Just returned from three delightful days in East Gippsland working with a local community group on reviewing and assessing a pilot natural and cultural heritage walking tour. What a beautiful part of the would and what stories it has to tell. Lots of potential here and can’t wait to get into the planning and further development. Working with local group FLOAT (wonderful people) under the auspice of AVP and their remit to support the sustainable communities. Thanks for the opportunity. More to come.
In 2020 I returned to Nepal ostensibly for another year to work with the Tansen Municipality to develop a 5 year Tourism Development master Plan. Unfortunately after just two months COVID intervened, necessitating repatriation back to Australia. Happily in late ’24 I got the call to finally complete the assignment. In what became a hybrid project where I spent several months back in Tansen working closely with the Municipality and the tourism sector, I am pleased to say that by mid ’25 the Master Plan was completed and delivered, along with several supporting policies and plans including branding, tourism signage, website and a 12 month initial Action Plan. Tansen is my Nepal home away from home and I’m happy to have been a part of this AVP/Tansen Municipality vision.
Happy to report that the 5 year Tourism Development Framework for Ilam Municipality in Eastern Nepal is now completed and adopted. Consistent with the Nepal Tourism Development Strategy, Ilam is poised to become the tourism hub of Easter Nepal, a relatively unspoiled and undiscovered part of the rich Nepal cultural and adventure tourism experience. Thanks to my colleagues at Ilam Municipality for your enthusiastic collaboration and to the Nepal team of the Australian Volunteer Program for ongoing support. This is a region well worth visiting.
This FREE Introduction to Nonprofit Accounting and Financial Statements webinar series is a must for all NFP Board Members or aspiring Board Members. Run by Harvard University, the course is designed to introduce basic nonprofit accounting concepts and financial statements to individuals who have had little or no experience with finance or accounting.
This self-paced webinar is being held in conjunction with the Nonprofit Financial Stewardship Executive Education program at Harvard Kennedy School.
Roles in arts management are as diverse as they are demanding. Arts managers often make hard-nosed business decisions while undertaking important work to deliver new work and build artistic programs.
ArtsHub asked five experienced arts managers to share the skills and key moments that have defined their pathways in management roles.
My new Australian International Volunteer Program assignment, albeit still by distance, is consulting with Ilam Municipality on sustainable and cultural tourism development. Ilam is a hill station in eastern Nepal about 600 km from Kathmandu. It is well known for its spectacular views, nature walks and tea plantations with many lush tea gardens. The region is rich in cultural diversity. There are many different castes and ethnic groups living here, each with their own customs and traditions and religious rites and rituals. The region also appeals to researchers who travel from far and wide to study its rare birds and the Red Panda, a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and south-western China. Should be fun.
Creative tourism is a form of tourism which has the potential change existing models of tourism development and to make a contribution to diversifying and innovating the tourist experience. By doing so, creative tourism can help to stimulate local economic, social and cultural development. This paper examines the background and development of the creative tourism concept, showing how the production and consumption of experiences has shifted from cultural tourism to creative tourism. A number of different models of creative tourism development are presented, illustrating how the concept has been implemented in different ways around the world.
Happy to report that my recent Australian International Volunteer Program assignment in Nepal is now completed. A joy once again to work (albeit remotely) with my Nepalese local government colleagues on tourism planning and development, particularly in the area of cultural and creative tourism.
Perched high on a hill just 5 Kms from central Kathmandu, the City of Kirtipur is one of the 11 municipalities in Kathmandu Valley. Also known as the as the ‘City of Glory’, it is a place of historical importance, with many significant cultural and religious sites including temples, stupas and monasteries. It also has many attractive natural features including lakes, caves and gorges.
The City has a culturally diverse population of approximately 66,000 people. It is home to people from 45 different caste and ethnic groups. The majority of the population is of traditional Newa heritage which strongly influences its way of life, food, architecture and traditional festivals.
It has a lot to offer culturally motivated international visitors and is poised to become Nepal’s next cultural capital.
How lucky am I to now have three places to call home in Nepal – when I’m able to travel there again.
Meditation can be a great tool for enhancing creativity. It can help to de-clutter our thoughts and feelings, filter out distractions, silence the internal critic and open up that powerfully creative subconscious mind. Different techniques can be applied to help with problem solving, to stimulate creative thinking and new possibilities, or to experience a seamless sense of creative flow.
To inquire about Mind, meditation and Creativity workshops, please contact me.
