Berlin’s Governing Mayor Will Open Youth Hall at ITB 2009

Some significant anniversaries are being celebrated in the Youth Travel sector at ITB Berlin: it is 20 years since the Berlin Wall fell, the Youth Travel Center is ten years old, and the YIG Germany pavilion has been in existence for five years.

YIG stands for Youth Incoming Germany, and its patron this year is the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, who will be opening the special exhibition area in Hall 4.1 on 11 March. Within the Youth Travel Center the YIG German pavilion will feature Berlin as its official partner.

With a wide range of travel attractions for children and young people the German capital is seeking to boost visitor numbers even further with a campaign targeted at German and international specialists.

In the field of youth travel there is a particular emphasis on school trips. On 12 and 13 March teachers, educators and others with responsibility for school trips can attend a two-day teachers’ symposium dealing with many aspects of school and class trips as well as offering details about careers in tourism and in the media.

Henry Tesch, Minister of Education, Science and Culture of the Land Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, who is serving as President of the Permanent Conference of Ministers of Culture in Germany, will be opening the event in 2009.

During the subsequent panel discussions from 2 to 3.15 p.m. he will be answering questions posed by suppliers to the German children’s and youth travel scene and by participating teachers. This will be followed by a variety of workshops and papers.

During the days when ITB Berlin is open to the public younger visitors, will be preparing meals together with trainers and trainees from the healthy catering department of the SOS Children’s Villages organization. Cookery demonstrations and cocktail mixing will provide plenty of opportunities for enjoyment.

A visit to the accompanying five-day, German-African exhibition by the SOS Children’s Villages under the heading of “Taking control of our own lives!” is intended to promote careers in the catering and hotel industry. The exhibition has been organized jointly by the training centers of the SOS Children’s Villages in Kenya and Germany.