VIU students and faculty attend World Leisure Congress in Alabama

Seven students, four faculty and one Dean representing VIU’s World Leisure Centre of Excellence (WLCE@VIU) – housed in the Faculty of Management’s (FOM) Department of Recreation & Tourism Management – left a lasting impression on the delegates of the World Leisure Congress in Alabama in September.

VIU’s involvement at the Congress kicked off with a presentation on the WLCE@VIU to the Word Leisure Organization’s Board by VIU faculty member Joanne Schroeder, by the Centre’s Co-Director Dr. Nicole Vaugeois, and Faculty of Management Dean Dr. Dave Twynam.

Feedback from the Board on the Centre’s Annual Report (www.worldleisureviu.org) was extremely positive; with particular enthusiasm for the experiential components of the Master of Arts in Sustainable Leisure Management (MASLM) and the Visiting Scholars program offered by VIU.

Support for students’ involvement in a variety of experiential opportunities was reinforced by the five of the student participating in a multi-centered field school co-coordinated by Schroeder and former visiting scholar from the Netherlands, Olaf Ernst.

Three students from the MASLM program gave conceptual presentations on their thesis research; showcasing how graduate student researchers can engage in meaningful applied research. Sreya Kumar and Pranav Pesati are both focused lifestyle entrepreneurs in amenity rich rural areas in BC and Caleigh Ellis’ presentation focused on exploring inequities in recreation accessibility policies and the potential need for a provincial framework.

VIU Recreation and Tourism faculty members were also active at the World Leisure Congress. Beyond her role as a Board Member and field school coordinator, Schroeder challenged delegates to reconsider how they view and speak of recreation suggesting a move from a benefits perspective to a solutions perspective.

VIU faculty member Dr. Pete Parker shared his research on users of Mount Royal Park in Montreal and Dr. Aggie Weighill shared MASLM graduate Kelcie Jessen’s research on capacity building through voluntourism in Ghana. Dr. Nicole Vaugeois shared two projects on behalf of her research teams and another as the WLCE@VIU co-director ; a) Modernizing systems to provide enhanced market intelligence to communities for tourism development decisions, b) Labour of love: Insights on the traditional craft trades sector in Canada, and c) Rethinking sustainability and innovation.