'Compassionate Kozhikode' bags ITB-Berlin award

The ongoing world's largest travel trade show ITB-Berlin has chosen 'Compassionate Kozhikode' as one of the 50 inspirational projects from around the world and the only one from India.

This unique programme was the brainchild of Kozhikode district collector P. Prasanth who said their mission was to bring together several grassroots projects in the city and it brought together people from all walks of life with the aim of transforming the lives of ordinary people by joining hands with them to find solutions.

'Operation Sulaimani' was one of the projects under 'Compassionate Kozhikode', that roped in local restaurants and hotels to ensure none of the city's inhabitants goes hungry.

Other projects include the 'Legends of Kozhikode' project that documents and shares many hidden stories and characters of the region.

Another called 'The Kozhipedia', is an Open Streetmap based project where volunteers collect and record information about everything from roads, streets, pathways, stories, legends, folklore, cultural and natural heritage.

'Savirigiri' works to provide students travelling by public transport with security and dignity.

This project was showcased at the ongoing five-day ITB-Berlin, being held in the German capital that ends Sunday in the category '50 Destinations, 50 Encounters, 50 Stories'.

"Positioning a destination based on the value of compassion is one of the most disruptive ideas we have come across when it comes to destination development and promotion," said Rika Jean-Francoise, CSR commissioner of ITB-Berlin at the ITB50 launch event.

The project has already captured the attention of international organisations Asian Ecotourism Network, which focuses on sustainable tourism in the continent which has announced that its next conference would take place in Kozhikode.

"We are excited and encouraged by the responses from around the world to our initiative. We are confident that the project will not only help the people in Kozhikode, but it will also serve millions of others around the world," said district collector Prasanth.