Sunday, September 25, 2005
Declaration of interdependence
“A far green country and a swift sunrise”
On the 10th October Scotland Hosts the VISIT Assembly at New Lanark supported by Visit Scotland.
The assembly will be the second Assembly for the fledging International Organisation.
VISIT standard for the Voluntary Initiative for Sustainability In Tourism and is made up of the leading tourism ecolabels in Europe
The Goals of VISIT are to promote and support sustainable tourism development through the representation, promotion and mutual co-operation of international national and regional certification schemes and other voluntary initiatives for sustainable tourism at an international level.
VISIT has a vision to support the activities of practical tourism enterprises in their efforts to become more sustainable through positively driven brands which set criteria associated with the specific conditions of the destinations where the brands are located.
“Many organisations use brands to demonstrate their values and many brands raise standards that their products cannot deliver”. This is particularly true in Tourism where either the brand is very exploitative destroying the very values they promote or misleading by offering a dream which is not achieved in reality.”
This can only be tackled through the use of effective sustainable tourism certification and branding and this is being achieved by the leading labels in Europe which are full members of VISIT.
The GTBS is one of the founders of VISIT and our relationship with the organisation sees the value in having different bespoke accreditation systems designed for the destinations they operate in. We also see the value in a common framework hence we have the 21 key criteria in the VISIT standard which all ecolabels must adhere to. In addition we have a code of conduct which similarly sets conditions which allow ecolabels to work together and share their expertise whilst allowing a free and fair market to operate.
The Assembly in Scotland will discuss its relations with the EU flower, the verification systems for new applicant ecolabels and the growing partnerships being established with tour operators and other tourism stakeholders in the green tourism supply chain.
The venue in New Lanark has been deliberately chosen. It is a GOLD award winner for the Green Tourism Business Scheme and is a World Heritage Site. The Hotel and Conference Centre will become the first to host a GTBS Green Conference and it is fitting considering the sites heritage.
The owner of the site Robert Owen in 1816 made the following declaration
“What Ideas individuals may attaché to the term “Millennium” I know not, but I know what society may be formed so as to exist without poverty, with health greatly improved, with little, if any misery, and with intelligence and happiness increased a hundredfold, and no obstacle whatsoever intervenes at this moment except ignorance to prevent such a state of society from becoming universal.”
“The New System is founded on principles which will enable mankind to prevent, in the rising generation, almost all, if not all the evils and miseries which we and our forefathers have experienced….. charity and kindness will universally prevail.”
“When these great errors shall be removed, all our evil passions will disappear, no ground of anger or displeasure from one human being towards another will remain, the period of the supposed Millennium will commence and universal love prevail.”
“On this day a new area opens to our view. Let it then commence by a full and sincere dismissal from your minds of every unpleasant feeling which you may entertain towards your fellow men.”
It is intended that the participants at the event will work on a DECLARATION OF INTERDEPENDENCE which will build on this and become a part of the VISION of VISIT which will be first mooted in Washington at the Green Meetings Industry Council earlier that week (see Mr Smith Goes to Washington article).
It is fitting todiscuss practical actions for a new millennium both because it is the direction of VISIT but also because this event sees the launch of the wwwVISIT21.net website. This will be our main avenue for promoting VISIT.
Further Information
Venue www.newlanark.org
Host GTBS www.green-business.co.uk
Organisation VISIT www.Visit21.net
What has been said of Robert Owen & New Lanark
“Each generation finds something surprisingly modern in owen’s writings, and our own is no different. Today his emphasis upon feminism and upon “green” issues like the balancing of parks and gardens within urban areas, strike us as distinctly contemporary. His demand for the humane treatment of the labour force has never lost its relevance. Nor has his stress on infant education. His ideas on co-operative ownership and profit-sharing are again increasingly popular in an era when over half the world’s population stives to seek a middle way between chaotic exploitative laissez-faire capitalism and inefficient centrally planned communism.” Prof Gregory Claeys
Footnote:
Recent climate news demonstrates the urgency of serious and practical action with individuals and organisations which can deliver positive change. The responsibility we all have just from viewing this article from the internet and the fact the products you use are taken from Congo where over 3 million people have been killed over the last 10 years in a fight over Coltan supported by all of use through our purchasing power is a testament to our responsibilities to our fellow man and the planet.
“Evil happens when good people choose to do nothing”.
The situation in Congo is well covered in the national geographic article September 2005-
See ngm.com/Africa
The Connection between this event and Congo can be investigated through www.trees4africa.org
On the 10th October Scotland Hosts the VISIT Assembly at New Lanark supported by Visit Scotland.
The assembly will be the second Assembly for the fledging International Organisation.
