The STOREM project aims at curriculum development at 5 higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Latin American and Caribbean region (LAC) on the subjects of environmental management and sustainable tourism, which are thematic priorities of the region. Private and public stakeholders of the LAC region express the need for skills that are useful to adequate management of the natural environment, in the face of climate change threats and other risks that affect the coast zone.
The proposed capacity building activities will integrate the multidisciplinary learning and research expertise on sustainability issues of HEIs in the European Union with the experience of universities in the LAC region. These include the Università degli Studi di Cagliari (Italy), Université Paul Valery Montpellier (France), University of West Indies (UWI – Barbados), Universidad para la Conservación Interacional (UCI – Costa Rica), Universidad Nacioal (UNA – Costa Rica), Universidad del Magdalena (Colombia) and Universidad EAFIT (Colombia). The project will develop new Master’s programs in the field of sustainable tourism and environmental resource management at UniMagdalena and UNA, while integrating new courses into existing graduate programs at UWI, UCI and EAFIT.
The project also aims at developing a model of interaction between HEIs, private and public actors in the region and the development of Observatories on Sustainable Tourism at partner country universities, which will be useful for supporting the curricula and raising awareness in the tourism business communities. The project also addresses the cross-cutting priority on the integration of vulnerable and displaced populations at HEIs in Colombia to facilite the university enrollment of these populations in the long-term.
Developing new skills in sustainability issues will eventually advance socio-economic development in the LAC region and better equip academics, tourism professionals and administrations. These activities will ultimately support the development of an empowered market aware of the need to provide continuity to the STOREM academic pathways and place a priority on environmental resource management and sustainable tourism.
