About

Touch TD team, Julie and Jonathan

We bring international expertise to geopark, sustainable tourism, culture and heritage-based projects, allowing delivery in English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Turkish, Arabic or Chinese. We work with those who have a stake in a destination at every stage of the project cycle.

Our unique approach involves applying the insights gained from anthropology and thick data methods to the business side of tourism and cultural heritage. Focusing on how people live and interact yields profound understanding of behaviour and motivation that can be used to benefit business and an area as a whole.

Clients we have worked for include the European Commission, UNESCO, UNWTO, UNDP, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the British Council.

We have a strong network of associates we collaborate with if a project requires it. This network includes architects, archaeologists, geologists and geographers, as well as artists, planners and interpreters. Having a small core team enables us to be nimble, meaning quick decisions when you need them.

Team

Dr. Julie Scott is an anthropologist specialising in tourism, cultural heritage and sustainability. She has worked in the UK university sector for 15 years, teaching anthropology and tourism, postgraduate research methods, and field-based courses on tourism and development.

Julie has published on museums, tangible and intangible heritage, tourism and conflict, female entrepreneurship and employment in the tourism industry, and gambling and casino tourism. She has worked around the world carrying out consultancy, capacity building and training for UNESCO, the European Union and the British Government, as well as local authorities, social enterprises, NGOs and the private sector.

Julie holds the practitioners' certificate in PM4SD (Project Management for Sustainable Development).

She is currently an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Anthropology and Conservation at the University of Kent. Julie is a Fellow and Member of Council of the Royal Anthropological Institute, and an active member of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Sub-committee of ICOMOS UK.

Dr. Jonathan Karkut first qualified as a geologist with professional work including experience in the fields of exploration, mining and in the British Geological Survey. He then gained post-graduate and professional training in anthropology and tourism. Consequently Jonathan brings a unique knowledge of both earth and social sciences particularly as connected to the realm of development. This was honed into his PhD research within the thesis 'Policy tectonics: Theory and enactment around the model for UNESCO global geoparks’.

Over the past 20 years, he has been responsible for developing, managing and delivering training and research for projects and consultancy in the areas of tourism, heritage and sustainable development. He brings particular expertise in optimizing the potential of intangible cultural heritage and in finding appropriate balances when managing complex landscapes. Building on project experience with public, private and academic sector partners most notably in Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Georgia, India, Iran and Ethiopia, he has helped provide socially, culturally and politically appropriate solutions to complex developmental settings.

As an active member of ICOMOS UK and the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee, Jonathan has made contributions in the area of sustainable tourism proposals and innovative collaborations across a number of UNESCO World Heritage projects in mixed cultural/natural sites and cultural sites.

He has foundation and practitioner certificates in PM4SD (Project Management for Sustainable Development), an important qualification for designing and managing tourism projects with success.

Dr. Stefania Cardinale first qualified in Oriental Studies and Languages, with a Masters degree in Project Cycle Management for International Cooperation and Development. She gained almost 8 years of professional work experience with NGOs, including experience in the fields of humanitarian projects in Haiti, Burundi and India.

She then completed further post-graduate and professional training in anthropology with a Ph.D. in tourism, cultural heritage and development. She specialized in studying intangible cultural heritage, its connection with livelihoods, tourism and entrepreneurship, in India. She brings in particular expertise on development issues, sustainability and the potential of intangible cultural heritage as connected to livelihoods and tourism, when also in complex and vulnerable societal contexts.

She has always had passion for communication and over the past years, she has been working as consultant helping third sector and cultural organisations in their communication efforts. She has gained experience and practitioner certificates in using online communication tools and in Design Thinking, an important qualification for designing and managing projects and their communication strategies with success. She has been responsible for the development and management of communication plans, training and consultancy for third sector clients on their communication strategies and on the involvement of online communities. She therefore has a unique knowledge of project management, academic research and communication strategies in the field of heritage culture and development.

Christiane Dabdoub Nasser is a dynamic and creative culture and cultural heritage professional specialising in formulating project strategies and streamlining their implementation. Christiane was Team Leader for Euromed Heritage IV, a regional programme funded by the European Union with the remit of building cultural heritage development within a social and economic perspective. Earlier she was Director of the Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation in Bethlehem, Palestine. A fluent speaker of English, French and Arabic, Christiane has a track record of leadership, management and organisational skills, and expertise in the fields of research, communication and public relations, within an international environment.

