The CAVE Approach at the 5th IACuDiT International Conference, 28-30 June, 2018, Athens

The CAVE Approach at the 5th IACuDiT International Conference, 28-30 June, 2018, Athens

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How could be ever possible the CAVE Approach© to be missing from a Conference of the International Association of Cultural and Digital Tourism (IACuDiT) which is dedicated to “Exploring Smart Tourism: The Cultural and Sustainability Synergies”?

With our contribution there, we firstly highlighted the need to increase our effort towards Sustainable tourism in order to maximize the economic, social and environmental benefits of tourism and minimize its negative impact, especially on the host countries. Furthermore, in continuation to our presentation in Liege, we proposed that tourism, due to its great scope and impact, has a great potential to foster and expand its contribution to humanity, by becoming a pivotal leader of Human Development.

Thus, we introduced the development of a special type of Sustainable tourism, the Human Development Tourism, which particularly aims to utilize the world’s material and intangible cultural heritage to cultivate a universal culture of HD values and principles. Human Development Tourism maximizes tourism’s great potential to overall promote the development of humanity by directly developing peoples’ awareness of Human Development, its value for them, and their role in it, hence, enabling them to better serve it.

Finally, a pilot HD Tourism Program attached to the CAVE Approach© for Human Development was presented to demonstrate how nature and the material and intangible elements of cultural heritage can be combined in a meaningful and structured way in the context of Human Development Tourism Program.

Dear Guests, welcome!
You are standing at the threshold of a journey, the most beautiful and meaningful journey in the world; the journey of your eudaimonic life. It is the journey that I travel as a citizen, mother, friend, colleague and in every other role in my life to discover and enjoy the wonderful opportunities to create my happiness. What is amazing in this journey is that while I try to create my own happiness, I practically contribute to the achievement of what once seemed to me an unrealistic dream; a world that is a fulfilling and safe place to live, a united world, inhabited by friendly people that are fair to each other and enjoy living in peace with each other, who care for their wellbeing while being socially responsible, who are efficient in achieving meaningful and valuable advancements, who care about creating better conditions for the next generations and humanity as a whole. Suddenly, I realized that it is my responsibility to create the world I dream of, and that to create it I do not need to do anything more than just be committed to living a eudaimonic life. This is what eudaimonic life is all about; individual wellbeing and common good, which together lead to the sustainable development of societies and humanity as a whole.

I cannot say it is always a pleasant journey, because it also requires effort and commitment. Nothing comes easily in this life, much less our happiness. On the other hand, what is my other option? Just lie back and let 'circumstances', past conditioning, unconsciously established thinking patterns, luck and anything other than my logical consciousness drive my happiness... or unhappiness, and impact other people's, the community's, even the world's happiness...or unhappiness. I have made my choice. My happiness, my eudaimonia is my most important goal in my life. This is my number one priority: not to be professionally successful, but to do so in a way that will promote my happiness; not to make money, but to earn it and to use it in a way that will promote my happiness; not to get married and have kids, but to do so in a way that will promote my happiness etc. The development of the Aristotelian virtues of the CAVE Approach© is my way to happiness, and the CAVE Approach© is my contribution to other people that are interested and determined to be happy, promoting their individual wellbeing and the common good, as it offers structured guidance and support in such endeavours.

Travelers of this journey might be considered as romantic fools or intelligent social reformers. Again, it is a matter of a virtue, specifically Judgment, to assess which one is true, and which is not. My Judgment, which I hope for the sake of all is well-developed, suggests the second is true.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this message, you might be at the threshold of a journey (if you are not already travelling on it). I really hope that you will pass over the threshold and travel on this journey with the rest of us who do believe that "our Happiness depends upon us" as Aristotle said, and that we can make the world a better place for us and next generations by just trying to live our lives well.
Thank you for stopping by, and I wish you a flourishing life!
Anastasia Moira