & employability, sustainable development, women empowerment, entrepreneurship & creativity, and digital talent.
Mindshift is strongly committed to the principles of Social Responsibility and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, bringing together a team of staff with various backgrounds and professional experience.

The Rural Hub

The Rural Hub was set up as an association by a group of education, training and rural development professionals as a response to the impact of the economic crisis on small rural villages and towns in Ireland. Since it was first established in 2012, The Rural Hub has been providing a wide range of training and capacity development programmes to residents and community groups. We have significant experience in the area of community and rural development and have delivered a number of local projects and training programmes to support the social inclusion of disadvantaged rural youth, migrant communities and isolated older residents. We work with these groups, using creative approaches and the testing of digital resources to support greater social cohesion among local communities in County Cavan. We have a developed network of county-wide stakeholders who support our work on a thematic basis. hroughout the year we organise a series of events to raise awareness about emerging issues including online safety, disinformation, entrepreneurship, digital literacy and the radicalisation of young people through online environments.

Turismo de Portugal- Escolas

OUR HISTORY SPEAKS FOR OURSELVES
We are leaders in the education and training of tourism human resources.
Turismo de Portugal, integrated within the Ministry of the Economy, is the national tourism authority responsible for training and qualifying the tourism sector human resources and forthe technical and pedagogical research. It also coordinates, implements and recognizes the courses and vocational training actions in this area. Moreover, it certifies the professional skills required for tourism careers.
SCHOOLS
Turismo de Portugal also manages a network of 12 schools that aim to teach and train young people and to prepare them for their first job, improving the quality and prestige of the different tourism careers.

Spektrum Educational Center Foundation

As a self-sustaining, dynamic organization that is open to cooperation, our aim is to offer a wide range of formal and informal trainings to the organizations wishing to develop in the region, and also to those wishing to learn without age limits. Our Centre guarantees the high-level mastery of skills, which are essential in most professions and life situations. Among these ‘transversal’ skills, language competences are of utmost importance, therefore we offer language courses, from the beginner to advanced levels in effective small groups and individual lessons. Within the framework of our educational development projects we are searching for effective ways and means to prepare the region’s workforce for the rapid economic changes and encourage entrepreneurship.

INFODEF

INFODEF, Institute for the Promotion of Development and Training, is a private and independent centre for Research, Development and Innovation that supports the modernisation of educational systems and the pedagogical innovativeness of public and private educational institutions at national and European levels. INFODEF has extensibility worked on the definition of EQF and ECVET based Training Curriculums, the design of new tools for the identification, assessment and validation of basic, key, transversal and professional competencies, the development of innovative ICT-based tools, the design of methodologies to support Work-Based-Learning programmes and practices, new instruments for the recognition and validation of non-formal and informal learning, entrepreneurship education, and the evaluation and quality assessment of educational programmes.
One of the main areas of expertise of INFODEF is the design of innovative methodologies and tools to support SMART Specialisation Strategies in Tourism for Regional Development. INFODEF is partner of the cluster AEICE, a grouping of more than 100 companies, research & development centres, Universities and Public Administrations that fosters the social and economic development of the territory through collaboration, innovation, internationalisation, training and communication in various fields, including Tourism, Natural, and Cultural Heritage.

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Project Number: 2021-1-PT01-KA220-VET-000032948