10 winners of the 2018 "Exploring a World of Sustainable Destinations" grants announced!

QUÉBEC, May 4, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Village Monde and its partners, Air Canada, Lojiq, Karavaniers, the Caisse populaire Desjardins de Charlesbourg, OFQJ and the Service de coopération et d'action culturelle of the Consulate General of France in Québec announced earlier this week the 10 winners of the "Exploring a World of Sustainable Destinations" grants. These winners will travel for three to five weeks to discover ecofriendly village tourism initiatives throughout the world. Guest of honour Guillaume Vermette inspired these new sustainable explorers with his passion and commitment to change the world, one trip at a time.

At the end of a very tight competition, Charles Mony, Founder of Village Monde, was proud to announce the winners: "Again this year, it was a very difficult choice because the quality of the applications was very high and very inspiring! I would like to thank the jury, who did an extraordinary job, as well as all the applicants and finalists." 

Bound for popular sustainable destinations

Thanks to Air Canada, this year's explorers will discover fascinating destinations: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, India, French Guyana, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Vietnam.

The explorers will set off to these locations on an adventure to discover, share and validate previously identified tourist initiatives in destinations off the beaten track. They will also evaluate the positive social, economic and environmental spinoffs of these initiatives in order to certify them. Upon their return from these explorations, these destinations will benefit from marketing support on the VAOLO platform and from free promotion by Village Monde, which participates in sustainable development by highlighting this type of tourism.

The explorations for the second edition of the "Exploring a World of Sustainable Destinations" grants will begin in late May 2018. The explorers will have to take on new challenges and, during their adventure, will be very active on social media to share with you their discoveries, emotions and encounters! Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram!

Meet the explorers who are part of the adventure

The "Exploring a World of Sustainable Destinations" grants allow young students and professionals to travel to far-flung parts of the globe. The participants have one point in common: the desire to change the world, one trip at a time.

On Wednesday, we had the chance to discover the identity of the 2018 "Exploring a World of Sustainable Destinations" grant recipients. The event took place at the Robin des Bois Restaurant and was broadcast live on social media. We met 10 motivated and committed young people who have a desire to travel off the beaten path. They are tourism and international development students, passionate about photography and the outdoors, but especially seasoned travellers who wish to discover positive, concrete initiatives that could become the most sought-after destinations of tomorrow!

OFQJ 's 50th anniversary

As part of the OFQJ's 50th anniversary, two grants were offered for a France-Quebec exchange off the beaten path. That evening, we were also treated to another nice surprise! The jury decided to offer a special Citizen Engagement award, obtained with the support of OFQJ, as part of civic involvement and service at Village Monde. The awards will make it possible to carry out a second exploration in Aboriginal and rural communities in northern Canada.

A second surprise

Village Monde and Lojiq also announced a second surprise, offering a special Explorer Reporter award to an explorer from the previous edition. The objective of this commitment is to make a video and photo documentary on exploration and tourism with a positive impact in remote areas. Having received a special mention last year for its video quality, there is no doubt that her documentary will inspire travellers to change the world, one trip at a time.

About Village Monde

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, produces wealth and contributes to improving 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 travellers. https://villagemonde.com/en/

About Air Canada

Air Canada was named Eco-Airline of the Year in Air Transport World's 2018 Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards, recognizing its sustainable development program, Citizens of the World. Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline, serving more than 220 airports on six continents. Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2017 served more than 48 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 airports in Canada, 60 in the United States and 98 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 offering a complete range of services to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax, which also named Air Canada the 2017 Best Airline in North America. To learn more about Air Canada, visit the website www.aircanada.com/en/media, follow @AirCanada on Twitter, and like Air Canada on Facebook.

About LOJIQ

In 2018, LOJIQ is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Office franco-québécois pour la jeunesse (OFQJ). LOJIQ is a group of four offices that annually assist and support over 4,000 Quebec youth between the ages of 18 and 35 who seek personal and professional development through rewarding and educational international mobility experiences. LOJIQ is also involved in welcoming nearly 3,000 young adults from abroad to Quebec. LOJIQ reports to the Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie. https://www.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 since filled this gap 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

SOURCE Village Monde