Defining the requirements of branding, communication and related
vocational education enhancing sustainable tourism at the Cape
Verde Islands
Calheta de São Miguel, Santiago, Cabo Verde / Cape Verde
Islands
28 July to 10 August 2007
BASE will
take place at Calheta de São Miguel on Santiago, the largest
island of Cabo Verde (Cape Verde islands) in July/August 2007.
It will investigate opportunities of sustainable tourism at the
Cape Verde Islands. It will relate its findings to expectations
of potential visitors and - above all - will translate them into
requirements of branding, communication and related vocational
education.
The Cape Verde
Islands are part of Macaronesia (= "Blessed Islands"
or "Islands of Felicity"). They are situated in the
Atlantic about 500 kms west of the coast of Senegal. Nine of them
are inhabitated.
Once known
as a Portuguese station for the slave trade between Africa and
America, the Cape Verdes became independent in 1975. Now the República
Cabo Verde is struggling hard to improve the economy of the islands
and the well-being of its citizens.
The development
of sustainable tourism, addressed in Cabo Verde's Strategic Tourism
Development Plan, has the potential of opening up job opportunities
to Cabo Verde juveniles in rural areas which suffer from up to
70% unemployment.
Experiencing Cabo Verde
Visitors on
vacation in a Cabo Verde holiday resort will return home with
experiences comparable to such they had in other resorts. Next
time they possibly will decide on a destination less remote and
possibly less expensive.
Visitors who
have chosen Cabo Verde because of the steady breeze of wind will
be fond of experiencing surfing and in particular kite surfing
at Sal Island - but do they experience Cabo Verde? To really experience
Cabo Verde, to meet its inhabitants and to see the unique landscape
of those regions with rugged shores and steep mountains visitors
may decide for hiking tours. Hiking tours with a highlight in
addition to natural wonders: Cabo Verde music.
Hiking and
music makes it worth travelling the long and pricy way to Cabo
Verde.
Note:
Cabo Verde is a rapidly developing archipelago with nine inhabited
islands. Strong and successful efforts are made to find investors
to build shopping centers, housing blocks and holiday resorts.
Cities like Praia (more than 100,000 inhabitants) and Mindelo
profit and even more so regions suitable for sun and beach tourism.
Rural areas of Santiago Island and others, especially those with
many families living in their houses high up in the mountains,
have a hard time catching up.
Tourist development in rural areas
of Cabo Verde, in particular on Santiago Island
"In Santiago
the black and the white ingredients of the archipelago's past
are at their most vivid. On the southern shore is the old capital
of Cape Verde - Ribeira Grande - the first European city in the
tropics. But up in the mountains the people are as African as
Cape Verdeans can be - their ancestors were escaped slaves from
the city below."
Excerpt of http://www.viadoso.com/en/txt/txt/rai.html
Cobbled driveways
enable the people in the mountains to reach the next market place
and school, but there are also people living in remote places
reachable by footpaths only.
Most families
raise a few animals (chickens, little pigs, goats, maybe a donkey
and a cow) and, in case they own some land, grow corn. In good
years it's raining in the "rain season", on a few days
only but occasionally in daunting quantities. However, there are
also years without any rain at all.
Women fetch
water from wells and carry the filled containers on their heads
back home, sometimes up steep hills.
Waste is "consumed"
by the animals, they even eat cardboard boxes. But as they cannot
eat glass and plastic bags such litter is accumulating everywhere.
Education
is in high demand. But what should school leavers do with their
education? There is hardly any industry to be found. It is difficult
to imagine that the craftsmen and the owners of the few little
shops earn enough money to pay tax. Public services (e.g. the
post office), supermarkets, hotels, etc. exist but are difficult
to find. Locals know them, hardly anybody else is around. What's
the use to display a big logo and to advertise commodities for
sale? The only business that possibly earns money is the bank:
Many locals are supported financially by emigrated family members.
The
Objectives of the Summer Academy
-
To teach participants how to utilize information design methods.
Participants will get a certificate of related professional
competence.
- To
identify the strength and weakness of a given region with regard
to the needs of tourists as a prerequisite to successfully develop
sustainable tourism in Cabo Verde.
- To
consider the requirements of a professional Cabo Verde tourist
developer. The resulting content and structure, focused on sustainable
tourism, interlinked with culture management and information
design, is planned to translate into a vocational "tourism
development course" to be set up within the frame of the
"Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2004-2015)”,
carried by UNESCO.
- To
define the ingredients of a Cabo Verde USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
fostering sustainable tourism and to translate them into concepts
of branding (and communication).
-
To
conceive hiking tours which enable unique experiences.
-
To
design relevant tourist infrastructure information.
Long Term Aims Supported by the Summer Academy
-
To generate happiness, the overall purpose of the project, among
both the givers and the receivers.
