Cape Verde: TUI Care Foundation inaugurates the Futureshaper House - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

TUI Futureshaper House provides facilities for training, co-work and cultural events for local young people and entrepreneurs as well as NGOs

Inauguration by Carlos Santo, Minister of Tourism of Cape Verde; Thomas Ellerbeck, Chairman of the Board of the TUI Care Foundation; and Alexander Panczuk, Executive Director of the TUI Care Foundation

Tourism has developed into the main driver of employment and growth in Cape Verde. The sector has opened up enormous perspectives and life chances for many people, particularly on the island of Sal. To enable the local communities in Cape Verde to turn social and environmental challenges into entrepreneurial opportunities, the TUI Care Foundation has set up its first TUI Futureshaper House. This free-access hub provides young people, entrepreneurs, creatives and local NGOs a free space for co-working, co-creating and networking. The TUI Futureshaper House will also be the hub for the Foundation’s training and development programmes on Cape Verde, which will provide mentoring and technical support to a variety of stakeholders on the island.

The TUI Futureshaper House is co-managed with local social impact agency GoHub. It was officially inaugurated by the Minister of Tourism and Transport for Cape Verde, Mr. Carlos Santos, and the Executive Director of TUI Care Foundation, Alexander Panczuk.

In his inauguration speech Mr Carlos Santos, Minister of Tourism and Transport of Cape Verde, said: "We see the TUI Care Foundation as a development partner for the country. We have identified a number of challenges and set specific objectives in terms of economic, environmental and social sustainability. This space is a first reflection of our joint plans. Other projects have been developed, such as the TUI Academy. All of this builds on the premise that we can only have touristic development if we do this in a sustainable way. This reflects the vision that our government has for tourism – of developing it in a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable way.”

Thomas Ellerbeck, Chairman of the Board of the TUI Care Foundation: “The Futureshaper House is meant to become a place for all people from Cape Verde who have the ideas and the motivation to shape a better future. A place that will help to bring positive impact ideas to life, a place of exchange and creativity. In particular we hope the TUI Futureshaper House will open up new perspectives especially for the young generation of Cabo Verdeans.”

The first programme hosted at the TUI Futureshaper House is the Morabeza Social Innovation Academy, which was created by two young leaders from Cape Verde. It provides personal development and purpose-discovery training, as well as life coaching to 100 individuals. The programme promotes personal and professional growth and equips the participants with the skills to run their own social or environmental enterprises. The enterprises are expected to become financially self-sufficient within the first three years of implementation, ensuring the sustainability of the project's outcomes.

Morabeza Social Innovation Academy will be followed by a capacity-building programme in spring 2024 for local NGOs that will strengthen the island’s third sector.

The TUI Futureshaper House is a part of the global TUI Futureshapers Programme which is being rolled out for example in Senegal, Morocco and Tunisia.

Image Credit: © TUI Group