At COP 26 The Glasgow Declaration was signed which recongnised the urgent need for Climate Action in Tourism. Tarran Simms, Sustainability Tourism Expert and member of the YME Bahamas team and Bahamian Delegation shared the lessons learned from community based tourism programmes he has led and designed in Andros and other Islands of The Bahamas during his time with the Ministry of Tourism. Heritage and community based sustainable tourism are niche sectors of particular intrust to YME Bahamas as it is a mechanisms to expand learning opportunities and economic opportunities for our local communities.
Our team made a visit to the United Nations in Addis Ababa where the power of education, capacity building and peace as foundational pillars to equitable sustainable tourism was discussed at length with various partners. Special emphasis was placed on the importance of Woman and Youth in leadership positions to drive the sustainable change. The team then traveled on the the UNESCO world Heritage Site and oldest Swahili Community in Africa, Lamu Kenya where they met with local business owners and tourism operators.
The YME Residence and co-working space in Sharm-El – Sheikh Egypt provided refuge and an inspiring atmosphere for the co-creation of climate solutions. Young people from Uganda, Nigeria, Namibia, and the Caribbean islands of Anguilla and The Bahamas worked together over the 3 weeks of climate meetings to maximise their collective presence at COP 27 and to design action plans towards the upcoming COP 28 meetings.