-
To conceive a development model transferable to other regions
which compare to Cabo Verde.
- To
reduce unemployment among juveniles in Cabo Verde through goal
oriented education in the field of sustainable tourism:
Project
Development Procedure
The IIID summer academy "BASE"
is an important element in the development of a bigger project which
started in 2005 with the IIID/idX summer academy "(Im)Material
Exchange" with and at the Free University of
Bozen/Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy. It is expected to be followed
by a summer academy in 2008 "START".
This statement may serve as a motto of the project:
"Having too much, like having nothing are two extremes that
conspire against happiness"
(Frank Bracho in "Happiness and Indigenous Wisdom in the History
of the Americas").
To develop the concept of the summer academy we need to depart from
the "overall purpose of the project" as the top priority
long term aim:
To generate happiness among both the givers (donors ready to
support vocational education to counteract unemployment in rural
areas of Cabo Verde) and receivers (juveniles of Cabo Verde wanting
to equip themselves with the necessary knowledge to develop sustainable
tourism at the Cape Verde islands).
The defined "Objectives/activities of the summer academy"
must serve the above quoted overall purpose:
- utilizing information design methods,
- defining a Cabo Verde USP (Unique Selling Proposition),
- translating the USP into concepts of branding and communication,
- designing a unique hiking experience,
- designing infrastructural tourist information,
- compiling the content of a "Tourism Development Course".
Sustainable tourism touches several issues. Among the most important:
a.
expectations of potential tourists (they not only relate to the
USP of a given region but also to basic matters like comfort, hygiene,
amenities, etc.),
b.
impact on regional economy,
c.
impact on local communities.
Expectations of potential tourists
Participants of the summer academy will model "personas"
along Alan Cooper's method described in "The Inmates are Running
the Asylum / Why High-Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore
the Sanity" and will employ the concept of "journeys"
according to "The Wolff Olins Guide to Design Management".
In doing so, tourists' needs and requirements on tourist infrastructure
will be identified.
Impact on social economy
Sustainable tourism is expected to contribute to the GNP (Gross
National Product). Recently the concept of GNH (Gross National Happiness)
was developed and implemented in Bhutan by Jingme Singye Wangchuck
(fourth king of Bhutan 1972 - December 2006, named as one of Time
magazine's 100 People Who Shape Our World), who believed "GNH
is more important than GNP". Several related conferences have
been held in support of the notion that GNH defines the quality
of life in more holistic and psychological terms than GNP. Along
with the summer academy IIID takes steps which should lead up to
insights of how the impact of sustainable tourism may be assessed
with regard to both the GNP and GNH.
Impact on local communities
Considering that most, if not all of the requirements of tourism
on infrastructure are also requirements of the locals the concept
of "Ecovillage Design" shows the way. Supported by the
GAIA Trust of Denmark, the "Global Ecovillage Educators for
Sustainable Earth (GEESE)" conceived a course to the fundamentals
of "Ecovillage Design for Urban and Rural Settlements".
According to the GAIA website (www.gaia.org)
"The ideal village, which does not yet exist - is a sustainable
human settlement which is in harmony with all aspects of life, including
the cultural, ecological and spiritual dimensions."
By defining the infrastructure requirements the summer academy will
be relating to the curriculum of the above mentioned course, a 112
page document available from the GAIA website.
Having defined the frame of reference we may proceed to the central
information design part.
Realizing the objectives of the summer
academy
1.
Step one of every design process:
Problem familiarization
1.1.
Data collection
Participants, both "students" and "faculty"
are expected to contribute to this by investigating - prior to the
summer academy - the following:
1.1.1
Identifying unique features of Cabo Verde's heritage, geography,
environment, culture, industry, etc. as reflected by tourism related
Cabo Verde websites.
Useful: categorization according to strengths and weaknesses.
Note:
This investigation is of utter importance despite of the fact that
some of the strengths and weaknesses can be identified only by personally
experiencing them on the spot.
1.1.2
USPs of comparable countries/regions
Participants are requested to collect (and structure) relevant information
from travel agents, guide books, websites, advertisements (magazines,
TV, etc.).
1.2
Discussions
Findings will be discussed by participants and called-in local experts.
They will be compared with the results of an investigation IIID
will be doing prior to the summer academy involving representatives
of the cultural, commercial and political life of Cabo Verde, immigrants
to the USA and possibly some other countries, and tourists who have
recently visited Cabo Verde.
2.
Scenarios and communication settings
2.1
Of many possible scenarios one stands out: Speeding down and experiencing
the uniqueness of Cabo Verde first and foremost on foot, possibly
also on bike.
Part of the scenario includes situations in which tourists need
to find their own ways round, another part has a focus on guided
tours and supporting information. The summer academy will employ
a concept focusing on information needs of "personas"
(conceived individuals singled out of a target group) on a "journey".
