IIPT Celebrates ‘Diplomats for Peace’ in Delhi
This past month, the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) organized its inaugural ‘Diplomats for Peace’ event recognizing and celebrating the critical role of Diplomats in nurturing peace and harmony throughout the world.
The first-ever event was presented by VFS Global, the world’s leading visa facilitation agency and TravelBiz Monitor, India’s premier Travel and Tourism industry publication. Participating with IIPT India was the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Speaking about VFS Global’s partnership with the IIPT ‘Diplomats for Peace’ event, Zubin Karkaria, CEO, VFS Global said that travel and tourism has a strong role to play in spreading the message of peace and understanding as well as building bridges amongst people and cultures. “VFS Global being an agency which handles visa management services plays a pivotal role as a catalyst in supporting outbound travel over the past 16 years. Therefore supporting the cause of 
peace through tourism is close to our hearts, and hence this partnership with IIPT for the Diplomats for Peace event,” he said.
Christened as ‘Diplomats for Peace,’ the first ever event brought together more than 40 Ambassadors and diplomatic personnel representing 95 nations together at the ITC Maurya hotel in New Delhi, India. The mistress of ceremony for the event was Shivani Vazir Pasrich.
Introducing IIPT and its vision to the diplomats and mission heads, Ajay Prakash, President, IIPT India read out a short message from Dr. Louis D’Amore, IIPT’s Founder President who, he said, set up the organization in 1986 with the vision of making Travel and Tourism the world’s first Global Peace Industry, and the belief that every traveler is potentially an Ambassador for Peace. Since its inception, IIPT has organized seminars, workshops, international conferences and global summits in regions throughout the world bringing together Heads of State, Nobel Laureates, Royalty, Heads of UN agencies, leaders of the travel and tourism industry and other sectors.
Peter Brun Head of Communications VFS Global & Ajay Prakash felicitate Norway (Left); Carl Dantas member IIPT India Board & Madan Bahl MD TravelBiz Monitor felicitate Colombia (Right)
Founded on the premise that the essence of diplomacy is the nurturing of harmony, peaceful relations and cooperative initiatives with the aim of mutual benefit, the IIPT India Advisory Board recognized 15 countries for their exceptional work as ‘Diplomats for Peace’ 2017 while additionally, the envoys of over 90 countries were felicitated as ‘Messengers of Peace’’ at the function.
Explaining the objective and the rationale of the ‘Diplomats for Peace’ event, Prakash said, “IIPT is dedicated to fostering and facilitating tourism initiatives which contribute to international understanding and cooperation. Our mission is to encourage, acknowledge and celebrate individuals and organizations who work to make the world a better place and who we can hold up as role models for the younger generation. The essence of diplomacy is the preservation of peace and harmony and we wanted to honour and salute the key role Diplomats play, balancing national interests with global human values, and felicitate each one of you present here as a true Messenger of Peace.”
Dr Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of UNWTO sent a personal video message to the organisers and diplomats which was played at the start of the event. Dr Rifai said that the decision to celebrate 2017 as the Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the UN is testimony to the importance the agency bestows to tourism as an industry which can contribute to build a better world. He reiterated the UNWTO’s support to IIPT and urged the Diplomatic community to use travel and tourism as a transformative power to build bridges among people and cultures to create an atmosphere of understanding, peace and stability in the world.
Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog in his keynote message said that Aviation and Tourism are two industries which play a crucial role not only in terms of creating large number of jobs but are also major drivers of peace in this world. Travel and Tourism is an antidote to terrorism and violence, he said. Travel creates friendship across boundaries and therefore barriers to travel need to be reduced, he added.
Sheldon Santwan member IIPT India Board & Hans Dannenberg Castellano Dean of the Diplomatic Corps felicitate Greece (Left); Zubin Karkaria CEO VFS Global & Ajay Prakash President IIPT India felicitate the Kingdom of Bhutan (Right)
While diplomats from over 90 countries were felicitated as ‘Messengers of Peace’ at the ceremony, 15 of them were also decorated with the title ‘Diplomats for Peace.’ The countries whose Ambassadors and High Commissioners were awarded the Diplomats for Peace citations included: Maj. Gen. Versop Mangyel; Ambassador of Bhutan to India; Pichkhun Panham, Ambassador of Cambodia; Nadir Patel, High Commissioner for Canada in India; Monica Lanzetta Mutis; Ambassador of Colombia in India; Alexander Ziegler, Ambassador of France in India; Dr. Martin Ney, German Ambassador to India; Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India; Melba Pria, Ambassador of Mexico in India; Ernest Rwamucyo, High Commissioner for Rwanda in India; Jose Ramon Baranano Fernandez, Ambassador of Spain in India; ChitranganeeWagiswara, High Commssioner of Sri Lanka in India; Dr. Andreas Baum, Ambassador of Switzerland in India; Dr. Abdul Rahman Albanna, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to India; and Sir Dominic Asquith, High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to India.
