About Think Tank IX
From Besten_Wiki
Values have implications for how we understand and implement more sustainable practices in tourism and society at large. The 9th annual BEST Education Network Think Tank held at James Cook University Singapore (June 15-18) addressed the Importance of Values in Sustainable Tourism.
Economical, cultural, social and historical values have in various ways shaped the concerns that drive sustainability, which up until now, have had a strong Western bias. Therefore it was particularly important to stimulate critical thinking and discussions at the new James Cook University in Singapore, where an international audience of scholars and practitioners set out to create new perspectives for future education and research.
The message from keynote speaker, Professor Pauline Sheldon was clear:
- The current economic crisis is a crisis of values. We need to educate future leaders with a clear set of values that are crucial for our graduates’ success and for the stewardship of the industry and the world.
Professor Sheldon, who is also the President of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism and behind the Tourism Education Futures Initiative, went on to identify the values needed to open for new opportunities beyond short term gain and consumerist attitudes. These are ethics, stewardship, mutuality, knowledge and professionalism. She explained: “Ethics, stewardship and mutuality focus on the nature and responsibilities of industry professional within the broad setting of society whereas knowledge and professionalism focus particularly on leadership and team building skills, critical thinking and creativity.”
The second keynote speaker, Director of Singapore Tourism Board, Mr. John Gregory Conceicao further stimulated thinking by introducing Singapore Tourism Board’s vision for Singapore as a “Global City”. The vision is firmly grounded in a formula consisting of trust, knowledge, connection and life and livability. Time was also allocated for research papers and an Industry Forum where delegates were introduced to local performing arts and dance experiences at the Malay Heritage Precinct. Also, Mr. Wong Tuan Wah talked about the values that underpinned the conservation and management of urban greenery and national heritage in Singapore.
The 2009 Outstanding paper award was presented to Dr. Heather Zeppel James, James Cook University Cairns, Australia, entitled: Cultural values in sustainable tourism: Conflicts between indigenous culture and recreation in protected areas. The Chair of BEST EN Dr. Janne J. Liburd (University of Southern Denmark) commended her contribution to the implementation of sustainable tourism and community empowerment by addressing cultural values, cultural conflicts and managerial solutions to recreational use of natural areas.
Importantly a BEST EN Think Tank is an opportunity to work closely with others to share and create new knowledge. This year, delegates launched themselves into a structured brainstorming process. Through the use of the Zing technology in less than 20 minutes delegates identified as many as 109 issues related to the role of values and key issues underpinning values in sustainable tourism. These issues were consolidated into three questions that addressed
- the facilitation of thinking about and communicating values for sustainable tourism across different contexts;
- the understanding of the processes and intermediaries of change in sustainable tourism values;
- the research methods needed to researching values in sustainable tourism development.
As values are dynamic and may change over time, just as time is needed to refine the above mentioned issues, wikis will be created on the BEST EN website www.besteducationnetwork.org where scholars and practitioners can continue to engage in collaborative efforts. The wikis will be open to tourism researchers and educators worldwide.
The overwhelming and abiding conclusion is that tourism educators, researchers and practitioners should learn the lesson of the current value crisis and engage actively in shaping a more sustainable future through research, at the work place and in the class room.
For further information contact Dr. Janne J. Liburd, Chair BEST EN, University of Southern Denmark, liburd@sitkom.sdu.dk Web: http://www.besteducationnetwork.org/
