The 108th STTA Young Change Makers Student Seminar held at JOOUST- The Next Frontier of Blue Tourism
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology hosted the 108th STTA Young Change- Makers Inter-University Students Seminar. The seminar-themed “Unlocking the Potential of Blue Tourism to Advance Climate Action” was aimed at awakening the sense of sustainable tourism among students and other participants to train the next frontier of sustainable tourism and hospitality advocates. The seminar was tailored to help participants explore best practices to secure sustainable tourism in Kenya and Africa.
The event brought together members of Faculty and students from JOOUST, Rongo University and Kisii University. The event was sponsored by Sustainable Travel and Tourism Africa and STTA -Young Change Makers in partnership with JOOUST.
Opening the ceremony Prof Julius Manyala, Director for Research, Innovation and Extension acknowledged the efforts of the sponsors and participants in preparing for and delivering the seminar. According to him efforts to train the next age of Blue Tourism and Climate Change advocates were crucial.
“Training of students will steer this industry to a more sustainable future, today we celebrate a commitment to being change makers. You are innovators, thinkers and doers who will shape the future of tourism,” said Prof Manyala.
He insisted that the choices made today matter and that actions taken in equal measure would determine the future of the Tourism and Hospitality industries.
Climate Lead at STTA (Young Change Makers), Dominic Wanjiru enthusiastically explained STTA forums and activities to participants. He said that STTA (Young Change Makers) offered new learning experiences to students through knowledge spaces like Inter-University Seminars, webinars and modern platforms like X-Spaces.
In addition, they offer creativity spaces through essay writing competitions, product watching and blogging to help students improve their creative faculties.
On the other hand, Siaya County Director for Culture and Tourism Dr Kennedy Oreyo urged participants to take maximum advantage of the information they attained from the seminar.
According to the Director, Siaya County prides itself as the home of diverse tourism sites and activities. He praised the partnership between the County Government and JOOUST with notable results in innovation and blue economy research in the county citing that together with the university they had trained 50 tour guides and intended to train more in the upcoming year.
The event was a great success with students who participated in the seminar presenting case studies and being presented with awards.
