0 Couch Surfing carries environmental, cultural messages

The Indonesian chapter of global traveler network Couch Surfing started its annual national event on Friday by exploring Bali and organizing a series of activities to create awareness of environmental and cultural issues. The 10-day event, titled Couch Surfing Indonesia Festive (CSI Festive) 2012 Bali, members and other participating communities will explore areas in Tabanan, Karangasem, Bangli and Jembrana. Their mission is to promote responsible traveling with their concept NACULA, which means Nature creates Culture and Adventure.

“We believe that many travelers seek adventure and cultural experiences. Without nature that shapes cultural differences, the joy of traveling will not be achieved,” said head of the organizing committee of CSI Festive Ade Irma Amelia. This community also encourages people to learn to be responsible travelers by having interaction with local people, preserving the environment and appreciating local values and cultures. “The reason why people travel is to find the uniqueness in nature and culture, but it’s better if they do it in a responsible way without creating new problems in the places they visit,” Ade said.

Couch Surfing is a global network that has over 4.8 million members in 207 countries around the globe, and each country has its own ambassador and several moderators for each capital city to maintain communication between members. Involving around 200 participants, this is the third time Couch Surfing Indonesia has held a national gathering. They held the first event in 2010 in Jakarta and the second one last year in Bandung. This year, Bali was voted to host the event, amid concerns about radical changes on the resort island that have brought environment and cultural consequences.

“As much there’s been progress in development in Bali, tourism has also contributed to natural and cultural deterioration. Through this CSI Festive, we would like to give the island’s environmental and cultural issues greater attention from the public,” Ade said. “Changes will not happen overnight, but activities that give all participants a chance to dig deeper and get more insight about Bali can stimulate awareness and hopefully create a ripple effect,” she added. Dubbing the event as “a festive for those who are willing to learn, share and become agents of change”, all communities and the public were invited to take part.

All programs within CSI Festive are open to the public, with free registration. The network runs the festive through voluntary work and self- funding. This event is also expected to facilitate gathering, sharing and cooperation between communities. Those groups that are involved in this year’s event include the Forum of Bali Filmmakers, the community of Fine Art Photography, the VolksWagen community, Anak Alam Community and Friends of Menjangan.

source : bali daily