VISIT standard for the Voluntary Initiative for Sustainability In Tourism and is made up of the leading tourism ecolabels in Europe
The Goals of VISIT are to promote and support sustainable tourism development through the representation, promotion and mutual co-operation of international national and regional certification schemes and other voluntary initiatives for sustainable tourism at an international level.
VISIT has a vision to support the activities of practical tourism enterprises in their efforts to become more sustainable through positively driven brands which set criteria associated with the specific conditions of the destinations where the brands are located.
“Many organisations use brands to demonstrate their values and many brands raise standards that their products cannot deliver”. This is particularly true in Tourism where either the brand is very exploitative destroying the very values they promote or misleading by offering a dream which is not achieved in reality.”
This can only be tackled through the use of effective sustainable tourism certification and branding and this is being achieved by the leading labels in Europe which are full members of VISIT.
The GTBS is one of the founders of VISIT and our relationship with the organisation sees the value in having different bespoke accreditation systems designed for the destinations they operate in. We also see the value in a common framework hence we have the 21 key criteria in the VISIT standard which all ecolabels must adhere to. In addition we have a code of conduct which similarly sets conditions which allow ecolabels to work together and share their expertise whilst allowing a free and fair market to operate.
The Assembly in Scotland will discuss its relations with the EU flower, the verification systems for new applicant ecolabels and the growing partnerships being established with tour operators and other tourism stakeholders in the green tourism supply chain.
The venue in New Lanark has been deliberately chosen. It is a GOLD award winner for the Green Tourism Business Scheme and is a World Heritage Site. The Hotel and Conference Centre will become the first to host a GTBS Green Conference and it is fitting considering the sites heritage.
The owner of the site Robert Owen in 1816 made the following declaration
“What Ideas individuals may attaché to the term “Millennium” I know not, but I know what society may be formed so as to exist without poverty, with health greatly improved, with little, if any misery, and with intelligence and happiness increased a hundredfold, and no obstacle whatsoever intervenes at this moment except ignorance to prevent such a state of society from becoming universal.”
“The New System is founded on principles which will enable mankind to prevent, in the rising generation, almost all, if not all the evils and miseries which we and our forefathers have experienced….. charity and kindness will universally prevail.”
“When these great errors shall be removed, all our evil passions will disappear, no ground of anger or displeasure from one human being towards another will remain, the period of the supposed Millennium will commence and universal love prevail.”
“On this day a new area opens to our view. Let it then commence by a full and sincere dismissal from your minds of every unpleasant feeling which you may entertain towards your fellow men.”
It is intended that the participants at the event will work on a DECLARATION OF INTERDEPENDENCE which will build on this and become a part of the VISION of VISIT which will be first mooted in Washington at the Green Meetings Industry Council earlier that week (see Mr Smith Goes to Washington article).
It is fitting todiscuss practical actions for a new millennium both because it is the direction of VISIT but also because this event sees the launch of the wwwVISIT21.net website. This will be our main avenue for promoting VISIT.
Further Information
Venue www.newlanark.org
Host GTBS www.green-business.co.uk
Organisation VISIT www.Visit21.net
What has been said of Robert Owen & New Lanark
“Each generation finds something surprisingly modern in owen’s writings, and our own is no different. Today his emphasis upon feminism and upon “green” issues like the balancing of parks and gardens within urban areas, strike us as distinctly contemporary. His demand for the humane treatment of the labour force has never lost its relevance. Nor has his stress on infant education. His ideas on co-operative ownership and profit-sharing are again increasingly popular in an era when over half the world’s population stives to seek a middle way between chaotic exploitative laissez-faire capitalism and inefficient centrally planned communism.” Prof Gregory Claeys
Footnote:
Recent climate news demonstrates the urgency of serious and practical action with individuals and organisations which can deliver positive change. The responsibility we all have just from viewing this article from the internet and the fact the products you use are taken from Congo where over 3 million people have been killed over the last 10 years in a fight over Coltan supported by all of use through our purchasing power is a testament to our responsibilities to our fellow man and the planet.
“Evil happens when good people choose to do nothing”.
The situation in Congo is well covered in the national geographic article September 2005-
See ngm.com/Africa
The Connection between this event and Congo can be investigated through www.trees4africa.org
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Mr Smith goes to Washington
Mr Smith Goes to Washington
On the 5th October we will be presenting the green tourism business scheme to the American Audience. We have been invited to the Green Meetings Industry Council Annual Conference to talk about European Success Stories.
Tourism is about freedom, the greatest tourist trip was mans landing on the moon and that has inspired us to great achievements but also a recognition that we all live in one small planet and that it is beautiful and we have a responsibility to preserve it.