A special award was bestowed on India as the land of Ahimsa, Acceptance and Assimilation. IIPT plans to make the Diplomats for Peace an annual event in the social calendar of the Diplomatic Corps.
2017 IIPT Peace Diplomats Recipients
IIPT is currently planning its 30th Anniversary Global Summit in Montreal, 27-30 August, 2018, being co-organized with the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). IIPT has launched a “Global Peace Parks Project” with a goal of 2,000 Peace Parks circling the earth by November 11, 2018, which marks the Centenary of the end of World War I – with its theme “No More War.” Persons wishing to learn more about the Global Summit in Montreal, and/or the Global Peace Parks Project are invited to email: [email protected].About IIPT
The International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) is a not for profit organization dedicated to fostering travel and tourism initiatives that contribute to international understanding, cooperation among nations, an improved quality of environment, cultural enhancement and the preservation of heritage, poverty reduction, reconciliation and healing wounds of conflicts; and through these initiatives, helping to bring about a peaceful and sustainable world. It is founded on a vision of the world’s largest industry, travel and tourism – becoming the world’s first global peace industry; and the belief that every traveler is potentially an “Ambassador for Peace.”
Najib Balala is no longer a former Kenyan Tourism Minister
Kenya’s Tourism Minister, The Honorable Najib Balala was brought back. After a brief time drifting to mining, Kenya’s president Kenyatta last week moved him back to where he was before. Najib again is now the minister of tourism for the Republic of Kenya.
Mining, by broad consensus, was the wrong portfolio given his vast experience in the sector and after serving already as Tourism Minister during the Kibaki presidency.
Balala took over at a time when sectoral competence was key to reviving the Kenyan tourism industry after a string of poor performers in this, for Kenya, crucial portfolio.
President Kenyatta only nominated nine Cabinet Secretaries at the time and notably dropped Balala’s predecessor Phyllis Kandie from the cabinet, as he did also with Prof. Judi Wakhungu who held the Environment and Natural Resources portfolio.
More cabinet positions will be announced over the coming days it is understood but for now it is a moment for the country’s tourism industry to look into the next years with renewed confidence now that their main ally in government has made a comeback.
Former Seychelles tourism minister Alain St. Ange, who now operates a tourism consulting company and together with this publication is a member of the TravelMarketingNetwork in New York, was one of the first to congratulate Najib Bala on his re-appointment.
The announcement of Principal Secretaries of Tourism for Kenya is expected in due course and like with Balala himself is the tourism sector rooting for Mrs. Fatuma Hirsi to serve a second term in the tourism ministry too
Najib Balala has retained his tourism portfolio in the new Cabinet announced by President Kenyatta.
Balala is also the Chair of the Regional Commission for Africa the UNWTO. He is the Tourism Minister who has the responsibility to oversee the rewriting of the Brand Africa narrative as Africa moves forward to claim a greater share of the tourism market.
Kenya also has a seat at the UNWTO Executive Council until 2019.
Alain St. Ange said: “I know Najib Balala and have always appreciated his professionalism and dedication to tourism. He has always been one to raise the Kenya flag and, in so doing, raise that of Africa as a whole. Congratulations Najib Balala, indeed a great choice by President Kenyatta.”
IIPT Announces its Community Tourism Projects & Events Distribution Channel
The International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) in collaboration with Countrystyle/Villages as Businesses (VAB) announces the Community Tourism Projects & Events Distribution Channel for the 2018 IIPT Year of Community Tourism and Peace.
This project is being launched by IIPT Founder/President Louis D’Amore and IIPT Caribbean President Diana McIntyre-Pike as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of Community Tourism which was pioneered in Jamaica. Countrystyle/VAB Founder and President, Diana McIntyre-Pike is also the Coordinator of the IIPT International Community Tourism Network.
