The Upskilling Generation Net Zero (GenNZ) project began with its kick-off meeting in Chania, Crete, from 13–15 September 2024. The event brought together partners and stakeholders, laying the foundation for the project’s work on sustainable tourism and green skills development.
Joining ESA (European Sustainability Academy) in Crete President of EMC Slovenia, representing the Slovenian partner organisation. His participation reflected the transnational cooperation at the core of GenNZ, linking Greece and Slovenia in a joint effort to equip the tourism and hospitality sector with the skills required for the green transition.
To reduce both costs and environmental impact, the GenNZ kick-off was combined with ESA’s scheduled “Sustainability Activators” (SA) workshop. This approach created opportunities for early stakeholder engagement and dissemination of project aims.
The SA workshop agenda was adapted to include a Sustainable Tourism Roundtable Discussion on Friday 13th September. During this session, ESA presented findings from its recent research paper on the need for strategic green skills teaching in tourism, followed by an introduction to the Erasmus+ GenNZ project and its objectives.
The kick-off marked the start of implementation and the first step towards building a framework for vocational training that will support tourism professionals, educators, and entrepreneurs in adapting to sustainable practices.