Skål International Newsletter March 2007
68TH SKÅL WORLD CONGRESS
The 68 th Skål World Congress will be held in Belek, Antalya from 4 to 9 November 2007. Details of the Congress are on the Skål International website www.skal.org go to Congresses. The final inspection visit for the congress will take place from 12 to 15 March 2007. One of the highlights of the congress will be a “Talent Night” where Skål members will be asked to display some of their hidden talents. President Litsa Papathanassi has an idea to create and exhibition of paintings or other form of visual art by Skålleagues which could be auctioned in aid of the Florimond Volckaert Fund. More information will follow shortly in a special congress Newsletter.
2007 SKÅL INTERNATIONAL ECOTOURISM AWARDS
Skål International is inviting Companies from the public and private sector as well as NGOs to submit entries for the 6 th Ecotourism Awards Programme.
2007 Awards, sponsored by Evian Waters and Iznik Foundation, will be presented in Antalya, Turkey on 05 November 2007 during the Opening Ceremony of the 68th Skål World Congress by the President of Skål International Litsa Papathanassi.
Vice President, Hulya Aslantas is requesting all local Skal Officers to help to have the information circulated to their respective local media channels and to help find entries from their regions.
Read more
UNWTO 60TH ANNIVERSARY
The United National World Tourism Organisation, established in 1946 celebrated its 60 th anniversary on 13 December 2006 at its headquarters in Madrid. Speaking at a special anniversary exhibition, Secretary General, Francesco Frangialli said that the roots of the World Tourism Organisation reach deeply back in time. The need to travel in order to satisfy a hunger for discovery has, for time immemorial, been a constant presence in the human spirit: “The world is book” wrote St. Augustine “and those who do not travel read only one page”. It was only immediately following the First World War that tourism – then an eminently elitist form of leisure – first set out on the long road that would lead to modern characteristics we recognise in it today. Click here to read the speech of Mr. Frangialli.
WORLD WOMAN'S DAY
8 March is declared as the World Woman's Day. Why? Because on this day at the begining of the 20th century women workers at factories were killed while demonstrating for better and more human conditions in their work. So this is not a day for celebration. It is a day to think and evaluate our steps since then.
It is a fact that in the western world women in the 20th century have gained equality and discriminations on the grounds of sex are less and less every day. Women in other parts of the world though are still in the process of fighting for their rights.
Skål as an organisation that does not discriminate against people, has given and is continuing to give the chance to women working at an executive level in tourism in 90 countries the opportunity to be proactive and creative and the possibility to gain any office in its hierarchy. In the 73 years existence of Skål International the first woman World President in Skål was Mary Bennett from Ireland in 2002: the first woman President of the International Skål Council Lone Ricks in 2004. More and more women are now joining Skål, as a huge number of women are working in the tourism industry.
The UNWTO acknowledging the contribution of women in tourism, has selected “Women in Tourism” as the theme for World Tourism Day 2007. Let us continue offering, together with our fellow male Skålleagues, amicale, understanding, imagination and hard work!
My best wishes to all ladies in Skal
Second woman World President Skål International 2007
SKÅL INTERNATIONAL BERLIN – ITB LUNCHEON 
