STARS: ASTROTOURISM PROJECT FOR YOUTH
IN TENERIFE, BALI AND GUADALCANAL

The project “STARS: Empowering & Creating new job opportunities” is a project cofunded by “Erasmus+” programme of the European Commission and coordinated by FIFEDE foundation from Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain in partnership with Yayasan Dharma Widya Ulangun (Bali, Indonesia), Solomon Island National Youth Congress (Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands) and Asociación Desaplatanate (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain).

STARS aims to foster cooperation and exchange of astrotourism activity creation, improve quality of the youth work and discover a new non formal learning method. It will be described in STARS Tool Kit that will be accesible to everyone at the end of the project.

The youth workers and youngsters have already begun the work of collecting myths and legends of their islands that are related to stars and sky. The project starting by early 2022 will be developed during 2 years and counts with an European grant of almost 60.000 euros. STARS main activities include multiple activities at local level, an international training in Bali and an evaluation meeting in the Canary Islands.

The first international event of STARS will be held in Ubud, Bali (Indonesia) in autumn 2022 and will gather 24 youth workers and youngsters from Spain, the Solomon Islands and Indonesia in order to discover tohgether the potential of astrotourism.

STARS will bring attention of the young people to such activities as astro observation, star interpretation, night hikes, sunset hikes and link them to the the local culture heritage and myths in Indonesia, the Canary Islands and the Solomon Islands. Why did the Canary aborigens believed that the sun is hidden in the biggest vulcano of Spain that happens to be on Tenerife, Canary Islands? Why the rythm of life of the Balinese is dictated by the stars? Why nowadays the local indigenous people in the East Guadalcanal, the Solomon Islands believe that if the sky is very clear with a lightning strike with thunder, a mother leatherback asks permission to give birth to leatherback turtle eggs? Responses to these and other questions will be found during STARS.

In order to assure a proper development STARS project is glad to count with support of the Community Based Tourism Association in Indonesia, Honiara Youth Council in the Solomon Islands and Tenerife island local government in Spain.

The project is continuation of previous worlwide youth projects coordinated by Spain in partnership with Indonesia and the Solomon Islands: “World Island Shake” developed in 2014 – 2016 and “STARS: Sustainable Tourism Agents in Rural Societies” that in 2016 – 2018, apart of other multiple activities, gave the opportunity to young people to volunteer during several months in other continents.