LocationsYouth from Bosnia and Herzegovina excelled in the finals of the UNWTO Students' League in Madrid
December 15, 2023
Today, 15/12/2023 the finals of the Students' League of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), held in the picturesque city of Madrid, Spain, witnessed the triumph of the Bosnian and Herzegovinian spirit of innovation as two young teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina stood out on the world stage, leaving an indelible mark.
In the high school category, the "Rose Brandis" team, from Travnik High School, won first place with an exceptional presentation and innovative proposal. Their visionary concept focused on the renovation of the ski jump on the Vlašić mountain, together with a dynamic promotion strategy on Instagram to contribute to the promotion of the destination. The team's commitment to combining adventure tourism with social media caught the attention of the international jury and secured them a well-deserved win.
In the faculty category, the team of the College of Tourism and Management from Konjic "VS TIM" also won the first place, shared with the Swiss team SHL, presenting the revolutionary idea of applying the GeoFood innovation. Their proposal, the use of exclusively domestic products for the purpose of economic growth and job creation for residents of rural areas, as well as the sustainability of tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina, showed the potential of applying this concept in Šipovo.
The winning teams had previously won the UNWTO Students' League competition for Bosnia and Herzegovina, held in June this year, and thus got the opportunity to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina at the world competition. The name of this year's challenge is "Off the beaten track", and the theme is "Tourism in the service of rural development". For this edition, our teams worked on solutions to support the sustainable development of rural tourism through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) along the Via Dinarica trails in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The teams' dedication to sustainability and the promotion of local resources highlighted the valuable contribution of Bosnia and Herzegovina's youth to global conversations about innovation, environmental protection and the development of sustainable tourism.
Bosnia and Herzegovina's participation in this social competition is supported as part of the BRIDGE project, which encourages intercultural dialogue and interaction among young people from different backgrounds around nature, science, tourism and environmental protection, ultimately contributing to bridging cultural divides and restoring trust among young people. The BRIDGE project, with the financial support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), and in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Ministry of Trade and Tourism of the Republic of Srpska, is implemented and co-financed by the United Nations Development Programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNDP BiH).
