| As a collaborative endeavor, the
Indigenous
Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award is the high point of
a decade-plus conservation with the Secretariat of the Convention
on Biological Diversity’s Oliver Hillel and numerous friends
– indigenous and non-indigenous peoples – about the
best ways to develop indigenous tourism. Could we weave such parters
into a mutually beneficial tapestry? As a non-indigenous person
myself (a proud Usian with German, English and Norwegian heritage),
I ask what are the best ways that other non-indigenous peoples
connect with individuals and communities who take pride in their
indigenous heritage.
We started the work in early 2008 as I posted a query on the Planeta
Forum to see how such an award could be developed. Discussion
led to the first award in 2009 and continued in 2010 with the
generous support of the Heidehof Foundation. This award will be
presented at the ESTC
2010 Conference and will be followed by a full-day Web
2.0 Workshop.
The award is presented to an indigenous tourism operation which
has a website that promotes sustainable practices and educates
visitors on cultural protocols and biodiversity conservation The
objective is to showcase best practices in web-based technologies
helping indigenous people manage tourism in a biodiversity-friendly
way. The award also creates incentives for indigenous peoples
to partner with other indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.
My work was to coach and animate the nominees so they could improve
their web presence using traditional ‘home pages’
and Web 2.0. I also kept the organizers and judges in the loop
through the entire process.
To see examples of the Web 2.0 in action set in motion by the
award, check out the ITBW
Twitter List of nominees, jury and organizers. The list is
updated automatically every time one of the participants tweets!
Another example is the Flickr album featuring the award’s
artwork and nominee screenshots. The album documents the variety
of options employed by the nominees and the steady development
of Web 2.0 skills. One more must-see are the videos posted on
YouTube. The ITBW
playlist is going viral!
More than one nominee confessed that they were on the learning
curve when it came to development a presence on Web 2.0 channels
such as Facebook, Flickr and Twitter. These skills are critical
as they help level the playing field allowing the news and perceptions
of locals to be shared with the world. To be honest, we are all
on this learning curve and awards help illuminate the way forward.
On a sidenote, parallel to my work coaching and instructing the
nominees around the world, I have been working with indigenous
peoples in Oaxaca, training folks in Web 2.0
skills in a series of workshops that have developed the skills
among artisans, market vendors, hotel owners and tourism guides
alike. The ‘awards’ that will be presented to ITBW
winners are folk art purchased from Oaxacan artisans. I also purchased
the rights to use the photo of sunrise in a wilderness area for
use in the ITBW presentation from a weaver and aspiring photographer.
This past month we arranged an exhibition
of her photos and her family's weavings at the Comala Restaurant.
This is the best way I know to integrate (aka weave) the online
and natural worlds.
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