rss
05-02-2014, 02:00 AM
The Reality of Voluntourism: Change Takes More Than Good Intentions
http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE0LzA1LzAxL2Q1L1ZvbHVudG91cmlzLmI3MjVkLmpwZw pwCXRodW1iCTU3NXgzMjMjCmUJanBn/ba0d9416/48b/Voluntourism.jpghttp://rack.3.mshcdn.com/assets/feed-tw-df3e816c4e85a109d6e247013aed8d66.jpg (http://twitter.com/share?via=Mashable&text=The+Reality+of+Voluntourism%3A+Change+Takes+M ore+Than+Good+Intentions&src=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2014%2F05%2F01%2Fv oluntourism-debate%2F%3Futm_campaign%3DMash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial%26utm_cid%3DMash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3Drss)htt p://rack.1.mshcdn.com/assets/feed-fb-fdab25e3700868c9621fb03b7fd07c38.jpg (http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2014%2F05 %2F01%2Fvoluntourism-debate%2F%3Futm_campaign%3DMash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial%26utm_cid%3DMash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3Drss&src=sp)
A much-needed debate about voluntourism is taking off on the web. It includes voices from the industry, academics, travel professionals, and volunteers themselves. From “The White Tourist’s Burden (http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/4/volunter-tourismwhitevoluntouristsafricaaidsorphans.html)” to “Lions, Zebras, and African Children (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pippa-biddle/lions-zebras-and-african-_b_5192989.html),” at the heart of these stories is the **tion of inexperienced volunteers who use their privilege to go abroad for their own egos, and who are doing more harm than good on the ground.
The critiques are valid: I’ve seen many of the examples cited in the debate too many times in the field. From crumbling libraries to brothel rescues gone wrong, good intentions can create a lot of problems for communities. In fact, I can list many times where things went wrong and far fewer times when things actually worked out the way we initially planned. Read more... (http://mashable.com/2014/05/01/voluntourism-debate/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss)
More about Volunteer (http://mashable.com/category/volunteer/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss), Tourism (http://mashable.com/category/tourism/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss), Social Good (http://mashable.com/social-good/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss), World (http://mashable.com/world/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss), and Lifestyle (http://mashable.com/lifestyle/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss)http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Mashable/~4/wZffnU5yY1U
http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE0LzA1LzAxL2Q1L1ZvbHVudG91cmlzLmI3MjVkLmpwZw pwCXRodW1iCTU3NXgzMjMjCmUJanBn/ba0d9416/48b/Voluntourism.jpghttp://rack.3.mshcdn.com/assets/feed-tw-df3e816c4e85a109d6e247013aed8d66.jpg (http://twitter.com/share?via=Mashable&text=The+Reality+of+Voluntourism%3A+Change+Takes+M ore+Than+Good+Intentions&src=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2014%2F05%2F01%2Fv oluntourism-debate%2F%3Futm_campaign%3DMash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial%26utm_cid%3DMash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3Drss)htt p://rack.1.mshcdn.com/assets/feed-fb-fdab25e3700868c9621fb03b7fd07c38.jpg (http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2014%2F05 %2F01%2Fvoluntourism-debate%2F%3Futm_campaign%3DMash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial%26utm_cid%3DMash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3Drss&src=sp)
A much-needed debate about voluntourism is taking off on the web. It includes voices from the industry, academics, travel professionals, and volunteers themselves. From “The White Tourist’s Burden (http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/4/volunter-tourismwhitevoluntouristsafricaaidsorphans.html)” to “Lions, Zebras, and African Children (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pippa-biddle/lions-zebras-and-african-_b_5192989.html),” at the heart of these stories is the **tion of inexperienced volunteers who use their privilege to go abroad for their own egos, and who are doing more harm than good on the ground.
The critiques are valid: I’ve seen many of the examples cited in the debate too many times in the field. From crumbling libraries to brothel rescues gone wrong, good intentions can create a lot of problems for communities. In fact, I can list many times where things went wrong and far fewer times when things actually worked out the way we initially planned. Read more... (http://mashable.com/2014/05/01/voluntourism-debate/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss)
More about Volunteer (http://mashable.com/category/volunteer/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss), Tourism (http://mashable.com/category/tourism/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss), Social Good (http://mashable.com/social-good/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss), World (http://mashable.com/world/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss), and Lifestyle (http://mashable.com/lifestyle/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss)http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Mashable/~4/wZffnU5yY1U