America put us on the moon, America holds freedom and the pursuit of happiness as its highest goals and yet despite the great achievements of global free trade, the internet and the freedom to travel of which so many of us have, we find ourselves feeling powerless trapped and unhappy. We need to make a new declaration not of independence but of INTERDEPENDENCE. Freedom can only be won as a right with a recognition of the responsibilities we have to our fellow man in terms of equality and friendship.
It is the 700th anniversary of William Wallace this year and we see this year as the Year of Release when we rediscover the power of the individual working positively for a common goal for a balanced and fairer society.
We will highlight our pursuit of these goals through the work we have done in Scotland with the Green Tourism Business Scheme the most successful tourism ecolabel anywhere in the World, through the partnership work we are developing with DEFRA the UK Department for the Environment who we are working with to establish the GTBS as the UK national green tourism standard and with VISIT and the EU flower to help harmonise the work being done across Europe in developing sustainable tourism in Destinations. We will be paying particular attention to VISIT the Voluntary Initiatives for Sustainability In Tourism.
It is intended that the presentation will lead to the development of a partnership with organisations in the United States to sign a declaration between Europe and US in relation to a shared vision for sustainable tourism which can be supported by all. The ideas raised at the GMIC conference will be taken back to Europe and presented at the VISIT Assembly on 10th October to be held in New Lanark Scotland, the world heritage site for the visionary Robert Owen see www.newlanark.org
“We are all travellers in the wilderness of this world and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend” – Robert Louis Stevenson 1850-1894 Scottish writer and poet
For further information on the VISIT see www.visit21.net
For further information on GTBS see www.green-business.co.uk
For further information on the event see www.greenmeetings.info
Footnote:
Recent climate news demonstrates the urgency of serious and practical action with individuals and organisations which can deliver positive change. The responsibility we all have just from viewing this article from the internet and the fact the products you use are taken from Congo where over 3 million people have been killed over the last 10 years in a fight over Coltan supported by all of use through our purchasing power is a testament to our responsibilities to our fellow man and the planet.
“Evil happens when good people choose to do nothing”.
The situation in Congo is well covered in the national geographic article September 2005-
See ngm.com/Africa
Mr Smiths connection with Congo can be investigated through www.trees4africa.org
On the 5th October we will be presenting the green tourism business scheme to the American Audience. We have been invited to the Green Meetings Industry Council Annual Conference to talk about European Success Stories.
Tourism is about freedom, the greatest tourist trip was mans landing on the moon and that has inspired us to great achievements but also a recognition that we all live in one small planet and that it is beautiful and we have a responsibility to preserve it.
America put us on the moon, America holds freedom and the pursuit of happiness as its highest goals and yet despite the great achievements of global free trade, the internet and the freedom to travel of which so many of us have, we find ourselves feeling powerless trapped and unhappy. We need to make a new declaration not of independence but of INTERDEPENDENCE. Freedom can only be won as a right with a recognition of the responsibilities we have to our fellow man in terms of equality and friendship.
It is the 700th anniversary of William Wallace this year and we see this year as the Year of Release when we rediscover the power of the individual working positively for a common goal for a balanced and fairer society.
We will highlight our pursuit of these goals through the work we have done in Scotland with the Green Tourism Business Scheme the most successful tourism ecolabel anywhere in the World, through the partnership work we are developing with DEFRA the UK Department for the Environment who we are working with to establish the GTBS as the UK national green tourism standard and with VISIT and the EU flower to help harmonise the work being done across Europe in developing sustainable tourism in Destinations. We will be paying particular attention to VISIT the Voluntary Initiatives for Sustainability In Tourism.
It is intended that the presentation will lead to the development of a partnership with organisations in the United States to sign a declaration between Europe and US in relation to a shared vision for sustainable tourism which can be supported by all. The ideas raised at the GMIC conference will be taken back to Europe and presented at the VISIT Assembly on 10th October to be held in New Lanark Scotland, the world heritage site for the visionary Robert Owen see www.newlanark.org
“We are all travellers in the wilderness of this world and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend” – Robert Louis Stevenson 1850-1894 Scottish writer and poet
For further information on the VISIT see www.visit21.net
For further information on GTBS see www.green-business.co.uk
For further information on the event see www.greenmeetings.info
Footnote:
Recent climate news demonstrates the urgency of serious and practical action with individuals and organisations which can deliver positive change. The responsibility we all have just from viewing this article from the internet and the fact the products you use are taken from Congo where over 3 million people have been killed over the last 10 years in a fight over Coltan supported by all of use through our purchasing power is a testament to our responsibilities to our fellow man and the planet.
“Evil happens when good people choose to do nothing”.
The situation in Congo is well covered in the national geographic article September 2005-
See ngm.com/Africa
Mr Smiths connection with Congo can be investigated through www.trees4africa.org
