The Urban Nature-Youth Ecotourism Forum(UN-YEF) II was successfully held on the 15th and 16th of May, 2007. The Forum was a follow-up of the first UN-YEF and linked with the Global Ecotourism Conference held in Oslo, Norway in May 2007.
Partners of the Forum were Reef HQ, the Great Tropical Drive, Burdekin Drive Tropics NRM and Creek to Coral. TCC and Reef HQ staff facilitated the Forum.
Around fifty students from the Cathedral School of Saint Anne and Saint James, St Patrick’s Secondary College and Townsville State High School attended the Forum and the videoconference held on the next day.
The forum was a United Nations- Decade of Education for Sustainable Development event. It gathered around 50 students from Townsville Schools who took part in fun, interactive events facilitated by Townsville City Council and Reef HQ staff.
On the 15th of May, students worked on the draft of the Youth Ecotourism Charter drafted during the first Forum.
Thanks to a number of interactive activities, including role playing around an imaginary ecotourism business case, videos, and exercises, they were able to add their input on the Charter.
The following day, students had the opportunity to share their experience and suggestions on the Charter through videoconference with Madeleine McGann, their student representative in Oslo (from the Cathedral School) and with students from France, Brazil and Thailand.
