11/06/2015
10TH EDITION ECO WARRIOR AWARD 2015 ANNOUNCEMENT
THEME: Sustainable Tourism: Keeping the Magic Alive
DATE: 16th October 2015
VENUE: Diani
2015 ECO WARRIOR AWARDS NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN!!!
Ecotourism Kenya wishes to announce and invite you to the 10th Edition of the Eco Warrior Award Dinner Gala scheduled for 16th October 2015 in Diani South Coast.
Eco Warrior Award recognizes efforts, innovations and exceptional achievements for promoting responsible tourism and enhancing tourism sustainability which directly conserves the natural environment linked to local communities (either credible individuals or groups) through mutually beneficial and equitable partnerships. Nature conservation through community development by tourism is the essence of ecotourism.
The award aims to celebrate ecotourism best practices in different tourism sectors and tourism set ups in Kenya. The general criteria are given for each category below. Potential nominees for each category must demonstrate clearly elements of responsible, respectful and sustainable tourism.
Which Ecowarrior are you?
Ecotourism Kenya hereby welcomes you to forward your nominations for the following 12 Eco-Warriors categories:
1. Conservancy of the Year: Nominees in this category should be recognized by Kenya Wildlife Association of Conservancies (KWCA). It also should demonstrate impact to community, wildlife or tourism partners since its inception. This category has two awards
a. Private conservancy (for privately owned conservancies)
b. Community conservancy (community-owned nature conservancies)
2. Eco rated Facility of the Year: Applicants in this category must be as described in East Africa Hotel Grading criteria, Meet EK criteria for eco-rating, be a member of Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and caterers (KAHC), Must be eco-rated, must have a sustainability policy or strategy (show clear process how strategy was developed and how it is implemented) and have on-going social and environmental programs, which are part of strategy. The programs should be relevant to / or addressing issues in destination where they operate.
This category has 4 awards as follows:
a. Lodge/Resort
b. Tented Camp
c. Hotel/serviced apartment
d. Villas
3. Community Owned Enterprise of the year: Should be a member of Community Based Tourism Organization (FECTO) and must be registered as tourism business.
4. Travel/ Tour Operator of the year: In this category an applicant must be a member of either KATO or KATA offering travel or tour services in Kenya, having a strategy incorporating sustainability practices is an added value, should have a CSR strategy.
5. Airline of the year: Should be a member of KAAO, should have a CSR strategy or policy and should support sustainable tourism through partnerships, membership, communication or packages.
6. Blogger of the year: Interested participant should be a travel writer who has highlighted innovation and best practices in sustainable tourism or created awareness on unique products/ services or covered tourism events with a view to show significance of sector.
7. LMP Student of the year: This must be a college student on attachment with one of EK partners participating in LMP program, the student should demonstrates contribution to creating awareness or implementing/ initiating sustainable tourism activities at the place of attachment.
8. Training Institution Award: The training institution must be offering Tourism Studies and through collaborations the Institution has introduced programs, approaches, or projects that aim at building appreciation for sustainability or green development.
How to participate:
Step 1: Nomination
The award is open to Kenyan operations only. Applicants do not have to be members of Ecotourism Kenya. The application of the Award is free, however non-members who make it to the long list will have to pay membership fee to be considered for final evaluation.
Self-nominations are accepted. The nomination form is available at the Ecotourism Kenya offices or can be downloaded from the website www.ecotourismkenya.org
Step 2: Application
All nominations must be submitted through a filled in nomination form, with a written confirmation and acceptance of the nominee, to Ecotourism Kenya via Dropbox to [email protected] before Friday 31st July, 2015.
All applications shall be presented in soft copies using the award application tool. Attachments shall be sent as PDFs and Zipped into one file. Only requested attachments should be sent with applications.
Once submitted, applicants consents text, photos, links, and references for any advertising, promotions, or publicity purposes, Ecotourism Kenya reckons to be proper but should be in line with the award.
Ecotourism Kenya working with judges announces the short list 30 days after close of applications.
Step 3: Award Evaluation and Judging
Applications are evaluated against a set of primary and specific criteria. The criteria are approved ahead of announcement of call for applications.
Award evaluation takes place at 4 levels:
• Level 1-(Technical Evaluation/ Long List)- This is done at secretariat where officers check that applicants have complied with technical requirements like completing all questions, being Kenyan-based operation, attaching requested documents, staying within word limits, having references etc. The Long List is announced.
• Level 2- (Finalist/ Short List) - This is done by judges who independently review applications. The top 3 from each Award category are announced as finalists.
• Level 3 – (Winners) – The Chief Judge and judges not involved in Long-listing & Final List, review the Finalist-List and come up with winners.
• Level 4 – Winners are announced at Eco-Warrior Award ceremony and recognized via a trophy or certificate.
Step 4: The Nominees
The nominees list will be published on the Ecotourism Kenya website, Naturals magazine and the monthly e-shots. The winners are announced during the Gala Dinner ceremony
The winners will be announced during a Gala Dinner ceremony which will be held on 16th October 2015 at Diani, South Coast.
Hurry and submit your nomination now!!!
For more information, Log on to our website www.ecotourismkenya.org please contact: TerryAnn Mutindi and Ann Mwangi on [email protected] [email protected] or call: 0726 366 080
Ecotourism Kenya promotes responsible tourism practices within the tourism industry. This entails encouraging the adoption of best practices in the use of tourism resources, working with local communities and managing wastes and emissions.
