Page 70 - Microsoft Word - Guiding light final version 0822 1306.doc

Ros. In Scotland and the rest of the UK, training took around 1200 hours and included a great deal of practical training, whereas in Greece it was 3000 hours with little practical training and in Austria it was 500 hours. Eventually, a compromise was reached of 600 hours of which at least 40 per cent must be practical training. The Scottish Blue Badge and Green Badge courses comply with the standard.’ Much of the actual wording of the standard was written by Ros and Tom as mother tongue English speakers also assisted by the fact that Tom was trained as a lawyer. The WFTGA also adopted the standard in 2007 even though it only applies to Europe.
Ros was elected to the Executive Board in 2005 and appointed Vice President.
A new Regional Training Centre was set up in Cyprus with the first course taking place from 24 June to 4 July 2005. Shortly thereafter the centre was raised to International Training Centre and Viola Lewis (nee Lier) attended the first WFTGA Train the Trainer Course in January 2006. She went on to become the STGA Training Manager, the FEG Training Convener and Head of the WFTGA Training Division. Since then the WFTGA has offered Hands On Tourist Guiding (HOT) and Train the Trainer Courses in two International Training Centres in Cyprus and Armenia and also offers training around the world. This has been particularly effective in countries where tourism is still developing in Asia, Eastern Europe, Oceania and South America. In addition, the WFTGA offers specialised courses for tourist guides working in the cruise industry and on the Silk Road. Most training is funded with the support of national and international tourism bodies and governments.
In 2007 Ros was elected President and served for six years until 2013, being awarded an OBE in 2010 for Services to Tourism. This role also enhanced the reputation of the STGA as a leader in tourist guide professionalism and many governments and authorities wished to emulate the Scottish Blue Badge training system. Even Prince Charles said: ‘I think you guides are really important” as he pinned on Ros’s medal!’
Scottish BBG Pat Blain was co-opted in 2008 onto the WFTGA Board of Directors. Two years earlier Viola Lewis (nee Lier), then a STGA Board Member, had attended the WFTGA Train the Trainer Course and had become the first new National WFTGA Trainer in Scotland after Iris Barry, who trained in 1998. Viola passed her exam to become an International WFTGA Trainer in Cairo in 2007. Viola prioritised her work as STGA Training Manager and didn’t immediately start to train internationally. In 2010, after having delivered a course in Cyprus, Viola was made a Lead International Trainer.
After helping on the 2003 Dunblane Convention committee, Mary Kemp Clarke spent several years as a WFTGA Area Representative for Latin America and later became the Area Rep Coordinator for the WFTGA. In 2008 she also became one of the few WFTGA Lead International Trainers, having done her course in the Cyprus Regional Centre in order to enhance her skills to work as a trainer in Scotland. Ros also became a Lead International Trainer in 2014 after retiring as the WFTGA President.
Mary was voted WFTGA Vice President at the WFTGA Convention in Tehran in 2017. After graduating in archaeology at Glasgow University for several years she was a freelance archaeologist, excavating, directing and writing about Scottish sites and objects. Her other talents include being an illustrator and former Sangstream singer. Mary is fully bilingual in Spanish and English, having grown up and lived in Buenos Aires for 20 years, nurturing both Latin and Celtic roots. She completed the Blue Badge qualification from the Scottish Tourist Guides Association (STGA) in 1999 and rapidly became involved on the STGA National Board (twice) and as Chairman of the Edinburgh and SE Scotland Branch. As a FEG trainer since 2009, Mary was also on the initial FEG Training Consultative Group. In Scotland she has trained tourist guides towards professional qualifications since 2001 and is a former Course Director for the Scottish Blue Badge courses.
Mary said: ‘The Standard Definition of a Tour Guide is now not only a European Standard but it is also an International Standard EN13809:2003 / ISO18513:2003 - a very important landmark for professional Tour Guides and formulated, developed and brought into being by many experienced guides, our own STGA ones too. Mary says that the UK Blue Badge is held in high esteem around the world though ironically not so well in the UK.
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