Summer School Conflenti

The Lusófona University of Lisbon (Portugal), in cooperation with "Jacurso da Vivere e Imparare" and the Municipality of Conflenti - will hold the Summer School "Transformative and Sustainable Tourism" from 3 to 9 July. Coordinator of the project will be Prof. Fabio Carbone, researcher at Coventry University, UK.

The initiative reflects Professor Carbone's conceptual model, of which several articles have been published in international scientific journals, of public participation in cultural heritage management and tourism development. 

Participants in the summer school come from different countries around the world and the teaching staff involved come from the University of Calabria, the Lusophone University of Lisbon and Coventry University. 

The concept of transformative tourism refers to socially and environmentally aware tourism that aims to 'reinvent' and transform places in a sustainable way, thus promoting sustainable practices that have a positive impact on local communities. 

These concepts will be shared with the international students through theoretical laboratories, workshops and two study visits, one to Tropea and one to Crotone, once again respecting the basic theoretical model of public participation, thus involving civil society as much as possible. 

In this sense, in Crotone the #IoResto association is the main partner in the area, but several other associations will participate in the activities, including Circolo IBIS for the Environment and Ciclofficina TR22o. In addition, chef Luca Riganello will perform a show cooking, emphasising the role of gastronomy as a cultural expression of a territory.

"We are putting in place, piece by piece, our ideas for the development of the territory in harmony with the local associations" said Conflenti Mayor Emilio Francesco D'Assisi. "Tourism is fundamental in a growth project, so we are convinced that it is not enough to build or renovate buildings and leave them empty and closed, but that all strategies must be put in place to promote our country, which boasts many unique features that are unfortunately still little known" concluded the first citizen.