Dr Julian Ng, CEO of the Warnborough Worldwide Education Group was invited as a curriculum design specialist by ECPAT International to the first global thinktank workshop on integrating child protection into the training curricula for travel, tourism and hospitality professionals. The event was organised in conjunction with the 15 years of the mandate of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children.
Experts from Around the World
Twenty-three experts from the education and travel & tourism sectors, representing global organizations across 16 countries, met to share experiences and strategies for integrating child protection into travel and tourism training. Participants came from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK, Cambodia, India, Nepal, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the USA.
The event highlighted the unique role of tourism schools and training centers in creating child protection-focused courses. This ensures new workers in the industry are better prepared to uphold international standards to protect children from violence, including trafficking and exploitation.
Best Practices
Experts shared successful practices, emphasising the need to address risks from unregulated tourism like online platforms, community tourism, and unskilled voluntourism. They also discussed how new global standards in due diligence and sustainability can strengthen child protection efforts.
The workshop was held on 3-4 October in Vienna. It concluded around the World Teachers’ Day that is held annually on 5 October to empower teachers to transform education. The 2024 celebrations focused on “Valuing teacher voices: towards a new social contract for education“. In this spirit, ECPAT and the partners of the global workshop, call for hearing the voices of teachers and professionals to integrate child protection into educational curricula, policies and practices to influence systemic change and prevent child exploitation.
#child protection; #sustainable tourism #tourismeducation #endsexualexploitation
See more at: www.ecpat.org
