NEWS

The “No Woman left behind” project is underway in Gambia

From January 2021, Aethnic and the Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia (ITTOG) are developing the No woman left behind project. The aim is to train up to 30 vulnerable women in Gambia as professionals in responsible and sustainable tourism and human rights empowerment.

It is, in short, to promote their social and labor inclusion in the responsible and sustainable tourism sector (TRS).

Aethnic has been working in The Gambia for over ten years and ITTOG is one of its closest partners. The project has the collaboration of the Gambian Women’s Platform, a leading organization in the defense of women’s rights and gender equality, and funding from the Catalan Cooperation Agency of the Generalitat (ACCD).

Targets

  • Train and train vulnerable women as TRS professionals

  • Promote entrepreneurship and employment in companies in the responsible tourism sector

  • Promote responsible and sustainable tourism as an alternative to mass tourism

  • Empowering women, through employment, changing their lifestyle and fostering respect and confidence in themselves.

  • Training in leadership so they can take responsibility for making their communities better places to live.

Activities

  • Elaboration of a training and training course aimed at women resident in The Gambia in a particularly vulnerable situation to facilitate their social and labor inclusion, and their empowerment in women’s rights and civil rights in general.

  • Teach a first edition of the Course for at least 30 women as TRS professionals in The Gambia.

  • Increase the employability and socio-economic insertion of participants in the Course.

  • Visualize the harmful effects of traditional tourism on the environment and the current socio-economic model

  • Progressive transformation of the tourism model towards sustainability and responsibility.

  • Organization of educational activities for development in Catalonia to raise awareness about the situation of tourism in Africa, disseminate the results of the project and promote change in the tourism business culture towards sustainability and responsibility, in accordance with the ODS of the ‘Agenda 2030 of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Project seeks the promotion and development of the incipient Responsible and Sustainable Tourism as an alternative model to extractivist and mass tourism in Africa. It will improve women’s socio-cultural capacities and help create a more egalitarian society. The cessation of tourist activity as a result of the Covid19 pandemic is an opportunity to rethink the current tourism model in Africa in terms of sustainability and social and environmental responsibility and to involve the set of social actors to achieve this.

This project has the support of the Catalan Development Cooperation Agency (ACCD) of the Generalitat de Catalunya.