The Community Tourism Projects & Events Distribution Channel is a clearinghouse for international community tourism projects and events for 2018. The vision is to create a distribution portal, a ‘One Voice’ approach, for marketing community tourism internationally and showcasing its local and global impact. Countries around the world will be able to share their upcoming community events and learn about projects in which they can participate. The approach also aims to encourage support from funding agencies, non-government organizations, international organizations, potential investors and Diasporas.
Access to the Community Tourism Projects & Events Distribution Channel will provide information for visitors who desire to support community projects, such as Pick a Project or Adopt a Village, while on vacation.
The Community Tourism Projects & Events Distribution Channel is being designed by Theo Chambers, Webmaster and Chief Solutions Consultant for PanaCarib Business Solutions and PR Agency, Jamaica. The Projects and Events Distribution Channel will be linked to www.AccessCommunityTourism.com
For more information, contact Diana McIntyre-Pike via email at [email protected] or +1-876-507-6326
The Caribbean thinks of climate resilience
As time and age advance, and with it one’s private and professional life progresses, one might come to the conclusion that most things we do in life, in business or even in politics are just a bunch of nonsense. What is worse that we keep doing it for no good reason at all, and are continuing to create more nonsense. Some will put the blame on the boss or the government, some on the weather, others on their childhood, their mother-in-law or a recession. Great arguments that underline some of the nonsense even more. Climate change and resilience are trendy right now. It is almost like wanting to blame Nature for what Nature is and how it functions.
I’ve got some news for you. Extremely old news. It may take at least 10 digits to put a number on it. There is scientific evidence that forms of life on Earth appeared about 3.5 billion years ago. One year more or less doesn’t make a difference. There are people who may believe that it is what it took to create true human perfection. Just imagine that it took an evolution that long to inspire some members of the human species to decide on putting together committees to figure climate resilience out. That’s a main topic in the headlines nowadays. Just as a side remark, did you know that French soft cheese takes about 4 weeks to ripen? Anyway, to describe the mission of such committees in some straight forward wording: find out what we recently messed up and how we can quickly fix it again.
The answer is so darn simple that it almost insane: any material or process that was not created or influenced by man, and still exists, has proven to be resilient, in some cases over millions of years. The next question may be, what would have survived or flourished if it wasn’t affected by human action or influence? There you will find some valid answers of what to keep, copy and protect, and what to avoid.
Some prefer looking for an easier solution, like we need more insurance and more financial assistance, or handouts to survive when catastrophes happen. The correct answer is again so senseless simple. One is provided with two features for the use: brains and hands. As for the hands, we all know that some hands are bigger than others, and that some are used to do work, and some are used to be held up and receive. As for the brain sizes and functions, let’s not even get started discussing it. The answers to problems are usually quite simple and straight forward. But in order for them to be recognized and accepted, human brains and behavior have an annoying delaying effect.
In 1997, I was asked by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO to promote “1998, The International Year of The Oceans of the UN”. The mission was to create awareness for the world’s oceans. At that time, climate change was already discussed. Scientists had recognized all the indications. They had computer models of the effects of rising sea levels. Why wasn’t something done about it already at that time?
For one, scientists typically have to prove things first and beyond any doubt; reasonable doubt is not even good enough. One cannot prove something when it didn’t actually happen. That is like wisdom from the law and order professions. Politicians will not take action unless scientists can prove something. They fear for their credibility and to be fried to a crisp if they cannot justify their decision without proper evidence. Now, after those 20 years, one can at least say that tremendous progress is made, and climate change is about to be proven. The time has now come to think about action for becoming climate resilient. And of course, on a smaller scale, like here in the Caribbean, a committee may be assembled of persons who must start thinking first, about what they actually need to be thinking about. Keep your fingers crossed for #1 seeing a plan of action and #2 enjoy experiencing the implementation.
If I would ask Mother Nature for her opinion about all this, she might respond with: “You people think you are ‘Living the life of Riley’ and you believe you are ‘Hot Stuff’. In my eyes you are really only lallygagging and dilldallying along through your limited time of life. From my overall perspective, you are as unimportant as a miniature ship in a bottle. Mama Nature will adapt and survive. I always did. And you? So, listen to Mama Nature and learn from Mama Nature and don’t try to have things your way.” Ding-dong!