STOWE, Vermont – The International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) is proud to announce the IIPT International Peace Park at Victoria Falls will be re-dedicated on August 24, Opening Day of the UNWTO General Assembly. The UNWTO Twentieth General Assembly is being co-hosted by Zambia and Zimbabwe, August 24-29.
In making the announcement, IIPT Founder and President, Louis D’Amore, stated,
“We are most honored that UNWTO Secretary General Dr. Taleb Rifai will join us in the re-dedication ceremony that will feature a welcome by Chief Mukuni and members of the Tokaleya Village who will perform a traditional welcome dance.”
The Tokaleya village has been in existence since the eleventh century. Chief Mukuni jointly rules the Victoria Falls region with a queen known as Be Dyango. Also being invited to take part in the ceremony are UNWTO General Assembly co-host Ministers: Hon. Mrs. Silyvia Masebo, Minister of Tourism and Arts, Zambia; and Hon. Mr. Walter Mzembi, Minister of Tourism, Zimbabwe.
IIPT/Skal Peace Towns/Villages Project
As this is IIPT’s 25th anniversary year since its first global conference, “Tourism: A Vital Force for Peace” (Vancouver 1988), a series of 25th anniversary year legacy projects are being launched. Foremost among these is a “Peace Towns/Villages” project being implemented jointly with Skal International. A goal has been set for 500 IIPT/Skal Peace/Towns and Villages circling the Earth by the International Day of Peace, September 21, 2014.
The first fifty IIPT/Skal Peace Towns and Villages will be dedicated, together with their Peace Parks, on Opening Day of the General Assembly, August 24, sending a message of friendship, peace, and solidarity with all delegates to the UNWTO General Assembly – and together with the re-dedication of the IIPT Victoria Falls International Peace Park – a message of peace and hope for the future throughout the world.
IIPT/Skal Peace Towns and Villages agree to be actively committed to promoting values of tolerance; non-violence; gender equality; human rights; youth empowerment; environmental integrity; and sustainable human, social, and economic development.
Towns and Villages anywhere in the world are invited to become an IIPT/Skal Peace Town or Village. Please email: [email protected] to express your interest.
IIPT is dedicated to fostering and facilitating tourism initiatives that contribute to international understanding and cooperation, an improved quality of environment, the preservation of heritage, poverty reduction, and the resolution of conflict – and through these initiatives, help bring about a more peaceful and sustainable world. IIPT is dedicated to mobilizing travel and tourism, the world’s largest industry, as the world’s first “Global Peace Industry,” an industry that promotes and supports the belief that “Every traveler is potentially an Ambassador for Peace.”
www.iipt.org
