Life Beyond Tourism (in short LBT) is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

worldwide portal free of banners, based in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The portal dates back to 2008 and stems from an orientation by the

Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation The Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation is an Italian non-profit organization established in Florence, Italy, on November 3, 1998, by Paolo Del Bianco - who entitled the Foundation to his father Romualdo. The Foundation is funded privately by Paolo ...

. The portal is an international platform for exchange of experiences and good practices in the framework of a

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

based on values and not only on services and consumerism.

History

The portal originates from an orientation of the

. In 20 years of activity, the Foundation elaborated a new concept of the

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...

as an instrument of understanding among cultures. According to this orientation,

is not only to be safeguarded and enhanced, but also to be “used and enjoyed” to foster intercultural dialogue. In September 2008 the

announced the establishment of the association Life Beyond Tourism for Intercultural Dialogue. Soon after, a Declaration of Intents was signed (March 2008) by 59 experts of the Foundation from 20 different countries. In February 2011 the association developed the Life Beyond Tourism Non-Profit Portal. According to the LBT Manifesto “the tourist is a potential harbinger of knowledge and of intercultural dialogue” and therefore “the tourist destination is a workshop of knowledge, providing all visitors with an opportunity for cultural growth” The Province of Florence welcomed the LBT orientation and decided to promote it. Many other cultural institutions and public administrations in Central Europe and Eurasia also joined the initiative.

Main features

Life Beyond Tourism gathers the cultural expressions representing a given region to provide a good picture of its “cultural personality” resulting from the interaction between its

and ongoing developments. The aim of the portal is to convey a territory’s specific features and to emphasize the way in which tangible and intangible heritage is combined to human and environmental levels. The portal is addressed to all cultural institutions, companies, professional and individuals who share the philosophy of the portal. In particular there are some typologies of members: * cultural institutions, academies, foundations, associations, local authorities that operates in the field of cultural heritage; * enterprises and companies rooted in the territory * individuals that share the values of the LBT Manifesto and are willing to understand the cultural personality of a given territory The portal is non-profit: the profits of memberships are reinvested into for cultural and development initiatives in the territory itself. The supporters of Life Beyond Tourism promote a tourism of high cultural quality with a special focus on intercultural dialogue.

Patronage and members

Many organizations granted their patronage to Life Beyond Tourism. Among them:

ICCROM The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide through training, information, research, co ...

, ICOMOS Italia, the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

, the Società Italiana per la Protezione dei Beni Culturali (CIPBC), the Borsa Mediterranea del Turismo Archeologico, the Associazione Città e Siti Italiani Patrimonio Mondiale

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. Among the Italian local authorities: The Region of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, the Province of

, the Municipality of Florence, many municipalities in Tuscany (

Castelfiorentino Castelfiorentino is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, central-northern Italy, halfway between Florence (distance 30 km), Pisa (45 km) and Siena (55 km). The population is approximate ...

, Forte dei Marmi, Montecatini,

Reggello Reggello is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence, between the north-western side of Pratomagno and the Upper Valdarno. The municipality borders ...

, San Piero a Sieve, Scarperia. For the moment also the

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

and the

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

municipalities granted their patronage. The members that joined to LBT are from many different countries: Albania, Armenia, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Vatican City, Colombia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, United Kingdom, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Macedonia, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Syria, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, the U.S., Uzbekistan.

Readings

* Life Beyond Tourism® (2014) ''Travel and Dialogue - The Model, its Manual, its Certification'', Florence * Del Bianco P. (2014) From Florence ''“Travel for Dialogue” – Life Beyond Tourism® - For Sustainable Development, The Model, its Manual, its Certification'', Florence * Laenen M. (2014) ''Cultural Biography'', Florence * Life Beyond Tourism® (2014) ''Travel and Dialogue - The Model, its Manual, its Certification'', Florence * Board of Directors (2014) ''The Life Beyond Tourism – travel for dialogue model'', Florence * Life Beyond Tourism® (2014) ''Travel and Dialogue - The Model, its Manual, its Certification'', Florence * Del Bianco C. De Simone G. (2014) ''Certification: activity for the certification of travel for dialogue in accordance with the Life Beyond Tourism Philosophy, Version Ed.0 February 2014'', Florence * Life Beyond Tourism® (2014) ''Travel and Dialogue - The Model, its Manual, its Certification'', Florence * Liberatore G. (2014) ''Manual for the practical application of the model, Florence'' * Del Bianco C. Bossi M. (2014) ''The Life Beyond Tourism Heritage Community Portal'', Florence * Life Beyond Tourism® (2014) ''Travel and Dialogue'', Florence * Del Bianco P. (2014) ''Life Beyond Tourism: young people “Travelling for dialogue with heritage” in order to grasp cultural diversity, a wish for the ICOMOS General Assembly 2014'', Florence * Laenen M. (2014) ''From heritage conservation to its social fruition for society and humanity: the interpretation and presentation of the cultural biography of living environments/cultural landscapes: travel for intercultural dialogue'', Florence * Life Beyond Tourism® (2014) ''Travel and Dialogue'', Florence * ''Heritage for Intercultural Dialogue in a sustainable Development – The Fondazione’s Manifesto for 2014 and the LBT movement'' * ''The Life Beyond Tourism Model implemented in the field'' * Del Bianco C. (2014) ''How to start a “Beyond Tourism” activity'', Florence

References

External links

*
Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco

Mondo Viaggio Article

Announcement
by

, President of the