The tagline of STARS is, “Empowering & Creating new job opportunities”, conducted by FIFEDE from Spain, The International Institute of Tourism and Business under Yayasan Dharma Widya Ulangun (Bali, Indonesia), Solomon Island National Youth Congress (Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands) and Asociacion Desaplatanate (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain).

STARS Project aims to foster cooperation and exchange of astrotourism activity creation, improve quality of the youth work and develop a new non formal learning method: “Astroturism creation as a NFL youth empowerment (and skill development) tool”.

It will be described in STARS Tool Kit that will be accesible to everyone at the end of the project.

The youth workers and youngsters have already begun the work of collecting myths and legends of their islands that are related to stars and sky. The project starting by early 2022 will be developed during 2 years and counts with an European grant of 59.995 euros. STARS includes an international training in Bali, an evaluation meeting in the Canary Islands as well as multiple activities at local level to be developed in three partner countries.

The first international event of STARS will be held in Ubud, Bali (Indonesia) in the late of September 2022 and will bring together around 24 youth workers and youngsters from Spain (8 + 2), the Solomon Islands and Indonesia in order to discover tohgether the potential of astrotourism.

STARS will bring the young people attention to such activities as astro observation, star interpretation, night hikes, sunset hikes and link them to the myths using the richness of the local culture heritage in Bali, the Canary Islands and the Solomon Islands.

Why the rythm of life of the Balinese is dictated by the stars? Why nowadays the local indigenous people in the East Guadalcanal, the Solomon Islands believe that  if the sky is very clear with a lightning strike with thunder, a mother leatherback asks permission to give birth to eggs? Responses to these and other questions will be found in the STARS Tool Kit.

In order to assure a proper development STARS project is glad to count also with support of Community Based Tourism Association in Indonesia, Honiara Youth Council in the Solomon Islands and Tenerife island local government in Spain.

The project is continuation of previous worlwide youth projects coordinated by Spain in partnership with Indonesia and the Solomon Islands: “World Island Shake” developed in 2014 – 2016 and “STARS” that in 2016 – 2018, between other activities, gave the opportunity to young people to volunteer internationally during several months in the partner organisations