Carnivals are not only a big cultural attraction, but events that can help alleviate poverty, Lelei Lelaulu, president of Counterpart International told reporters on the eve of the second summit of the World Tourism Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development hosted by Brazil.
The forum focused on spreading the cultural richness of Brazil and other developing nations in a way that creates wealth for poverty stricken people, said Lelaulu who is one of the forumīs seven directors.
Also responsible for the World Tourism Organization, the Brazilian government, the head of the French Accor Group for Latin America and Sergio Foguel, formerly senior VP of Odebrecht and now lead organizer of the forum.
The idea is to enhance the use of cultural tourism as an instrument for community development, added Lelaulu of Counterpart International, a non-profit organization based in Washington which works worldwide on humanitarian and development projects.
Several government ministries, UNDP, UNESCO, and the UNīs WTO have joined some of Brazilīs biggest companies and international non-governmental organizations in sponsoring the Rio meeting which is known locally as "DestiNations".
By: Prensa-Latina
