NATOUR: Joint Post-Graduate Study Programme in Ecotourism and Nature Guiding, or " Joint Graduate Study Program in Ecotourism and Nature Guidance " is a project co-financed by the European Commission, which encompasses nine countries in Europe and Latin America.
The University of Brasilia is one of the member universities of the project, and LETS is a central part of this arrangement. The group contributes to the activities through the direct collaboration of UnB professors: André Cunha (ECL; PPG-CDS; CET; CER), João Tasso (CET), Elimar Nascimento (CDS) and Helena Costa (ADM), in addition to the contribution of several members of LETS, CDS and other academic units of the university. The other Brazilian university that is part of the NATOUR project is UFRRJ, in which prof. Camila Rodrigues, also a researcher at LETS, is part of the team.
The overall objective of the project is to develop, validate and implement a joint program of postgraduate studies, including a specialization course, in the field of ecotourism and of an interpretative nature, oriented in accordance with the national and sectoral priorities of the member countries and in accordance with international standards for quality management in education.
From April 4th to 8th, the first face-to-face meeting (training workshop) of the Erasmus+ NATOUR project, coordinated by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), took place, which consists of the creation of an international postgraduate program Lato sensu (specialization) in ecotourism carried out jointly between European and Latin American universities, of which UnB is a partner.
The event was held at the UAB Campus, at the School of Tourism and Hospitality. The meeting brought together 24 representatives, mainly professors, from the ten partner institutions of the project: Universidad del Rosario and Universidad Javeriana, from Colombia; Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro and University of Brasilia, Brazil; INACAP and DUOC, from Chile; University of the Azores, Portugal; the University of Freiburg, Germany, and the consultancy ECQ, from Bulgaria; in addition to the host, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
For Professor André Cunha, local coordinator of NATOUR at UnB,
"The trip represented a fantastic opportunity to learn new approaches in the practice and teaching of ecotourism, and to further enhance the internationalization of our project, including the specialization course in ecotourism, in a network, scheduled to be launched in the second half of 2022."
Over an intense week of work, the project activities and the basic agreements for its execution were monitored and updated. Some sessions were also of a formative nature, which served to contribute to the training of the participating teachers in the subjects covered by the project.
On the first day of the workshop, each university presented its institution, members and its relationship with ecotourism and the nature guide and the project. The necessary agreements were established on the methodologies and structure to be followed by the project in the coming months.
The second day, dedicated to project management aspects, included the meeting of the executive committee and the evaluation of the project, as well as a specific session on quality criteria in the implementation of monitoring programs (management and quality assurance systems) in the respective universities.
The third day was dedicated to seeing first-hand the work of nature guides and two ecotourism destinations in Catalonia. In the morning, the Mongrí Natural Park, Medes and Baix Ter Islands, led by Josep Capellà, consultant in ecotourism and sustainable tourism, and Boris Weitzmann, guide and trainer of guides of the natural park, both professors of the Postgraduate Program in Ecotourism and Nature Guide at UAB. The group was also welcomed by the mayor of Torroella de Montgrí - L'Estartit, who presented the Pletera natural area. During the afternoon of a visit to the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park, one of the most visited parks in Catalonia, Mike Lockwood, also a professor of the postgraduate course in ecotourism, was the host guide on a visit to the forest of Fageda d'en Jordan.
The fourth day was dedicated to deepening the presentation of the context of nature orientation and the use of techniques for interpreting natural heritage, first through a guided tour in the form of a participatory workshop, and later through different presentations by various representatives of the project's partner universities.
The last day made it possible to establish agreements regarding the responsibilities of each university, as well as the distribution of disciplines in the preparation of the teaching materials that will make up the common modules of the program and that will be available on the project's website (https: //natour-project.eu/). Finally, key aspects were also agreed for the next face-to-face meeting, consisting of an "Ecotourism Training Camp", to be held in the Azores in the coming months.
Keep following, on the LETS networks and on the NATOUR project website, the information and news of the Erasmus+ NATOUR project: Joint Post-Graduate Study-Programme in Ecotourism and Nature Guiding.
Instagram: @lets.unb
LETS website: lets.etc.br
Natour Website: https://natour-project.eu/
text produced by Prof. Evarist Sarlat, translated and adapted by Prof. André Cunha. Photos: André Cunha
