by Drago Bulc, FIJSLOV (FIJET-Slovenia)

Great success of Academy for Young Travel Journalists, Bled- Slovenia May 7th to 14th

Young Journalists enjoying their time in Bled

Bled, Slovenia -- The first FIJET Academy for Young Travel Journalists devoted to the theme "Tourism is Going Green" was a great success in every respect - professional as well as social and first of all regarding it's main mission.

This is the common opinion from lecturers as well as participating young journalists and also organizers - under the lead of the President of FIJSLOV Drago Bulc, as always Cveta Potocnik lent him a helping hand – who at the end were all pleased with this innovative international journalist project.

The week–long, intensive and diverse program was a good mixture of theoretical lectures on the highest international level and visits of good practise in Slovenia, Austria and Italy. Academy participants become aware through lectures on climatology, ecology and also economy that sustainable tourism development is a must.

Young Journalists hard at work during the FIJET Academy in Slovenia

Additionally, they learned through several good practice examples that “green tourism” can be realized also in practice and that it can even be more profitable than the destructive mass tourism.

They inspected the sustainable tourism development of hotels, farms, protected areas and even eco programs in the huge shopping, recreational and entertainment centre BTC City in Ljubljana.

Aside from the main educational goal, the Academy was also a great success regarding the other (and for FIJET very important) mission, which is to bring in FIJET new young generation of members. The young journalists - Sava Veselinov Chapanov (Bulgaria), Simon Demšar (Slovenia), Katja Ertl (Slovenia), Nataša Hlaj ( Slovenia), Georgiana Maria Leanca (Romania), Chiara Meriani Merlo (Italy), Nikola Mihajlovic (Serbia), Guneri Begum Surek (Turkey), Sofie Vanrafelghem (Belgium), Sergiu Aronica Voicu (Rumania), Masenka Vukadinovic (Croatia), Mario Wittenwiller (Switzerland) and Željka Sruk (Croatia) – showed not only good professional knowledge and inquisitiveness but in not more than a week also built a network of long-lasting friendship. Regardless of the fact that they came from nine countries from the first day on they acted as one family.

Academy coordinator, Drago Bulc, accepts hand printed awards from the Printer

Apart from renowned Slovenian and international experts Hanspeter Danuser (Switzerland), Peter Linden PhD (Germany), Tanja Mihalic PhD (Slovenia), Lucka Kajfež Bogataj PhD (Slovenia), Nadya Zhexembayeva PhD (Slovenia), Marjan Hribar MSc (Slovenia), Dimitrij Piciga MSc (Slovenia), Eva Stravs Podlogar (Slovenia), Petra Stušek (Slovenia) and Katja Turk (Slovenia) among high officials there were also Secretary General FIJET Jacques Campé and member of the FIJET Executive Committee and Director of FIJET Congress Jim Thompson, who explained to young journalists the history and aims of FIJET.

Due to great success of the first FIJET Academy for young journalists the organizers already started with preparations for the second Academy, which will deal with the theme Innovation in tourism and will take place in the Slovenian seaside resort Portorož next year.