The César Manrique Foundation has announced that it will organize the first edition of the Alba Sud Autumn School in Lanzarote, under the title Critically Thinking About Tourism and Its Transformation. The decision to carry out this project stems from their concern about the overcrowding of tourists suffered by the Canary Islands, in general, and Lanzarote, in particular.
This event will take place between October 6 and 8 in the José Saramago room (La Plazuela, Arrecife). It is a series of reflections and critical analysis on touristification processes based on dialogue between what is happening in the Canary Islands and the realities of other territories. Thirteen speakers will participate in the meeting, led by Ernest Cañada, PhD in Geography and coordinator of Alba Sud, and Alejandro Armas Díaz, professor of Geography and History at the University of La Laguna (ULL). The first two days of the Autumn School, Thursday the 6th and Friday the 7th, will consist of two round tables, respectively. While on the last day, Saturday, November 8, a field trip will be made.Free registration
Registration is free. However, those interested in attending must register by calling 928 843 138 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The registration period opens on October 30 and closes on November 5 (or when capacity is reached). Spaces for the field trip will be limited by the bus's capacity and will be allocated in strict order of registration at the time of enrollment.
Alba Sud (Barcelona, 2008) is a non-profit association that functions as an independent research center in tourism from critical and transformative perspectives. In 2022, they held the first edition of the Alba Sud Summer School in Barcelona. Its members are mainly dedicated to research, training, awareness-raising, and political advocacy. The central themes of their analysis are: tourism work, common goods of the land, political economy, and proposals for a transformation of tourism. In a cross-cutting manner, the analyses take into account, in an integrated way, three major axes of structural inequality: class, gender, and race.
Four round tables and a field trip
On Thursday, November 6, two round tables will be held. The first, entitled Tourism Work and Precariousness, will begin at 5:00 p.m. This forum will question what type of jobs tourism development generates, for whom they are really available, and what their impacts are on daily life and on the health of the people who support the sector. Participants: Raoul Bianchi—PhD in Social Anthropology and Professor of Political Economy at the University of Manchester—, Dulce Cairós—Professor of Labor Law and Social Security at the University of La Laguna—and Ernest Cañada. Moderated by: Carla Izcara—with a degree in Tourism and researcher at Alba Sud—.
The second table on Thursday, entitled Socio-ecological Transition and Tourist Transformations, will begin at 7:00 p.m. Tourism is responsible for approximately 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It is essential to also consider the role of this activity, which generates major impacts, within the framework of a socio-ecological transition to make it fair. Participants: Valerio del Rosario, director of the Tenerife-based company El Cardón NaturExperience—, Carla Izcara and Javier Tejera—director of the Tenerife-based company Ecotouristing—. Moderated by: Gema Martínez Gayo—social researcher and PhD in Analysis of Social Problems—.
On Friday, November 7, the table Dynamics of Touristification will take place at 5:00 p.m. It will address touristification as a process of socio-spatial transformation that causes all economic and social life to be subordinated to it, displacing other needs and uses. The different tensions and conflicts generated by this type of process will be analyzed. Participants: Alejandro Armas, Jaime Palomera—PhD in Social Anthropology—and Irma Ferrer—lawyer—. Moderated by: Ernest Cañada.
The second table on Friday, entitled Socio-ecological Conflicts and Tourism, will be held at 7:00 p.m. The development of tourism and real estate projects has generated social and ecological conflicts of different scales and contexts. The Canary Islands have been the scene of multiple conflicts. Some of these cases will be analyzed and discussed. Participants: Raül Valls—with a degree in Philosophy—, Atteneri Rivero—botanical biologist—, Anne Striewe—biologist—and Gema Martínez Gayo. Moderated by: Alejandro Armas.
Finally, on Saturday, November 8, the day will consist of a field trip, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The tour will depart from Arrecife, passing through Costa Teguise, Zonzamas, La Geria and Playa Blanca, before returning to the island's capital.