Spain and UNWTO Organise 1st International Conference on Ethics and Tourism
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Madrid, Spain. 15 to 16 September 2011. The Spanish General Secretariat of Tourism and Domestic Trade and the World Tourism Organization decided to jointly organize the First International Congress on Ethics and Tourism, inviting leading figures to participate as speakers. Also participating and providing support to this event are the Vice-Presidency of the European Commission and the Permanent Secretariat of the World Committee on Ethics in Tourism, along with high-level sponsors.
The General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) adopted the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism at its 13th session held in Santiago, Chile, in 1999.
This document was subsequently endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2001, recognizing the important dimension and role of tourism as a positive instrument towards the alleviation of poverty and the improvement of the quality of life for all people, its potential to make a contribution to economic and social development, especially of developing countries, and its emergence as a vital force for the promotion of international understanding, peace and prosperity.
The Code covers various areas of application including consumer protection, corporate responsibility, the protection of children and of the most vulnerable segments of the population, cultural and environmental sustainability, dialogue between cultures, as well as its vision of tourism as a factor for development and for the promotion of fundamental human rights, in line with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
For this reason, the Spanish General Secretariat of Tourism and Domestic Trade and the World Tourism Organization decided to jointly organize the First International Congress on Ethics and Tourism, inviting leading figures to participate as speakers.
Also participating and providing support to this event are the Vice-Presidency of the European Commission and the Permanent Secretariat of the World Committee on Ethics in Tourism, along with other sponsors such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Meliá Hotels International, Segittur, Iberia, Fundación Banesto and the Patronato de Turismo de Madrid.
The Conference will feature international speakers of the highest level. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Asturias have already confirmed their attendance at the closing ceremony.
Tourism is one of the activities that have best withstood the onslaught of the crisis and one of the principal sectors for the creation of wealth and employment in the world, especially in developing countries. Now that the world’s economies appear to be overcoming the serious problems that have beset them, new opportunities are emerging for the development of tourism that is more responsible and more ethical, a task that undoubtedly merits recognition on the part of all sectors of society. It is therefore our pleasure and honour to encourage you to attend this First International Congress on Ethics and Tourism.
Provisional Programme
THURSDAY 15
08.30 REGISTRATION
09.30 OPENING CEREMONY
Miguel Sebastián, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Commerce of Spain
Antonio Tajani, Vice President of the European Commission
Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero*, Prime Minister of Spain
10:30 INAUGURATION
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva*, Ex President of Brazil, President of Ciudadanía Institute
11.00 COFFEE BREAK
11.30 1st SESSION: AN ETHICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM
Moderated by: Dawid de Villiers, Chairman of the World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE)
Jorge Sampaio, High Representative of the United Nations for the Alliance of Civilizations
Michela Vittoria Brambilla, Minister of Tourism of Italy
Freddy Ehlers, Minister of Tourism of Ecuador
Sebastián Escarrer, Vice President, Sol Meliá Group
DEBATE
12.45 2nd SESSION: THE GLOBAL CODE OF ETHICS AS A GUARANTOR OF EQUALITY AND A BULWARK AGAINST EXPLOITATION
Moderated by: Consuelo Crespo, President, UNICEF Spain
Gloria Guevara* Secretary of Tourism of Mexico
Aminata Traoré, Former Minister of Tourism and Culture of Mali
Kathleen Speake, Executive Director, ECPAT International
DEBATE
14.00 BUFFET-LUNCH
15.30 3rd SESSION: FAIR TOURISM AND THE FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY
Moderated by: Márcio Favilla Lucca de Paula, Executive Director for Competitivess, External Relations and Partnerships, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
Pavlos Geroulanos* Minister of Culture and Tourism of Greece
Speaker* Secretariat of State for International Cooperation, AECID
Henk Mulder, Executive Director, Millennium Foundation
Speaker* Grameen Bank, Bangladesh
DEBATE
16.45 COFFEE BREAK
17.15 4th SESSION: SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Moderated by: Pedro Ortún, Director, Directorate General Enterprise and Industry, European Commission
Javier Bustamante, President , Sociedad Estatal para la Gestión de la Innovación y las Tecnologías Turísticas, S.A. (SEGITTUR)
Erika Harms, Executive Director, Global Sustainable Tourism Council
Gabriel Viloria, Programme Director, Sustainable and Solidarity Tourism for Africa and Latin America, Banesto Foundation
DEBATE
20.00 COCKTAIL
* Pending confirmation
Registration and Further Information
For registration please visit the Conference Website
UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism:
http://ethics.unwto.org/en/content/global-code-ethics-tourism
UNWTO is an Honorary Associate Member of ENAT