Village Monde Launches the "2019 Exploring a World of Sustainable Destinations" Campaign ! Meeting Indigenous People

QUEBEC, March 22, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - As part of the United Nations International Year of Indigenous Languages, Village Monde, with the support of Air Canada, Karavaniers, Les Offices jeunesse internationaux du Québec (LOJIQ), l'Office franco-québécois pour la jeunesse (OFQJ), Quebec Aboriginal Tourism and Desjardins, is proud to announce the launch of their big "2019 Exploring a World of Sustainable Destinations: Meeting Indigenous People" campaign, which will give 10 young people between the ages of 18 and 35 from Quebec and France the opportunity to explore the very heart of the planet, and of humanity, to immerse themselves in an authentic experience. To that extent, applications from Indigenous communities are particularly encouraged!

Dedicating 2019 to the recognition of Indigenous cultures and languages

Each young explorer will have the mission to discover, explore, review and share tourism initiatives and experiences in remote communities that will lead to a sustainable future and positive impacts, particularly enhancing Indigenous cultures and languages around the world.

"I am very pleased to announce this new edition of our Exploring a World of Sustainable Destinations campaign. Village Monde's mission is to promote tourism off the beaten path with positive impacts, a way of travelling that respects local environments, cultures and communities around the world. This is a big challenge! Each partner, ambassador, explorer, and traveller, through their collaboration with us, contributes to this objective and helps to change the world, one trip at a time."

Charles Mony, President and Founder of Village Monde

Samian, a new dedicated and inspiring ambassador

 For this new 2019 edition, Village Monde is delighted to welcome Samian as ambassador for the great campaign. The Canadian singer, rapper and photographer from the Pikogan community in Abitibi Témiscamingue is proud to be involved in "Exploring a World of Sustainable Destinations: Meeting Indigenous People" and says:

"Travelling in your country means going back to your roots."

Samian

10 explorers, 10 grants and more than 160 initiatives in 10 countries!

Get a plane ticket and a grant for the experience of a lifetime! If you are a travel enthusiast, have the soul of an explorer and are sensitive to the challenges our planet is facing, now is the time to apply for a sustainable exploration grant, to get involved and explore the world! Get inspired with the 2019 teaser: https://youtu.be/mRbOWWPaW7M!

Each discovered and confirmed initiative will be connected to the https://VAOLO.COM collaborative platform powered by Village Monde, which allows sustainable accommodations to reach the large pool of travellers seeking to travel in a more responsible way.

Register on the following website before April 15, 2019, at 11:50 p.m. (Quebec time): https://villagemonde.com/explorationsolidaire/en/become-explorer/ 

The 10 laureates for 2019 will be announced in early May after a period of public voting and jury decision. The laureates chosen to receive exploration grants will leave to travel across continents after setting up their own travel itinerary with Village Monde. Explorers will go on their exploration for 3 to 4 weeks, between June and October 2019. During their exploration, they will face several challenges that will push their limits, share their discoveries, communicate on social networks and get out of their comfort zone to vie for the 2019 Explorer of the Year Award.

About Village Monde, an NGO recognized by 1% for the Planet
Village Monde is a Quebec social innovation organization that works internationally and was founded by Charles Mony, a successful entrepreneur. Village Monde promotes the development of a sustainable tourism network that is a source of life and producer of wealth that helps to limit rural depopulation and improve living conditions in remote and marginalized communities. Through its activities and its online platform https://VAOLO.COM, Village Monde connects communities located in remote areas with a large market of travellers, offers a quality label and supports the creation and enhancement of responsible and sustainable tourism initiatives. Village Monde offers the opportunity to go beyond traditional travel, offering adventures off the beaten path for the benefit of the communities and to the delight of the travellers. https://villagemonde.com/en/

About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline, serving nearly 220 airports on six continents. Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2018 served nearly 51 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 63 airports in Canada, 56 in the United States and 100 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,317 airports in 193 countries. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a FourStar ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax, which also named Air Canada the 2018 Best Airline in North America. For more information, please visit aircanada.com/media, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.

About LOJIQ
Les Offices jeunesse internationaux du Québec (LOJIQ) is the grouping of the Office franco québécois pour la jeunesse (OFQJ) and the Office Québec Monde pour la jeunesse (OQMJ), which annually support and assist nearly 5,000 Quebec youth engaged in a process of personal and professional development through an enriching and formative travel experience abroad, in Quebec and in the Canadian provinces. LOJIQ is also involved in welcoming nearly 3,000 young adults from abroad to Quebec. LOJIQ reports to the Ministry of International Relations and La Francophonie. For more information, visit lojiq.org. 

About Karavaniers
In 1998, when Karavaniers came into existence, there were no companies in Quebec exclusively offering what is called "adventure travel », or travel where you hike or follow a water course, taking your time. Karavaniers has filled this gap since and organizes travel that is always designed for small groups, to maximize our enjoyment, but also to minimize the effect of our visit on local populations and the environment. Karavaniers works with Quebec guides and trusted local teams, with whom strong links have been forged over the years. Nearly 20 years later, our convictions remain the same. www.karavaniers.com 

About Quebec Aboriginal Tourism
Quebec Aboriginal Tourism (QAT) is the sectoral tourism association recognized by the Ministry of Tourism as the official promoter of Aboriginal tourism and by the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador as the representative of a place of exchange and services in the development and promotion of Aboriginal tourism. Dedicated also to marketing Aboriginal tourism experiences and products, we represent more than 150 Aboriginal tourism businesses and band councils from all Aboriginal nations in the province. The association represents the 11 Aboriginal nations of Quebec and 55 communities, creates more than 4,000 jobs and shares its culture with more than one million visitors while generating economic spinoffs of over $169 million. www.quebecaboriginal.com 

About Samian
Born in Pikogan, a small Indigenous community in Abitibi Témiscamingue, Samian conquered by proudly wearing its colors; those of a whole people, for which he claims respect and recognition. Discovered in 2004 thanks to the Wapikoni Mobile project, he has since released three albums, including one, Face à la musique (2011), awarded with a Felix at the ADISQ gala for hiphop album of the year. He has performed across Canada and in more than a dozen countries around the world. He also published a poetry collection of the lyrics of his three albums. In addition, several of his texts are found today in various school textbooks in Quebec. In February 2016, he was awarded with the prestigious Artist for Peace prize, recognized across Canada.

Samian is also a photographer and has been a spokesperson, in addition to having presented a few shots, at the 10th edition of World Press Photo Montreal (2015). The following year, he presented his first photographic exhibition, entitled Enfant de la Terre, at the Place des Arts. Since then, his work has been shown in several galleries, museums and theatres across Quebec. A book containing the entire exhibition was published in 2016.

Samian made his big screen debut with the film Roche Papier Ciseaux (2013), alongside Roy Dupuis. He then appeared in Scratch (2014) and ChasseGalerie: La légende (2016). Samian received his first leading role in François Girard's film, Hochelaga: Terre des Âmes, representing Canada at the Oscars race (2018) in the category of best foreign language film.

SOURCE Village Monde