KOCHI:
Sahapedia has earned yet another top international honour, winning the coveted Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Grand Award 2019 for organising heritage walks across the country.
‘The India Heritage Walks project aims to make culture tourism more holistic and inclusive,’ PATA said in an announcement. The Bangkok-based establishment works to promote the responsible development of travel and tourism. Sahapedia is among just four organisations to win PATA’s Grand Award, and the only one to win in the ‘Heritage and Culture’ category.
The PATA Grand Awards are presented to outstanding entries in four principal categories: Marketing, Education and Training, Environment, and Heritage and Culture. The awards will be presented on September 19 at Nur-Sultan (Astana) in Kazakhstan during the PATA Travel Mart 2019. This year’s awards attracted 197 entries from 78 organisations and individuals worldwide.
Sahapedia has expressed great delight over this achievement. The heritage walks have been part of ‘our attempts to democratise access to local history and culture, giving people opportunities to discover the hidden gems linked to the cultural heritage of a place, town or city,’ said Vaibhav Chauhan, Secretary, Sahapedia and Director, India Heritage Walks. ‘It is good to be recognised for our efforts. We would like to extend our gratitude towards our partners and collaborators across the country who have supported us in working towards our vision.
In 2018, Sahapedia won the highly acclaimed PATA Gold Award for its maiden edition of the India Heritage Walk Festival (IHWF). PATA, in its release yesterday, noted that the purpose of Sahapedia’s heritage walks was to generate interest among travellers as well as the local population to discover India’s cities, its people and the stories of their colonies, ruins, mainstays and migrants.
‘These efforts have also been directed towards groups for whom engagement programmes in heritage tourism are commonly unavailable, such as children, persons with disabilities and those from economically underprivileged backgrounds,’ it pointed out.
Sahapedia launched the India Heritage Walks project in November 2016, and has, so far, conducted experiences in over 60 cities across India, covering varied aspects of cultural and natural heritage. ‘Ranging from walks exploring markets, monuments and museums to natural landscapes and regional cuisine, India Heritage Walks are curated thematically, making it an ideal resource for travellers and heritage enthusiasts as well,’ the PATA release added.
Sahapedia’s India Heritage Walks project has been supported by the TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) Foundation and the Axis Bank Foundation. Sahapedia (https://www.sahapedia.org/) provides open access to articles, videos, interviews and images on a wide range of matters related to the arts, culture and histories of the Indian subcontinent. The portal was launched in summer 2016.
