The Department of Tourism and Events and the Service Learning Unit recently held a reflective session with the City of Cape Town to celebrate their partnership.
The collaboration saw third-year Tourism Management students evaluating the city’s engagements with communities in the Blaauberg and Cape Flats districts. Students solicited the communities’ views to influence its Tourism Development Framework.
Ntuthuko Mchunu, a Project Manager from the City of Cape Town, says in developing the framework, which will consist of Local Area Plans to be implemented throughout the city in the next five years, the city had to ask communities to identify tourism projects for their neighbourhoods.
Addressing the event at the Cape Town Stadium, lecturer Pavla Mokoena said the day was about celebrating the collective learning and teaching project which saw students put into practice the knowledge they acquired from class.
She said service-learning was about the university forming partnerships with a range of stakeholders which in turn give students access to a broad base of resources.
Three groups of the students who took part in the research presented their findings and gave the city constructive feedback as they discussed challenges in stakeholder participation at the community meetings which they attended as well as made recommendations.
The meetings were attended by city officials, local businesses and residents.
Besides observing the meetings the students also administered questionnaires to those who attended.
The group which made the best presentation received a trophy and miniatures of Table Mountain from the city, and all the presenters were issued with certificates of recognition from the Service-Learning Unit.
Written by Kwanele Butana
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