The Project

The BOCOTO project is an international capacity building program, initiated in November 2018, that seeks to expose participants to various aspects of “community-based tourism” (CBT) & youth work from different countries & organizations from Italy, Spain, Nepal, Vietnam, Turkey, India & Kenya. Through a transnational approach, the project is examining concepts & practices underpinning CBT and its potential in the youth field in all targeted local communities and regions. Perspectives on CBT are explored through a holistic concept of protection and valorisation of biodiversity, cultural diversity, local development, promotion of human rights.

Specific objective of the BOCOTO project:

To strengthen the capacity of youth organizations & local communities to promote community-based tourism in rural & remote areas.

Expected results:

• Increased socio-professional development of youth workers and young leaders that are equipped with knowledge, key competences and employable tools related to CBT and sustainable development through different cultural perspectives, educational approaches and community experiences from different regions of the world;
• Increased transnational cooperation, exchange of good practices and capacity building between youth workers, organizations and NGOs active in the sustainable development field from different World context;
• Developed CBT volunteering packages based on holistic discovery of cultural diversity, natural products & gastronomy, while being engaged in social & environmental projects where young people can volunteer in local community project;
• Developed E-learning platform to promote the CBT volunteer packages and reach a wider audience of young people and responsible travellers interested in CBT.

Target groups:

• Youth workers who work in community-based projects with & for young people & that are interested in community-based tourism and sustainable development;
• A wider audience of youth workers and young people that will be reached through the E-learning platform.

The capacity building program includes:

• 1 Training course in Italy on “Community-Based Tourism & Sustainable Development”;
• 6 Study visits in Turkey, Spain, Nepal, Kenya, India, Vietnam that took place during 2019 and 2020;
• 1 Final seminar in Italy.

Outputs:

• Country analyses on CBT conducted in 7 countries – LINK;
• Open educational resources in diverse European languages (EN, ES, IT) – LINK;
• Community- based tourism packages developed within the project – LINK.