Dr. Margaret Hart Robertson is an expert on intercultural communication applied to tourism and intangible heritage. Meg has worked extensively in Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador and the Canary Islands, and more recently in Morocco, Algeria, Kenya, Angola and Tanzania, Colombia, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. In Ecuador, she is working on the Prometeo bursary programme to launch an integral plan in tourism, based on Responsible Tourism, poverty eradication and the establishment of a Geopark in the region of Ibambura. Speaking five languages fluently, and working on the sixth (Chinese), Meg is an expert in marketing and localization of tourism through social networks and networking in general. As Senior Lecturer at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, Spain, she works full-time in anthropology of tourism and simultaneous conference interpreting. Specialist areas: intangible heritage valorisation, cultural tourism products, identity and responsible tourism.

Dr. Raoul Bianchi is an Associate Professor of International Tourism and Development in the School of Business and Law at the University of East London. With a background in political science, anthropology and tourism management Raoul is a specialist in the political economy of tourism development with a particular interest in the alignment between emerging forms of tourism enterprise, innovation and sustainable economies. He has taught and published on a wide range of topics, including tourism and citizenship, tourism entrepreneurship and innovation, tourism development, sustainable tourism and cultural heritage. Fluent in English, Spanish and French and with a working knowledge of Italian, Raoul has also worked in collaboration with a wide range of academic and non-academic partners worldwide on European Union and UK-funded research programmes. Recently he has been working with colleagues at the University of Huelva to develop an innovative research programme in cross-border tourism development and management.

Raoul has played in active role in campaigning for fair trade and responsible travel. He has been a long-serving member of the Research Committee on International Tourism in the International Sociological Association and is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute.

Dr. Aylin Orbaşlı is an independent consultant with over fifteen years UK and international experience of working with and advising on the conservation and management of historic buildings and areas in the UK and internationally. She trained as an architect and has specialised in conservation and heritage management. Internationally she regularly undertakes work for national and regional governments and donor- funded projects, often advising on heritage in the context of tourism development. Alongside consultancy she holds a part time position as Reader at the School of Architecture, Oxford Brookes University. Amongst other publications, she is the author of two books, Tourists in Historic Towns (2000) and Architectural Conservation (2008).

Dr. Mulugeta Feseha is Associate Professor of Geosciences and Paleoenvironment at the Center for Environment, Water and Development, College of Development Studies and at the School of Earth Sciences Addis Ababa University. In parallel with his research in geology, he has been engaged in Community Based Ecotourism Development in Ethiopia for eleven years, and has published three books on the topic: 1) Participatory Tourism the Future of Ethiopia: Community Based Ecotourism Development: from research to implementation, Model from Adwa, Northern Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2010; 2) The Fundamentals of Community Based Ecotourism Development in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2012; 3) Tourism Development in Tigray (in Tigrigna local language), in press, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mulugeta designed a Masters Program Curriculum in Tourism and Development to fill the capacity gap in trained manpower for tourism development in Ethiopia, and launched the program in 2009 in the College of Development Studies of Addis Ababa University. In addition to his national and international scientific journal publications and conference participation, Mulugeta is active in organising workshops and discussion forums bringing together community, private sector and tourism sector stakeholders.

Torange Khonsari obtained her professional Diploma at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London - July 1998. In 2004 she co founded the art and architecture practice public works, a multidisciplinary practice working on the threshold of art, architecture and related cultural fields. Her practice and research pedagogy lies in relational art and architecture theories and informal contexts. The research projects are socially motivated and work directly with public space, their local players, communities and stakeholders. The projects assess and challenge how design and programmatic strategies can support and facilitate physical, economical and social infrastructures in the public realm. Torange is currently a director of public works, teaches architecture at Royal College of Art, and teaches architecture and cultural context at London Metropolitan University.

Dr. I-Ling Kuo’s research interests and expertise include tourism in national parks and protected areas, visitor management, interpretation, tangible and intangible cultural heritage and geoparks. Her interests and expertise stem originally from her experience as a tour leader/tour manager. I-Ling gained an MSc in Tourism Planning and Development and a PhD on visitor management and interpretation in protected areas. She lived and taught in Dubai for a number of years prior to returning to work in UK higher education in 2006. Now newly arrived in Fiji, I-Ling is developing collaborative research in the marine protected areas, World Heritage Site (Levuka, Fiji) in the context of tourism, development, sustainable livelihood and traditional practices. I-Ling is an associate member of the Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group (TAPAS group) of IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). She is developing training and workshops in the area of (eco)tourism planning and management, guiding and interpretation for members of the South Pacific Tourism Organisation.

John Bell FRGS, MRAeS : John’s background is as a lawyer who, through his involvement in the travel industry, moved to the BBC as a Producer and Reporter for Radio 4’s travel programming and to the ‘Watchdog’ consumer programme for BBC TV. Moving to Channel 4 TV, he edited their first programme on independent travel, “Travelog” - which ran for 10 years and then edited the CNN International “Hotspots” worldwide travel show. He is an expert both on travel and aviation and is a visiting lecturer in Tourism Marketing and the Media, amongst others, at Monash University, Melbourne, University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and is an advisor to the School of Oriental and African Studies in London University.

