The information center and museum will open on January 3, 2022.
Opening hours are from 13-15 working days.
Icelandic Seal Center opens 3 January 2022
Open Lecture: Ethics of Care Approach to Sustainable Tourism Development
Dr. Jessica Aquino, December 2, at 8 pm at Icelandic Seal Center
The concept of ethics of care has moved from its inception as a care between two people to a much broader feminist moral philosophy and public ethics. Ethics of care is about a community that supports us and whom we support. Care is an ongoing process that transcends the idea of environmental stewardship to understand humans as members of a “living web”. Using the ethics of care approach this presentation aims to develop an analytical framework for community development practices in sustainable tourism development. It will answer the research question, what kind of insight does the ethics of care approach reveal about community development practices within sustainable tourism at the Icelandic Seal Center?
The presentation concludes with a discussion about future work.
New Paper Published
A new paper was recently published by Cécile M. Chauvat, Dr. Jessica Aquino, and Dr. Sandra M. Granquist. The article’s name is Visitors’ values and perceptions of seal watching management in Northwestern Iceland.
Cécile works for the Natural Institute of Northwest Iceland in collaboration with the Icelandic Seal Center. Jessica is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Rural Tourism at Hólar University and Tourism Research at the Icelandic Seal Center. Sandra works for the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute and Seal Research at the Icelandic Seal Center. The article, Visitor’s values and perceptions of seal watching management in Northwestern Iceland can be downloaded here. The article is free to the first 50 people.
Disturbance due to tourism may impact the critically endangered population of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in Iceland. Improved seal watching management is a promising strategy for seal conservation. Previous research indicates that the value orientation of tourists can predict acceptance of wildlife management and awareness of the potential impacts of tourism on seals. The goal of this study was to (a) define biospheric and egoistic value orientation of seal watching visitors, (b) investigate how these values correlate with the opinion of visitors towards different management actions and awareness of the potential impact of tourism on seals, and (c) investigate which management actions would be acceptable for visitors. Visitor questionnaires were distributed in NW Iceland (n = 597). Results show that seal-watching visitors, in general, had high biospheric values, low egoistic values, and were open to most management actions suggested in the study. High biospheric values were correlated with acceptance of management actions and awareness of the usefulness of regulations. High egoistic values were correlated with low acceptance of management actions and low awareness of the impacts of seal watching. Results will inform managers on how to optimize management strategies at seal-watching sites in Iceland and elsewhere.
The Teaching Academy of the Public University is Established
The Teaching Academy of the Public University is Established — 11 are Granted Admission
The Teaching Academy of the Public University is Established — 11 are Granted Admission. Among them is Dr. Jessica Aquino, head of the Department of Tourism Research at the Icelandic Seal Center and lecturer in the Department of Tourism at Hólar University.
The role of the Teaching Academy is to strengthen dialogue on teaching and development within and between universities, to support a strong learning and teaching community. The academy is established with the support and encouragement of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture and the membership of all public universities, the University of Iceland, the University of Akureyri, the Agricultural University of Iceland, and Hólar University.
A seat in the Teaching Academy is a recognition given to those teachers who have carried out their teaching and teaching development with unique professionalism, scholarship, and are willing to share their experiences with their colleagues and to the academic community.
https://www.hi.is/frettir/kennsluakademia_opinberu_haskolanna_stofnud_11_fa_inngongu?
List fyrir alla – Art for all
The Icelandic Seal Center then takes part in the project List fyrir alla (Art for all). List fyrir alla is a cultural project for children and youth under the auspices and funded by the Icelandic Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture.
We aim to choose and produce art events nationwide to give all children and youth equal opportunities in experiencing diverse and elaborate art events, regardless of their residential and economic situation.
The main focus is on culture for children and culture with children. We aim to give students, during their ten years of schooling, a good overview, and insight into diverse forms of art across different eras and cultures, including the Icelandic cultural heritage.
On the List fyrir alla website you can find
- Listviðburðir – list of all art events that are on offer for the Icelandic schools each school year.
- Listveitan – online source of diverse and professional art material for the schools
- Menningarhús og söfn – information on those cultural institutions and museus in Iceland that offer art and culture for and with children and youth.
Here is a link to the project: List Fyrir Alla – Art for all
