The establishment of a Geopark aims to bring sustainability and real economic benefit to the local populations, usually through the development of sustainable tourism and other economic and cultural activities
The Bureau of the Global Geopark Network, meeting from 16 to 18 September in Norway’s Gea Norwegica Geopark on the occasion of the 10th European Geoparks Conference, will examine applications from 16 sites wishing to join the Global Network.
The candidates include: Carnic Alps (Austria), Bodoquena-Pantanal (Brazil), Quadrilatero Ferrifero (Brazil), Hong Kong park (China), Tianzhushan (China), the parks of Bauges (France), Chablais park (France), Katla (Iceland), Batur (Indonesia), Pacitan (Indonesia), Aras (Iran), Burren and Cliffs of Moher (Ireland), Alpi Apuane (Italy), Muroto (Japan), Sierra Norte di Sevilla Geopark (Spain), Villuercas Ibores Jara (Spain).
Further information is available on UNESCO’s Geopark webpage.
At the end of the internship the students received their certificates. FLTR: Jalal Al Hassani, Suleiman Al Hajri, Dirk Watermann (Nature Park), Abdullah Al Abri, Friedel Heuwinkel (Chief of the Lippe District), Ahmed Al Hajri, Henning Schwarze (WHS) and Abdullah Al Masrouri
INTEWO is a leading think tank in the field of sustainable tourism development and education in the Sultanate of Oman. Being aware that young professionals benefit from practical and international experience, INTEWO funded a six weeks internship summer training for five students from Sultan Qaboos University‘s tourism department. The internship is part of an official cooperation between Oman and Germany, which has been signed by Oman‘s Ministry of Tourism and the Teutoburger Wald / Eggegebirge Nature Park and other relevant partners from the public and private sector. In the light of „Tourism and education for sustainable development“ the international student exchange is one of the mutual activities.
INTEWO and its German partner company World Habitat Society GmbH (WHS) prepared a diverse program for the students, which focused on aspects of environmentally considerate tourism, innovation in tourism, biodiversity conservation and education. To gain practical experience, the students were appointed with different organizations and tasks in Germany, which in each case reference to future tourism development in Oman.
The costs for the internship, including accommodation, local transport, language course etc. has been funded by INTEWO. Air-tickets for the students were provided by SQU.
Khalid Al Tobi, Chairman at INTEWO: „For us it is a matter of course to invest in international training opportunities for Omani students. These young professional are the future and we will benefit from the availability of qualified employees and future management.“
„Being with international colleagues and students is enriching the entire workflow in our organization. We all benefit from different views and this is helping us to develop new and sustainable ideas“ said Henning Schwarze, Managing Partner at WHS.
The student exchange between SQU and the partners in Germany took place for the third year in a row. Recently INTEWO, SQU and WHS started planning for the summer training in 2012. Qualified students will be appointed by SQU. Based on the great success of the activity, INTEWO and WHS are currently working on a concept to invite other organizations in Oman to participate in the international exchange and training.
INTEWO is a brand of Gulf Jewels Tours, with its head office in the Sultanate of Oman and branches in Germany and Ethiopia.
FLTR: Manuel Pater and Tamas Hodik, students at the University of Applied Sciences OWL, while taking shots in Salalah
In cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Ostwestfalen-Lippe (HS-OWL), Germany, INTEWO is currently producing a movie about the geological heritage in the Sultanate of Oman and its tourism potential. Geologists from INTEWO carried out a three weeks field work campaign with students from HS-OWL. The team visited a wide range of unique geological attractions between Musandam and Dhofar.
