The Employment Councilor of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Jorge Peñas, and the territorial coordinator of the Employment and Social Inclusion Area of the Santa María la Real Foundation, Yamila González, spoke last Thursday at the "Hackathon" of “Territorio Verde”, a meeting held in the Islote de Fermina, where they were able to share ideas and analyze alternatives to have a more sustainable tourism on the island, reports the Cabildo.
This meeting managed to bring together the general public with entities and professionals from the tourism sector, and other emerging areas of the green sector. They addressed multidisciplinary points of view, from the experience and skills of each person, on the possibilities of Lanzarote to increase sustainability in the businesses of the sector and thus also increase job opportunities on the island, it includes.
"The transition to a decarbonized economy is not only essential to curb climate change, but also is an engine of economic growth with the potential to create green jobs”, said the island's Employment Councilor.
‘Territorio Verde’ is an initiative, totally free, financed by the Cabildo of Lanzarote and managed by the Santa María la Real Foundation, through its Employment and Social Inclusion Area. A training itinerary aimed at individuals and entities linked to tourism in Lanzarote, so that they develop green skills and work more sustainably in the territory, he says.
This participatory meeting was developed through group dynamics with representatives of different local actors: associations, public administrations, professionals and entities and companies in the tourism sector. Heterogeneous profiles that seek a common goal: identify actions and activities that generate awareness and techniques that promote safe and sustainable tourism, they collect.
In one of the dynamics, "Put yourself in their shoes", ideas were exchanged about the ideal tourist profile that they would define for Lanzarote and they debated whether the workers in the sector have the tools and skills to meet the demands required, he clarifies. Through their answers, unexploited possibilities were revealed that would generate a sustainable impact on the island.
Its participants also carried out a dynamic to understand the attitudes they have and the activities they carry out as agents linked to the sector to promote sustainable tourism, they comment. From this and the rest of the actions, good practices of fundamental tools were extracted during the day to achieve the green transition of the tourism sector on the island.
The training itinerary, which is carried out in a blended format, seeks to provide professionals in the tourism sector of Lanzarote with the strategies to implement innovation and transformation systems in the green and circular economy, they confirm. Skills and knowledge will be acquired to develop new, more efficient and effective work models, as well as innovative initiatives with environmental impact, in addition to learning to lead the change towards a more sustainable tourism model, he anticipates.
A training of 40 hours will be carried out in green skills to work in the tourism sector and group advice for the generation and co-creation of initiatives with environmental impact, he makes clear. Its participants will develop in team strategies to implement sustainability measures and plans through the design and modeling of social innovation projects.
Unemployed people who are looking for work in the tourism sector can participate; professionals who develop their work in this field; social economy entities that seek to promote sustainability projects, and entrepreneurs with ideas for sustainable businesses, he adds. Registration remains open at the following link: bit.ly/TerritorioVerde-Inscripcion
In its training itinerary, the project organizes in the months of May and June a cycle of webinars, which are held from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Last May 16, the first webinar on rural tourism and the sustainability options it maintains was held.
The cycle addresses aspects of interest such as new business management models for a correct ecological transition, opportunities generated by the new economies, how to respond, through social innovation, to the challenges posed by the green economy, or the keys to sustainable rural entrepreneurship, concludes the Insular Government. The next webinars, which keep their registration open, are the following:
- May 23. ‘Success stories in the application of Green and Circular Economy in the tourism sector’. Registration: bit.ly/TerritorioVerde-Webinar-02 .
- June 1. ‘Approach to sustainable rural Entrepreneurship’. Registration: bit.ly/TerritorioVerde-Webinar03 .
- June 7. ‘Cultural tourism: a look at creative heritage as a low-impact business model’. Registration: bit.ly/TerritorioVerde-Webinar04 .