UNESCO Symposium
Contact:Emily Hope Dobkin
The Center for Community Arts and Cultural Policy
The University of Oregon
office: 541-346-2558
fax: 541-346-3626
ccacpgtf@uoregon.edu
Cultural Tourism in the Pacific Northwest: Exploring UNESCO World Heritage Sites
EUGENE, Ore. – (April 26, 2012) – A Florida-based expert on natural resource recreation and tourism management will speak in Eugene on May 11 about UNESCO World Heritage and cultural tourism.
Brijesh Thapa, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sports Management at the University of Florida, will discuss heritage sites in the Pacific Northwest including Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, and S’Gang G’Waay. He will deliver a free public lecture Friday, May 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the Gerlinger Alumni Lounge, 1222 East 13th Ave, on the University Oregon campus.
Dr. Thapa also serves as director for the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute and as co-director for the Tourism Crisis Management Institute. His visit to UO is sponsored by the UO Center for the Community Arts and Cultural Policy and the UO Center for Intercultural Dialogue.
Thapa has been involved in numerous research projects in Florida and other areas in the United States, in addition to working on a range of projects at World Heritage Sites in developing countries with respect to tourism, cultural heritage, and natural resources management. Most recently, he has focused on numerous capacity building and institutional development projects regarding curriculum development, research, and training in tourism, natural and cultural heritage conservation, and natural resources management. He has also been involved in several long-term federally funded projects that total in excess of $2 million in Armenia, Turkey, Russia, and the southern Africa region (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Tanzania).
Also joining the symposium will be Dr. Steven Shankman, UO UNESCO Chair and director of the UO Center for Intercultural Dialogue; and George Papagiannis, UNESCO’s Washington, D.C., liaison.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) works to create the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values. UNESCO believes that through this dialogue the world can achieve global visions of sustainable development encompassing observance of human rights, mutual respect and the alleviation of poverty.