Voluntourism: A Starting Point
By David Clemmons
Reprinted with permission from www.voluntourism.org
It is difficult to discern the truth as to who can use the assistance more: travelers or the residents of the communities to which we travel. The good news is that both parties can benefit from voluntourism.
Uppermost in our minds as voluntourists and practitioners of voluntourism must be honoring the fact that service is reciprocal. This will be so, if, and only if, our attitude is in alignment with the notion that we, too, are in need.About 13 years ago, I attended a symposium at which the keynote speaker was Marianne Williamson. She walked out to the podium and stood before the group. Through my personal filters, this is what I heard her say in her opening remarks: “All that I have, all that I have accomplished, I owe it all to one thing: meditation.”
I thumbed through the brochure and noted that this was a woman who had written critically acclaimed books, was well-recognized for her speaking ability, had been featured in numerous magazines and interviews, and simply emanated success, sincerity, and common decency.
“And she just said that all of these things came through meditation… count me in.”
Since then, I have made the effort to meditate every day. What can I tell you that I have realized during that period? What kernel of wisdom can I pass along?
There is only one point on the meditation continuum and that is the “starting” point. This is the point at which you make the determination that meditation is something that you plan to in-corporate into your life practice. There is no other point beyond it - as far as I have determined.
And so it is that we come to VolunTourism—a “starting” point, for some, on the journey of discovering that which is within and beyond oneself.
How Can Travel Planners Get Started with Voluntourism:
There may be as many VolunTourism programs around the world as there are colleges and universities; what type of program will best suit your audience?
It may sound like a take off on “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” but you want to make certain that you identify programs that do not represent an extreme in any one element of the itinerary—particularly as it relates to the voluntary service aspect. You want the service projects to be...
•Not too short, nor too long;
•Not too strenuous, yet strenuous
enough;
•Not too hot, but not too cold, etc.
Identifying a project that will fit well within the parameters of the desires of your clientele, therefore, is fundamental to your success. Likely you will outsource the logistics of these trips to either nonprofit organizations or tour operators--—depending upon such things as:
1. Whether you want your travelers to benefit from potential tax advantages. (Such advantages may or may not be available depending on your country of origin and the tax codes applicable there.)
2. How much liability you want to assume. (Tour operators, for instance, may have more robust insurance payouts and coverages than nonprofits.)
3. How much of the experience will be focused upon volunteering versus tourism. (This may be determined by the institution you represent-; religious and sectarian colleges, for example, may lean more toward service, whereas public institutions may focus more on travel and tourism elements.)
4. Whether you are trying to target your voluntourism initiative to a younger alumni contingent or a more mature alumni market. (Nonprofits may be the preference of younger alumni whereas the mature audience may prefer the tour operator.)
When you feel that you are clear about what you want, you may decide to review the volunteer and service-learning programs of other colleges and universities. The University of California Berkeley is setting an example as a public institution advancing this approach. Notre Dame is a good example of a sectarian school that is engaging in this type of travel.
Once you have selected a voluntourism program that you feel will meet the goals and objectives of your travelers, you are ready to explore how to address trip preparation, implementation, and evaluation andmodification of the adventure. These are things with which you are already familiar and should have no difficulty in incorporating the service elements into the evaluation process.
For additional resources, look to archives of The VolunTourist newsletter, which is available at www.voluntourism.org. Should you have in-depth questions about how to approach voluntourism as a travel planner, feel free to contact David Clemmons at 619-434-6230 or voluntourism@voluntourism.org.
David Clemmons, Founder of Voluntourism.org, assists ETC in planning and overseeing its voluntourism conference programming. This article is reprinted from Volume 3, Issue 3 of “The VolunTourist”™ with permission. “The VolunTourist” is a premium newsletter for the travel trade. This is the source for those interested in discovering what is happening in the world of voluntoirsm and seeking emerging practices, general information, and case studies.
Comments
Leave a comment |
