Islet of Vila Franca do Campo

The small island of Vila Franca do Campo is a hidden gem in the vastness of the island of São Miguel. A visit to this island offers an adventure in the heart of a designated nature reserve. Here, the crater walls are adorned with lush endemic vegetation, while inside, a natural pool with an almost perfectly circular shape awaits you, connected to the sea by a narrow passageway aptly named “Boquete”, which opens northwards towards the island’s coast, protecting the interior of the island from the relentless sea.

This volcano harbours romantic stories and is the scene of famous events such as Red Bull Cliff Diving. At the same time, it is a place that has remained untouched by the relentless passage of time for over 4,000 years. The crystal clear waters hug the beach and provide an idyllic setting for swimming and diving. Located just 1 km off the coast, the island invites families, couples and solo travellers alike to explore its wonders.

Once one of the most impoverished regions of Portugal, from which the inhabitants fled in search of a better life, the Azorean community now thrives on the prosperity of its tourism industry. The small island of Vila Franca do Campo is a testament to this change and offers the locals a reason to stay and grow.

Why is it regenerative?

Vila Franca do Campo is an example of regenerative tourism, transforming from a lack of tourism to prosperity by offering sustainable tourism that preserves nature and benefits the local community.

Project partners met in Aveiro on the 14th and 15th of September 2023. It was the perfect opportunity to visit the destination with regenerative glasses on, to understand its many assets but also some of the challenges the destination is facing. Face to face project meetings always provide the partners with the unique opportunity to learn about the work of the hosting partner and get valuable insights about the destination. In this case partners were hosted by the dedicated team of management and tourism professionals of the University of Aveiro who shared a wealth of insights about a city that was new to many of the participants.

The Enforce project is well on track when it comes to the project work plan, which means that after having completed the Best Practice collection of innovative examples about storytelling for regeneration and also the Storyteller’s Guide, partners used the meeting to discuss the development of the Enforce Training Programme.

For the next few months partners will be working on developing the content in line with guidelines provided by the University of Usak, our project partner from Turkey.
The course should be available for piloting in January/February 2024 and will also be available in the partner languages once all translations are finalised.

The ENFORCE team met in the beautiful city of Luxembourg for its kick-off meeting. It took place at the premises of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg (also known as CCIL), which opened its doors to warmly welcome all partners.

The team was aware of the importance of this first meeting and approached it with the same enthusiasm, as it plays an important role in building strong bonds that will contribute to the success of the entire cooperation. With the common goal of building a solid foundation, the participants discussed in depth the first steps required for the project ENFORCE.

During this visit, the project objectives were discussed in depth to ensure that each partner has a comprehensive understanding of the overarching goals. The outcome of the kick-off meeting was extremely satisfying for all partners and generated enthusiasm among the team. It was a success and left everyone inspired and energised.

The journey of ENFORCE has officially begun and with the collective expertise of the committed partners, there is no doubt that it will thrive and achieve remarkable results.

Enforce

“The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein”

Project N: 2022-1-LU01-KA220-VET-000089887

© 2024 Enforce Project
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