Group photograph of the attendees and authorities present at the signing of the Declaration of Presidents and Rectors on ‘Camino de Santiago between volcanoes’ courtesy of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria University.
The 17 participating universities and the Government of the Canary Islands expressed their support for sustainable tourism and advocated for better land management by signing an institutional declaration.
The Compostela Group of Universities, the highest representatives of the Higher Education institutions attending the II International Meeting of Rectors of the CGU and the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Trade of the Government of the Canary Islands signed last Friday their commitment to sustainable tourism and underlined the contribution of universities to better management of the territory, by signing the Declaration of Presidents and Rectors on ‘Camino de Santiago between volcanoes’ at the Castle of La Mata, located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
This institutional declaration is an endorsement of the Camino de Santiago entre Volcanes as a “key instrument for the structuring of the territory of the Canary Islands archipelago”, thus recognising “the important role of its cultural idiosyncrasy and its potential as a driving force for territorial cohesion and sustainable, intelligent and island tourism”.
In the document, the signatories agreed to work in favour of searching for paths of encounter, developing closer collaboration policies, and transitioning towards digitalisation, territorial cohesion and social inclusion. They consider this work to be reflected in initiatives such as the one represented by this path, a “symbol of solidarity, the meeting of civilisations and the union of continents”.
In the manifesto, they also called upon their academic communities to “show courage and raise their voices for an immediate end to the invasion of Ukraine”. “An enduring settlement should be based on the principles of sustainability, universal human values and peaceful travel”, they pointed out.
This declaration was signed by the Pan-European, Adam Mickiewicz in Poznan, Santiago de Compostela, Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Worcester, Lodz, Miño, Burgos, Almería, Oviedo, Coruña, La Laguna, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Seville, La Salle Bajío, La Salle Morelia, de Oriente UNIVO universities.
International Meeting of Rectors ‘University, Territory and Sustainable Tourism’
The network organised the II International Meeting of Rectors of the Compostela Group of Universities from 19 to 20 May 2022, with the collaboration of the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria University and the General Directorate of Tourism Planning and Promotion of the Government of the Canary Islands. Thirty rectors and representatives of fourteen member universities participated in the event, as well as three higher education institutions that may soon join it.
Attendees took part in debates about tourism from the perspective of sustainability, integration of the territory, digitalisation and diversification. They were also able to discover the cultural, natural, intangible and gastronomic heritage of the area.
Access to the photo album of the II International Meeting of Rectors.