2.2
Communication settings will be aiming at service providers, tourists
and travel agents/tour operators.
In particular the importance of the latter as mediators between
the enablers of unique experiences and those who are ready to travel
far to enjoy the unusual will be considered.
2.3
Implications on infrastructure and required resources/costs are
recorded alongside 2.1 and 2.2, employing the "co-ordinate
indexing method" of FHK Henrion/Alan Parkin and related to
the curriculum of "Ecovillage Design Education".
3.
The USP of Cabo Verde
Appropriate branding concepts (including logo and "one mission
statement") and implementations consiering all suitable media
will be sketched on the basis of the outcome of 1.2. The specifics
of the "Genetic Code of the Brand"®, described by
the “Institut fuer Markentechnik Geneva" will be taken
into consideration by developing a Cabo Verde brand.
It goes without saying that the result will need to be successful
in two front ranks: It must be able to support identity building
among the Cape Verdians and it must be easily communicable to potential
Cape Verde visitors.
Future steps subsequently to be
taken
IIID preservers to finding sponsors for follow-up activities including
a summer academy in 2008 "START".
4.
Developing a communication concept
to attract donors ready to support the implementation
of the "Tourism Development Course".
Preceding
the communication concept the costs of the course and precautions
to be taken for setting it up and to handle related activities are
estimated.
5.
Evaluating the impact of selected
scenarios on GNP and GNH
6.
Implementing the "Tourism
Development Course"
as a first step in developing Cabo Verde sustainable tourism.
7.
Refining the Cabo Verde branding
policy
broadening its base and adding further examples for implementation
to those conceived at the 2007 summer academy.
8.
Quality Assurance
9.
Elaborating "Guidelines for
the Development of Sustainable Tourism"
based on gained transferable insights.
Participants
Approx. 10 senior students and young professionals of fields like
information design, communication and media design, tourism, cultural
studies, education, economy, etc. and 10 enthusiastic locals interested
to work on the development of the programme beyond the days of the
summer academy.
What
participants will learn and do
Participants will
-
learn to research and to structure task relevant information
by "co-ordinate indexing" (a method design pioneer
FHK Henrion and mathematician Alan Parkin have developed back
in 1967)
-
team up with locals in researching additional (hidden) information
and in exemplifying Cabo Verde’s USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
-
identify the needs of the envisaged tourists by modelling "personas"
along Alan Cooper's method of personalization and the "journeys"
they wish to undertake according to Michael Wolff's concept,
presented by Wally Olins at the IIID Vision Plus 9 symposium
2003, London
-
learn to understand
that the worm needs to be be tasteful to the fish, not the
fisherman
and that there is no place in the minds of potential tourists
for attractions
which are not communicated,
which cannot be communicated, or
which are communicated in a misleading way.
IIID Faculty
Peter
Simlinger
After graduation in architecture at the University of Technology,
Wien/Vienna Peter moved to London for post-graduate studies at
The Bartlett, University College.
The design studio he founded after his return to Vienna in 1967
became Simlinger Informations-Design GmbH. It developed a focus
on orientation systems (for hospitals, rail and air traffic),
corporate design (e.g. for the largest Austrian bank) and, most
recently, on what may be called multimodal communication systems.
Having been President of "GDA Graphik-Design Austria"
(now "DA Design Austria") and Chairman of the Austrian
Standards Institute's Committee 133 "Graphic Public Information"
Peter Simlinger became instrumental in founding IIID in 1988.
Ron
Hofer
After graduation in industrial design at the University of Applied
Sciences Munich, Germany, Ron co-founded the industrial &
cooperative design studio "Quick & Partner" in Milan,
Italy. In 2002 Ron founded "lucid-nutshells", a consultancy
in the fields of coporate design and information design, Milan
and Munich. His participation in the IIID Summer Academy "Travelling
the City", 2002, made him move to Vienna where he cooperated
with Simliger Informations-Design GmbH on dynamic wayshowing systems
for public buildings and – for IIID – the successful
submission of the EU project SOMS Substituting/Optimizing (variable)
Message Signs for the Trans-European Road Networtk. Since 2004
employee of Siemens IT Solutions and Services GmbH & Co. OHG
/ C-LAB, Paderborn, Germany.
Kay
Hartmann
Kay is professor of graphic design at Columbia College Chicago.
She has a master's degree in communication science from Northwestern
University, and her areas of inquiry include information design
and symbology.
Stefan
Egger
Stefan is an information designer with several years of experience
in the development of wayshowing and corporate identity systems
in Germany and Austria. He has been assisting IIID since November
2005 in design work and in the coordination of the SOMS project
"Substituting/Optimizing (variable) Message Signs for the
Trans-European Road Network" which got merged with IN-SAFETY
"Infrastructure and Safety".
