After some topics remained open during the online discussion on 08.11.2020, we are now pleased to announce the second part.

Accompanying the photo exhibition, outdoor and adventure photographer Jana Erb (KontraPixel), travel expert Ovid Jacota and rehab republic activist Laura Zwick discuss whether it is possible to reconcile a sustainable lifestyle with the desire to travel. The central question here is: How can travel be designed in such a way that it has the least possible impact on future generations and our environment?

Hosted by: Bosco Gauting

Panelists:
Jana Erb – photographer
Ovid Jacota – expert for sustainable travel
Laura Zwick – rehab republic e.V.

Moderation:
Constantin Veitl

Jana Erb studied photo design at the FH Munich and has been working as a freelance photographer under the name KontraPixel since 2013. She is well versed in technical alpine and expedition style, but also moves minimalistically in a metropolitan environment. In addition to her reportages, she works as a journalist for several mountaineering magazines and does product photography for well-known outdoor manufacturers.

Ovid Jacota has 22 years of professional experience in the field of sustainable tourism. Until the end of 2019 he was managing director of the German market leader for sustainable slow-trekking holidays Hauser Exkursionen in Munich. Prior to that, he held a management position at Wikinger Reisen, which also specializes in hiking tours. Before studying tourism, Ovid Jacota spent five years working for the NGO “Feed the Children” in development aid. He has already travelled to more than 100 countries on five continents.

Laura Zwick is studying for a Master’s degree in Sustainable Resource Management at the TUM and has been working for rehab republic e.V. since October 2018. From the beginning of 2019 to the beginning of 2020 she was responsible for the project “Simply staying on the ground”. Within the project, people are motivated to travel sustainably or to refrain from air travel through different formats. Laura herself has also been living without air travel for almost 3 years.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Being and outdoor and landscape photographer I often find myself struggling with the consequences of my actions. Not only do I and my team travel areas and landscapes that would be better off without us. But also the pictures I take make people want to go out and search for adventure and beautiful, untouched nature. I can’t just say: ‘This is a sensitive planet, nature needs to be protected, better you  don‘t go there – but Hey, look how stunningly Beautiful it is!’ That is why I question myself and how I can justify MY actions to give a meaning to my work, that goes beyond the obvious. In the summer of 2019, I have launched the long term project

THIS IS NOT TO BE SEEN *by future generations

With that project, I plan on documenting climate change  and the influence it has on the people living in remote and rural areas. I like to think it‘s similar to a Polar bear in the  zoo. We don‘t want it to be there, but it kind of serves a greater purpose: we need the combined power of  emotions and knowledge to get out of our comfort zone and to the point, where we want to make a change. I hope my pictures start a conversation that – at some point – leads to action. It’s in our hands!

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

That’s what the Brundtland Report said back in 1987. Travel – especially air travel – has a not inconsiderable impact on climate change due to its emissions. And even beyond that, travel can have a significant impact on nature. The world is getting ‘smaller’, travel is becoming cheaper and places that were inaccessible and undeveloped not so long ago can suddenly be left behind on a weekend trip. Travel has become a status symbol of our generation and a matter of course. The consequences this has for the environment and also for the social structures in places that have suddenly become tourist hotspots cannot yet be fully foreseen. This creates a moral conflict, especially for people who are professionally involved in travel and tourism, as their actions encourage people to travel and thus endanger the landscapes and natural treasures they actually want to preserve. Accompanying the photo exhibition, outdoor and adventure photographer Jana Erb (KontraPixel), travel expert Ovid Jacota and rehab republic activist Laura Zwick discuss whether it is possible to reconcile a sustainable lifestyle with the desire to travel. The central question here is: How can travel be designed in such a way that it has the least possible impact on future generations and our environment?