As a consultant with the UNWTO John has worked on the development and marketing of the Silk Road, and world-wide on recovery programmes – notably in Thailand following the 2004 tsunami – and on campaigns ranging from visas and freedom to travel to Air Passenger Duty. For over 10 years John has worked with Kenya Tourism Board on tourism development and crisis recovery – experience which he has put to good use from Trinidad to Bali. John has marketing and media training experience with major international companies such as Airbus, Shangri La Hotels and the One and Only Group. He writes for many national newspapers including ‘The Independent’ and ‘Mail on Sunday’ in the United Kingdom, ‘The Age’ in Australia and ‘La Razon’ in Spain.

Silvia Barbone is an international expert in sustainable tourism with an extensive knowledge of the European tourism, cultural and social policies, and the Lead Trainer in PM4SD®. She is the founder and the director of Jlag and FEST- Foundation for European Sustainable Tourism.

Silvia has worked as consultant and researcher for local and national governments in Europe and Mediterranean countries, planning and managing small and large-scale tourism projects in partnership with Universities, enterprises, and public authorities. Silvia is an experienced trainer in Project Management, Sustainable Tourism, and European Policies and Funding.

Recently, Silvia has developed the PM4SD® (Project Management for Sustainable Tourism) methodology and launched the European Summer School “Leadership and Governance for Sustainable Tourism” within the project “Training for European Sustainable Tourism”. In 2011, Silvia launched “Tourism Around Europe” a blog and a quarterly newsletter for competitive tourism in Europe.

Gavin Bell has more than 20 years direct practical experience in protected area management and sustainable tourism development. A focus of his expertise is community based tourism and working with both national and local stakeholders to bring real benefits on the ground as well as developing tourism products that promote the special qualities of diverse cultures.

In recent years he has carried out activities on behalf of a range of organisations such as UNDP, UNWTO, PAN Parks and the Council of Europe, with a primary focus on SE Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. He is currently a member of the IUCN World Commission for Protected Areas and is on the Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group. He acts an informal advisor to the UNWTO Silk Road Programme particularly in the area of community based tourism development.

Dr. Malcolm Cooper is Emeritus Professor at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu, Japan where he teaches tourism management and environmental law. Formerly Vice President for Internationalization and Research, he is a specialist in tourism resource management (natural, cultural, social) and tourism development, environmental and water resource management and environmental law, and has published widely in these fields.

He has lectured at the Universities of New England, Adelaide and Southern Queensland (Australia), and Waiariki Institute of Technology (New Zealand), and has worked in the environmental planning and tourism policy areas for Federal, State and Local Governments in Australia. At other times he has been both a private environmental planning consultant in Australia, and a tourism education consultant to the Governments of Sri Lanka, China and Vietnam. He is a recipient of the Australian Centennial medal and has published over 150 books and papers.

Daniela Cavini is a senior print and audio-visual journalist, with proven international experience in the field of information and communication and a specific expertise in media training. She left her newspaper desk in 1997: in the last 18 years she has engaged in media outreach and managed a number of communication projects working as EU Communication Officer in the Balkans (based in Sarajevo), North Africa (Tunis) and the Middle East (Amman).

She has proven expertise in EU Neighbourhood Cooperation, Cultural Heritage, Humanitarian Aid, Communication for Development. Daniela cooperates with private and public Institutions such as the University of Bologna or the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa for media and communication training of post-graduate students, project managers, EU Civil Protection experts.

She writes for the Italian national magazine “Sette” (Corriere della Sera) about cultural and social issues. Multilingual: fluent in English, French, Spanish and Serbo-Croatian

Şahap Aşıkoğlu is a tourism specialist with over 15 years of experience in tourism development, planning, field research, regional development (theoretical and also practical) in various capacities.

He has worked in North Cyprus and Turkey as a lecturer and an EU consultant in various establishments and projects. He is particularly experienced in first-hand knowledge of socio-political and cultural environment in Turkey, work culture of civil organizations and organisational behaviour. He designed strategic planning and action plan for tourism development/marketing/training, carried out needs assessment, project identification, formulation and development, project Cycle Management (PCM) and Logical Framework Approach (LFA), formulating work programs, staff deployment schedules, EU/PRAG procurement rules, data collection and analysis, and liaised within Turkish public sector - excellent understanding of the dynamics and parties involved.

He has been the under-secretary of Ministry of tourism and economics in North Cyprus for seven years. Şahap is a member of IPEMED (France-based organisation of world tourism experts).