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Traveling for a Passion and Finding a Universe of Friends (Michele Di Francesco, Starlight participant)

From 25^th to 29^th of September the first Summer school within the Starlight project took place in Razlog, Bulgaria.
The summer school was hosted by the National Business Development Network which is the Bulgarian partner in the project. 14 participants from Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy and Spain took part in the school. During the 5 days of the school the participants learned about entrepreneurship, customer care and the possibilities for development of Astrotourism in Bulgaria and Europe as a whole with the aim of supporting them to build their own career.

The participants were divided into 3 teams and each team had to develop its own business model of embedding dark skies observations for tourism purposes. Experienced tutors from the University of Economics Varna, the Astronomy Institute to the Bulgarian Academy of science and the National Astronomy Observatory in Rozhen helped them along the way.
On the 28^th of September a Multiplier event was held in Razlog, at which the Starlight project was presented to different stakeholders and where the 3 teams presented their business models.

European group of experts visits the German Rhön star park

You don’t have to be a millionaire to travel to the stars, because star parks all over the world invite you to visit the stars and offer a nocturnal natural phenomenon that can be experienced particularly beautifully in the Rhön. Reason enough for a group of experts of the European project STARLIGHT to visit the Rhön within the framework of a professional excursion from August 28 – 30, 2023 and to exchange ideas with local experts. Central questions: How can stargazing be better used as a tourist trend to draw attention to the consequences of light pollution on the environment and biodiversity? What new career opportunities arise from astrotourism?

The starry sky has fascinated and influenced mankind throughout the ages, but in many urban regions this experience of nature is hardly possible anymore. Nocturnal light sources such as streetlights, building lighting, spotlights and billboards not only deny a view of the celestial bodies, but also have a negative impact on animals, plants and human health. Therefore, in order to experience a starry sky in all its glory, more and more people are visiting places that provide an unobstructed view of the celestial bodies and the Milky Way. Astrotourism is in the process of establishing itself as a trendy tourist topic. 

STARLIGHT aims to raise awareness of the night sky

The European STARLIGHT project is dedicated to raising awareness about light pollution and providing information about the beauty of the night sky. In STARLIGHT, 92 thematically structured training units have been developed to qualify those interested in stargazing to develop tourist offers. This also includes qualification for astronomical guided tours and respectful interaction with nature. “The STARLIGHT program combines science-based education about the effects of light pollution with the acquisition of skills for tourist offers in the trendy topic of astrotourism,” says project manager Dr. Karin Drda-Kühn. She is the managing director of the non-profit institution “Kultur und Arbeit e.V.”, which was the only German partner to invite the European consortium to the Rhön. “There are already experiences in the Rhön that are exemplary throughout Europe,” says Drda-Kühn. In the exchange with tourism expert Silvia Hillenbrand from Rhön Tourism, the focus was on strategies in star tourism, target groups for tourism offers and the involvement of locals.  Star Park coordinator Sabine Frank inspired the European team of experts with a storybook tour of information and empathetic persuasion for the topic.