Visiting
experts and such who will be available
via Skype or Jajah for consultations whenever needed
We may count
on the occasional presence of João Gomes Duarte, Presidente
of the Câmara Municipal de São Miguel; his deputy
and his assistant; Alirio Vicente Silva, Ambassador, Republic
of Cape Verde, who is proud having been born in Calheta; and Sibylle
Schellmann of Pensão Mira Maio and Viagens dos Sonhos (incoming
agency based at Calheta cooperating with tour operators and travel
agencies) who is prepared to contribute her rich experiences in
sustainable tourism gained in Cabo Verde over many years.
Remotely we
shall be assisted, whenever needed, by experts covering areas
like tourism in general, hiking, water desalination, renewable
energy, waste disposal, etc.:
Helmut
Ganster,
infrastructure expert with special experience in waste disposal,
water and
energy management, nominated by the Associação de
Amizade Calheta - Deutsch-Wagram, A
Alfred Mandl, expert
in sustainable tourism, destilling of grogue, manufacturing of cheese,
living at Santo Antão
Walter Heimerl, hiking
expert, A
Franz Heffeter, Salzburger
Tourismusschulen and Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management,
A
Arne Arnberger, University
of Natural Resources and Applied Sciences, Institute of Landscape
Development, Planning of Recreation and Nature Conservation, Wien/Vienna,
A
Sabine M. Hille, University
of Natural Resources and Applied Sciences, Department of
Integrated Biology, Wien/Vienna, A
Leo Schiefermüller,
Energiewerkstatt, Salzburg, A
Rudolf Ochsner, UNIHA
Wassertechnologie GmbH, Linz, A
Guido Codemo, AQUA
Engineering GmbH, Mondsee, A
Kelley K. Gottschang,
Internet Professional Department, Washtenaw Community College, Ann
Arbor, MI, USA
Robert Egger, WebWerker,
Wien/Vienna, A
Costs
Thanks to
the financial support of UNESCO and the obliging concession of
faculty members who will contribute without receiving a honorarium
IIID is able to keep the participation fee as low as EUR 150 =
USD 200.
IIID
is hoping to find sponsors of travel grants to support qualified
participants who otherwise would not be able to attend.
Approx.
costs in addition to the participation fee to be taken into account:
Accommodation (half-board) EUR 35 (approx.
USD 46) per day.
Air travel (return ticket), e.g. from
Munich EUR 1200 (approx. USD 1580).
There are flights to Cabo Verde from Amsterdam, Bissau, Boston,
Dakar, Fortaleza, Las Palmas, Lissabon, Madrid, Milan, Munich,
Paris, Porto, and Rome.
Nearest airport to Calheta de São Miguel: Francisco Mendes
Airport (RAI) in Praia (capital of Cabo Verde), Santiago island.
Distance from Praia to Calheta: 27 km (approx. a one hour drive).
Participants are strongly advised to also take out travel insurance.
If
you plan to depart to Praia (RAI) from one of the following countries
we suggest that you compare air fares with those offered by our
travel partner
Orbitz
| Belgium
Germany |
France
Ireland |
Italy
Norway |
Spain
Sweden |
The Netherlands
United Kingdom |
Canada
Mexico |
Puerto
Rico
USA |
Sponsors
 |
BASE
is sponsored by UNESCO financially through its Participation
Programme and the Câmara Municipal de São Miguel
and its President, João Gomes Duarte, IIID's operational
partner at Calheta de São Miguel. |
BASE enjoys the
support of Dr Victor Manuel Barbosa Borges (Minister for Foreign
Affairs of the Republic of Cape Verde), Mr. Alirio Vicente Silva,
Cabo Verde Ambassador in Austria, DI Wolfgang Meixner, Cabo Verde
Honorary Consul in Austria, the Associação de Amizade
Calheta - Deutsch-Wagram and, last but not least, the Fundação
Padre Moniz.
Applications
IIID welcomes
applications of interested and qualified senior students / professionals
who are advised to send a CV/résumé, a short statement
of intent (1/2 page) and - unless they have taken part in any
previous IIID summer academy - examples of their work (in PDF-format).
They may alternatively indicate websites showing their work provided
that there is sufficient documentation that the work displayed
is theirs. Interested participants from disciplines other than
design are asked to send or refer to material of their own choice
in support of their qualification.
Note:
Interested and qualified senior students / professionals are requested
to contact peter.simlinger@iiid.net
and to inquire about flights to Praia (crucial because of holiday
season) at their earliest convenience.
There is no precise registration deadline: IIID will stop accepting
applications as soon as the required number of participants has
been found.
IIID
reserves the right to amend details of the project as communicated.
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