------------------------------------------------------------------------ TRI Continental Film Festival - Dona Paula, Goa, Sep 28 - Oct 2, 2007
http://www.moviesgoa.org/tricontinental/tricon.htm For public viewing. Registration at The International Centre Goa. (Ph: +91-832-2452805 to 10) Online Media Partner: http://www.GOANET.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The World Tourism Organisation instituted the 27th of September of every year as World Tourism Day with the purpose of fostering awareness of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic values. This year, for the first time since the start of this tradition in 1980, the UNWTO has focussed on women and tourism through the theme - "Tourism opens doors for women". This is a significant day for Goa and its people notably because Goa has emerged as one of India's highly popular destinations for tourists both from overseas and from within the country. To observe this, the Caritas-Goa and CSJP are initiating two important activities. 1. A Round Table discussion on the issues of Women-in-Tourism 2. A Public Rally in Cansaulim with a focus on the question of the Coastal Regulation Zones. 1. Round Table discussion: Do women really benefit from tourism?-The Goan experience. Tourism in Goa is increasingly punctuated by instances of the abuse and exploitation of women- whether in the media, advertising, sexual exploitation, trafficking etc. Many women in the organised sector in tourism in Goa are relegated to relatively low skill and low paying or stereotypical jobs like housekeeping, front-desk and reception, catering and laundry services. The role and contribution of women in the unorganised tourism sector is even greater but often goes unnoticed or is taken for granted, and the difficulties they face are immense. There is a growing demand that the exploitation of women in the promotion of tourism through inappropriate representation and their increased vulnerability to sexual forms of exploitation should get greater attention by policy makers. It is also felt that initiatives need to be taken which accord women a place as entrepreneurs and decisions makers at all levels of the tourism sector. With this in view, Caritas-Goa and Council for Social Justice and Peace are joining hands with Alternatives-Goa, and Equations, Bangalore to organise a Round Table discussion on the theme "Do Women Really Benefit From Tourism?- The Goan experience" on the 27th September, 2007 at the Woodlands Hotel, Margao, Goa from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm. Panel presentations: * Trafficking of Women- Ms. Joanita Valadares * Case studies on Child Abuse - Ms Bernardete D'Souza * Globalization, Gender and Tourism impacts- Ms Vidya Rangan * Representation of Women in Tourism - Ms Judith Almeida * Testimony on 'I am a mother...' Ms Cecilia Pereira 2. Public Rally at the St Thomas Church, Cansaulim The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 1991 is the most significant and specialised legislation guiding developmental activities along the coast and in islands. Since its inception, it has been amended 20 times, each time diluting its provisions further. There is deep worry among concerned citizens about some of the recommendations contained in the final chapter of the report of the Swaminathan Expert Committee, set up in July 2004 by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to carry out a comprehensive review of the CRZ Notification of 1991. Up until today, Goa does not have a fully approved Coastal Zone Management Plan. In the meanwhile, there exists growing worries about the rampant violation of the CRZ provisions in Goa, as elsewhere in India. Amendments to the CRZ regulations have resulted in permission being granted for activities that were initially prohibited such as storage for petroleum products (4th August 2000 amendment) and oil and natural gas exploration in CRZ-I (12th April 2001 amendment) IT and service industries through Special Economic Zones (21st May 2002 amendment). SEZs have been controversial and there are many concerns about labour and environmental norms in them. The entire Indian coastal stretch is made up of diverse ecosystems - sand dunes, beaches, wetlands, mangroves, estuaries, backwater lagoons and coral reefs. Goa is no exception to this diversity. Several activities are affecting the coast such as unregulated tourism, polluting industries, infrastructure, aquaculture, sand mining, construction of sea walls and rapid urbanization, all of which pose serious threats to the health of these ecosystems and to lives and livelihoods of coastal communities. The Cansaulim- Arossim -Velsao Peoples Front- an initiative created and supported by the Caritas-Goa and CSJP has issued a call to citizens allover Goa to summarily reject any attempts to replace the 1991 Notification in a hasty manner particularly in view of the fact that there has been no process of consultation with stakeholders, and the traditional inhabitants of the coast, by either the Swaminathan Committee or the MoEF. They have now issued a call to al citizens of Goa to join A Public Rally. The theme of the rally is "Our Coast is not for Sale". The rally will take place at St. Thomas Church grounds commencing at 3.00pm on Thursday, 27th September, 2007. Fr. Maverick Fernandes Executive secretary Council for Social Justice and Peace
