In Buga, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, was held on 15th -16th July 2010, the First National Meeting of the Schools Friends of Tourism, a unique experience at national level, created by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, to enhance the commitment with the tourism activity of those who will be their future leaders, the students.

This programme of 40 schools (approximately 100,000 students), aims to encourage the design of an integrated model of educational development for the tourism sector, allowing the training of natural leaders in and for their community.

In order to support this, the UNWTO.Themis Foundation, through its UNWTO.TedQual programme, will work with the schools (at primary and secondary level) to integrate the purposes and principles of United Nations and the concept of tourism cooperation for development in their curriculum and pedagogical system - an area of work where the UNWTO.TedQual institutions are strongly working nowadays. 

The Vice-Minister of Tourism of Colombia, as a next step to advance with this initiative, will work with the National Planning Office of Colombia to create an inter-ministerial working table that could facilitate the development of a transversal national cooperation programme, and its transfer, as a pilot experience, to the Americas, during the Regional Consultation on Tourism Education and Training to be organized by UNWTO.Themis Foundation in the framework of its UNWTO.TedQual Programme.