Culture Preservation and Cultural Sensitive Tourism

The German Academic Exchange Service promotes culture preservation and cultural sensitive tourism with special funding programmes.

With the programme German-Arab/Iranian Higher Education Dialogue the DAAD supports higher education partnership projects focusing the cultural dialogue with the Islamic world. Fundable are dialogue-oriented partnership projects between German institutions of higher education and its partners in Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa and Iran in all disciplines, from the arts, urban planning, to civil engineering and medicine.

Caravan Routes in Libya - cooperation projekt of the University of Freiburg with the Libyan Studies Centre in Tripoli,

the Arabic/Islamic town in comparison to the European town - dialogue-supporting cooperation in the area of urbanism between the academy for economy and environment in Nürtingen-Geislingen and the Syrian university of Damascus,

earthquake resistant houses in Iran - common project of the Bergische Universität Wuppertal and the Isfahan University of Technology.

The German Development Service supports local civil organisations and municipal structures by providing specialist advice, if required by financial support. By promotion of local skilled staff it fosters capacity building for a self-determined development. Currently it works in 47 partner countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and is in charge of different projects in the field culture preservation and cultural sensitive tourism.

Sponsorship of the Okakarara Community Cultural and Tourism Centre in Namibia,

local based ecotourism in Central Laos,

encouragement of the Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange (PACE) in the Palestinian Territories,

Furtherance of the sector of tourism inChiwa/Uzbekistan.

The German Organisation for Technical Cooperation promotes decentralised public and private structures and assists the population in securing a livelihood. Currently it is implementing some 50 projects with a tourism component, or the potential to promote tourism. Many of these projects are active in the field of environmental protection and resource conservation, with the aim to tap new resources of income for people living in the periphery of nature reserves. The promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises in the tourism sector is also of growing importance.

Projects focusing on tourism promotion:

Promotion of sustainable development through tourism in Central America,

Community-based Eco-Tourism around Wenchi Crater Lake in Ethiopia,

Promotion of mountain tourism in Yemen,

Development of Tourist Sites in the Montenegrin hinterland.

Projects with a tourism component:

Conservation and management of natural resources in Benin,

Programme for Economic Development and Employment Promotion in Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Programme Environmental Policy and Management of Natural Resources in Colombia,

Economic Development and Employment Promotion in Croatia,

Management and Protection of Natural Resources in Morocco,

Rehabilitation of the Old City of Aleppo in Syria,

Protection of Nature, Bayanga "Dzanga-Sangha" in Central African Republic.

With its Culture and Development initiative, the Goethe Institute employs specific consulting and training programmes to promote institutions and stakeholders from culture, the media and society, in particular in countries involved in development cooperation. The programmes aim to provide professional qualifications, to advise and support the formation of regional networks and create cultural and social platforms.

It conducts Programmes for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Nigeria, Mongolia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.