May 17
Homelessness is a very evident, and very visible problem in the United States. It is not unusual to pass by a homeless man sitting on the side of the street on your way to work, or to see a whole crowd of sleeping men while running through the park. The hard truth is that after …
Feb 29
I am always (and I mean always) struggling with ideas for creative gifts for holidays and birthdays. It seems that your boyfriend’s mother, or your next-door neighbor, or your new boss always bring the greatest stress when thinking up an appropriate present. I have the hardest time because I am so strictly opposed to giving …
Nov 16
Last night was a significant moment in college basketball history. Mike Krzyzewski, dubbed “Coach K” by his Cameron Crazie faithful, reached 903 wins and passed Bobby Knight to become the all-time leader in wins among NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches. This achievement is just another feather in the cap in K’s long and illustrious …
Oct 28
Over the summer I gave a webinar presentation about the positive and negative aspects of voluntourism (you can watch the video here or read the summary here, in case you missed it!), and today I would like to discuss the other side of voluntourism. Namely, what to do after you’ve gone on a voluntourism trip …
Sep 16
Today, I was forwarded a Youtube clip from a friend only titled “Greenpeace”. While I was expecting a video of protesters waving signs on a dingy boat out in the Aleutian Islands, I instead got a cacophony of foul language and brief clips of international people on telephones. I had no idea what where it …
Aug 22
A few weeks ago Tourism Concern, a UK-based non-profit focused on ethical tourism and travel, announced that they will soon be launching Gap Year and International Volunteering Standard (GIVS). GIVS is a voluntourism standardization program that will ensure that voluntourism companies are regulated and are a benefit to the destination communities. As you may recall …
Aug 17
Vivimos en un mundo con desigualdades económicas, divididos entre los países “desarrollados” y los en vía de desarrollo, el Norte y el Sur. Como ciudadanos del mundo, reaccionamos con estás desigualdades económicas de diferente manera. Naciones desarrolladas y sus ciudadanos muchas veces sienten “la responsabilidad del hombre blanco” (para citar el poema de Kipling). Para …
Jul 04
Since this is a holiday weekend, I thought I would post something a bit more lighthearted: a Youtube video about voluntourism and sustainable travel in Laos. Voluntourism, or volunteer tourism, has gained a lot of popularity in recent years as tourists search for ways to have a unique vacation experience and give back to the …
Jun 21
Leer la versión en Español Scarcity or inequality? We live in a world with economic inequalities, divided between the “developed” and the “developing” countries, the North and the South. As citizens of the world, we deal with those economic inequalities in different ways. Developed nations and individuals feel the need to carry on with the …
Jun 20
On May 31st USAID announced a partnership with IBM and CDC Development Solutions, an NGO that focuses on international corporate volunteerism (ICV), which USAID believes will make ICV more effective and sustainable. The partnership spawned a new agency: The Center of Excellence for International Corporate Volunteerism (CEICV), which will be funded by USAID, IBM, and …
