The Culture & Heritage Institute hosts a Symposium on Cultural & Heritage Tourism. Fourth year in the running, we are delighted to announce this year's fall Symposium!

"Intercultural Dialogue in Tourism:  2020 Vision" - October 5 and 6, 2010

Venues:
October 5- Centennial College Residence and Conference Centre
October 6- Evergreen Brick Works

This year's theme is dedicated to and in collaboration with UNESCO's International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures and International Year of Biodiversity
http://www.unesco.org/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CLT/dialogue/pdf/listactivities2010en.pdf

The goal of the International Year is "to help dissipate any confusion stemming from ignorance, prejudice and exclusion that create tension, insecurity, violence and conflict...exchange and dialogue between cultures are the best tools for building peace."
Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, February 18, 2010

http://www.unesco.org/en/rapprochement-of-cultures/
http://www.cbd.int/2010/about/
http://www.unesco.ca

It is in this spirit that Centennial College's Culture and Heritage Institute's fourth annual symposium will explore how our knowledge, events, institutions and industries in culture, heritage and tourism can be more effective in facilitating and developing platforms for intercultural dialogue in Canada. Our goal is to explore the challenges and synergies for all three sectors - culture, heritage and tourism - as we engage each topic.  

CHINA ADS
Canada's recent designation necessitates research and preparedness with respect to incoming tourism from China. Since 2003, the Scott Davidson of the Norman Bethune Memorial House in Gravenhurst has been challenged with the physical development needs of the site and the intercultural issues in marketing to the Chinese. This project, a uniquely Canadian opportunity, serves as a powerful starting point for a discussion toward generating a suitable strategic, cultural and business success. Many of the ‘visitor' questions remain unanswered and the appropriate strategic direction remains unclear, while an enormous opportunity stands at our doorstep.


PANAM 2015
Charmaine Crooks, five time Olympian and members from the Panam Committee will be presenting the impact of sports on the intercultural experience for the athlete and the audience. As demonstrated at the recent FIFA World Cup event, the opportunity to make a profound global impact on culture and tourism is always a possibility if the tools and strategies are in place.

"FIFA is no longer merely an institution that runs our sport. It has now taken on a social, cultural, political and sporting dimension in the struggle to educate children and defeat poverty. At the same time it has also become a powerful economic phenomenon."
Joseph S. Blatter, President, FIFA

It is clear in the original Toronto 2015 bid that the Games will endeavour to celebrate the cultural diversity of Toronto as an integrated initiative. Roger Garland, the chair of the Panam 2015 will offer insight into the vision of the project.


GEOTOURISM
Geotourism is defined by National Geographic's Center for Sustainable Destinations as "tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place-its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents."  This idea encompasses principles that extend into areas of responsible tourism, biodiversity and cultural sustainability. A Canadian finalist in the 2009 Geotourism Awards, The Brickworks, Toronto, exemplifies Geotourism values and principles.

The Geotourism MapGuide is a cultural mapping process offered to sites all over the world that offers short-term tangible benefits for visitors and long-term development insights for the cultural assets themselves. Is this something Toronto should participate in?


THE DIALOGUE IN INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE
As mobile and internet technologies proliferate our world, intercultural awareness has been profoundly impacted. While new media offers a plethora of new tools, the need for effective strategy is still at the core of these platforms and while these new technologies are close at hand many of the same challenges persist. Conventional forms such as documentary film, radio and television remain irreplaceable in our effort to stimulate dialogue and cultural understanding. What are the salient issues that emerge from our exposure to the old and the new?

The Aboriginal People's Network Television has addressed its mission "to be the leading source for distinctively Aboriginal audio-visual content produced by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples" for twenty years in Canada. It is clear in this example that the technology has changed radically, however the issues remain the same. What progress has been made? Where do we go from here?


PROGRESSIVE MUSEOLOGY - Beyond the artifact
The conventional concept of the museum has been in the process of re-examination for decades.

The inquiry into radically different museum concepts, systems, practices and roles is ongoing. This is not simply a reactionary shift in strategic development; rather it reflects a shift in the order of paradigm. The implications of this revolutionary mindset and practice are entire and often leave nothing beyond consideration.  For our purposes, intercultural dialogue is of pivotal importance in this period of transformation in the museum's relevance, sustainability and future for stakeholders and visitors.

The European Project, MAP for ID (Museums and Places for Intercultural Dialogue) is a powerful case sampling of what can be achieved. This compilation of inspiring initiatives serve as intriguing examples of the merit of constantly challenging our existing concepts and practices.


FROM THE CLASSICS TO BOLLYWOOD
The Masala Menhdi Masti festival is just one of several East Asian events in Toronto, the largest of its kind in Norh America. As it is reflected in their vision -  "to make South Asians proud of their heritage but to make them proud members in Canadian culture. We provide an opportunity to established and emerging artists in traditional and contemporary spheres of music, dance, film, theatre, literature and poetry, natural health practices, social issues, cuisine, arts & crafts and much more. We open doors to cross cultural collaborations and diverse thinking." - the intercultural spirit within the East Asian community in Canada and its influence on inbound tourism from India are profound. We will be hearing from a panel of representatives from the East Asian Community about the opportunities that lie ahead.

RESPONSIBLE, EDUCATIONAL, SPIRITUAL
Each of these are relatively new types of experiences being offered by travel companies.  High in intercultural opportunity and offering transformative experience, this is a clear message that there are those who seek more meaningful engagements with their chosen destinations; it is seen as an investment of time and energy in return for a new and unique understanding of the world and themselves. The organizations that have addressed this market are quite extraordinary in what they offer and how they offer it. We will examine the phenomenon itself and one of these organizations - Blue Ventures. They are situated in "environmentally and culturally sensitive regions of the world" and they demand that all participants adapt to "the sensitivities" of the community in which they are exposed as they participate within their expeditions. While these principles are specific to the Blue Venture broader goals and objectives, this is an opportunity to reflect on how these principles are relevant to tourism as a whole.

Browse our past conferences link for more information on highlights from 2007, 2008 and 2009!