As legacy of 3rd Global Summit on Peace through Tourism: One Earth One Family
Niran Wattanasartsathorn, Mayor of Pattaya City
declared Pattaya a ‘City of Peace’ during a special ceremony at the 3
rd
Global Summit on Peace through Tourism this week at the Royal Cliff Beach
Resort and Conference Center. Joining with the Mayor was IIPT Founder and
President Louis D’Amore.
A
line up of top ranking delegates from their respective countries. Opening
their hearts to each other ensures that there is a chance for world peace.
As part of the ceremony – an IIPT International Peace
Park was dedicated with delegates from countries throughout the world
taking part together with members of Rotary and dignitaries from Pattaya
City.
The 3rd
Global Summit on Peace through Tourism took place from October 2-5, 2005.
Niran Wattanasartsathorn welcomed delegates to Pattaya
and the Summit at the Opening Ceremony on Monday. His Excellency Mr. Suwat
Liptapanlop Deputy Prime Minister of Education welcomed delegates on behalf of
the people of Thailand and delivered the Summit Keynote address.
The Regent’s Junior Singers inspired
delegates with a performance that included an original composition by
Choir Director Bill Thomson ‘One Earth One Family’ in honor of the
Children of the World
Theme of the 3rd Global Summit
was “One Earth One Family: Travel and Tourism – Serving a Higher
Purpose.”
Within this theme, the Summit addressed the role of
Tourism in advancing the U.N. Millennium Development Goals; A Strategic
Response to International Terrorism; Healing the Wounds of Conflict
through Tourism, Culture and Sport; a Sustained Travel Industry Response
to the Social and Economic Re-Vitalization of Tsunami Affected Areas and
other topic areas related to Environment, community tourism, the media,
accessible travel for all, empowering youth, indigenous tourism, cultural
tourism, indigenous tourism, volunteer tourism, destination crisis
management, and poverty reduction.
A major achievement of the Summit was the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Pacific Asia Travel
Association (PATA) and the Africa Travel Association (ATA) with a view to
forging an Asia – Africa Bridge of Tourism, Friendship, and
Collaboration.
IIPT Achievement Awards were given to Mr. Chung Ju Yung
(1915 – 2001), Founder,
Hyundai Business Group for his pioneering efforts in
harnessing tourism to open doors to North Korea; Peace Trees Vietnam, for
working alongside the Vietnamese people to transform the destructive
consequences of war into a safe and healthy environment for the children
of Quang Tri Province by removing land mines and replacing them with
trees; and to ‘Just a Drop for providing clean water to children and
their families in least developed counties and to the survivors of the
Asian tsunami.
The
delegates to the summit enjoying each other’s company at the welcome
reception.
The International Institute for Peace through Tourism
(IIPT) was formed in 1986 in response to global issues of the 1980’s –
the growing tensions between east and west; a deteriorating environment;
the increasing gap of have and have not regions of the world; and the
growth of terrorism, much of it – as today, aimed at the travel and
tourism industry.
IIPT’s main goal in organizing its 1st
Global Conference on Peace through Tourism in Vancouver in 1988 was to
create a greater awareness of the potential for tourism to be a vital
force for peace: peace with our neighbors in the global village, peace
with nature, and peace with future generations through sustainable tourism
development.
For 20 years – IIPT has been promoting this ‘higher
purpose’ of tourism. It became clear just three weeks ago that this
‘higher purpose’ has now gained broad acceptance at the highest
levels.
On September 13th – at the
United Nations in New York, UNICEF, ICAO, NEPAD, UNDP, AND UNCTA, as well
as Ministers of Tourism, industry leaders, and Non-Government
Organizations (NGO’s) joined with the World Tourism Organization in
recognizing the key role tourism can play in the overall achievement of
the Millennium Development Goals, and the capacity for tourism to generate
economic, environmental, and social benefits, as well as inter-cultural
understanding and peace among nations.
Delegates at the 3rd Global
Summit accepted the challenge to harness the broad acceptance of this
higher purpose, and to now move forward with concrete actions and
initiatives; and to build strategic partnering relationships to implement
these initiatives.
The specific actions and initiatives are set out in a
“21st Century Agenda for Peace through Tourism.”
Central to the 21st Century
Agenda for Peace through Tourism is achieving the vision set out by IIPT
in 1986 – that travel and tourism, the world’s largest industry,
become recognized as the world’s first “Global Peace Industry” –
an industry that promotes and supports the belief that every traveler is
potentially an Ambassador for Peace.
The Agenda has set 2010 for the achievement of this
goal – as a legacy of the U.N. Decade of Peace and Non-Violence for the
Children of the World –, which will come to an end in 2010.
It also set as a goal 2,010 Peace Parks circling the
earth by 2010 as part of IIPT’s Global Peace Parks Program launched from
Bethany Beyond the Jordan, site of Christ’s baptism, as a legacy of the
1st Global Summit on Peace through Tourism.
The IIPT Global Peace Parks Program was launched on the
11th hour, of the 11th day, of
the 11th month, of the first year of the new
Millennium. This is the hour when the Treaty of Versailles was signed
ending World War I – the ‘war to end all wars.’
Other initiatives include the launch of a World Peace
Passport and a Global Youth Outreach Internship Program. IIPT and the
Africa Travel Association also committed to support the Government of
Bermuda in the implementation of the Africa Diaspora Heritage Trail.
The 3rd Global Summit on Peace
through Tourism was organized by the International Institute for Peace
through Tourism with the support of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition
Bureau (TCEB).
Sponsors included RCI, Reed Travel Exhibitions, Jordan
Tourism Board, Jordanian Airlines, Africa Travel Association, the Republic
of Uganda, and the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources,
Republic of Zambia.
Pattaya Mail was a media sponsor of the Summit.
The Summit was in support of the U.N. Decade of Peace and Non-Violence
for the Children of the World and the U.N. Millennium Development Goals.
IIPT
Achievement Awards were given to Mr. Chung Ju Yung (1915 – 2001),
Founder, Hyundai Business Group for his pioneering efforts in harnessing
tourism to open doors to North Korea; Peace Trees Vietnam, for working
alongside the Vietnamese people to transform the destructive consequences
of war into a safe and healthy environment for the children of Quang Tri
Province by removing land mines and replacing them with trees; and to
‘Just a Drop for providing clean water to children and their families in
least developed counties and to the survivors of the Asian tsunami.
The
50 metre Golden Dragon, from Paknampo in Nakhon Sawan spirals up a bamboo
pole sprouting fireworks from its mouth.
