Category Archives: humanitarian action

travel is a human right

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globe…Tourism and travel together has proven to be such a resilient industry that nothing is going to stop it. This has become a fact. It may be halted in certain destinations for a short period of time. But if these destinations are well established in the tradition of receiving people and have the right infrastructure and the right expertise then in the immediate and long term it comes back even stronger than it was. This has been our experience in many, many destinations all over the world. There is no stopping to this movement of people. I believe travel has become a human right. People are not going to stop traveling. They may alter their plans, they may postpone them a bit here and there, but the phenomena of traveling at the international level is going to continue to grow… No destination under the sun is immune from being affected or attacked. If not by a man-made terrorist or security related matter, then by a natural disaster. No place in the world is immune from this. I can challenge anybody to name me any place that tells me it’s impossible to have it. No place can claim to be 100% safe and secure. This is a fact. There’s never been anyhow. Does that mean that we stop traveling, we stop living as human beings, stop celebrating beauty of of life and the enjoyment that travel brings and the benefits that travel brings through it? We should never, ever do this…

In a nutshell, I’m not worried about the travel and tourism industry. I’m concerned about the lives of people and security of people, of course. We need to be concerned about security of travel. We have to put it at the heart of our objective. Security doesn’t mean we don’t travel. Do not travel or reduced travel is not an answer, it’s not an option.

— Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization, in an interview with Skift on August 29, 2016

World Tourism Day is September 27 each year, as designated by the United Nations General Assembly, and is meant to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value. The celebration also seeks to highlight tourism’s potential to contribute to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), addressing some of the most pressing challenges society is faced with today. The lead agency for the day is the UN World Tourism Organization.

In case you are wondering why I care so much about this particular day: I’m an avid traveler. I want to use my privilege to see different parts of the world, whether that’s something around the globe from me or in the next county. Travel gives me hope in humanity, because of the incredible kindness I experience. Travel gives me a sense of wonder, because of the incredible natural beauty and human-made marvels I see. Travel gives me a sense of brotherhood with all humans, because of the various representations of history I encounter. I want all people to get to experience this, particularly women. And the economic benefits to local communities regarding tourism are real and something I very much want to support.

Also see adventure tourism as a tool for economic & community development by me! This is a resource for those that like to explore developing countries / low infrastructure environments, as well as offering more about why I make travel a priority in my life.

Spontaneous “online volunteers” after disasters

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When a big news story or disaster strikes, the result can be hundreds, even thousands, of people contacting organizations to offer help, including potential online volunteers. It could be a natural disaster, an act of violence, or a particular issue suddenly becoming the hot item on the news. A nonprofit organization, NGO, school, or other organization could suddenly be swamped with emails and phone calls from people who want to help in some way online.

Of course it’s appropriate for your organization to encourage these spontaneous online volunteering candidates to make an emergency financial donation to the organization — and be explicit about exactly what this money will be used for. But in addition, you should think about ways these spontaneous online volunteering candidates could engage in other activities to benefit your organization in a crisis situation:

  • Put up a page on your web site specifically for these people thanking them for wanting to help in this time of crisis or intense attention. Outline on that page all of the ways they can help your organization both as donors and online volunteers. Direct them to other organizations if there are ways to volunteer at these organizations in some way.
  • Encourage these spontaneous online volunteering candidates to subscribe to your email newsletter, your blog, your FaceBook account and/or your Twitter feed, wherever you are posting photos online, etc., to stay up-to-date on what your organization is doing to address whatever issue or circumstance is occurring.
  • Encourage them to repost your messages to their own blogs, their own status updates on online social networking sites, etc., to educate their friends and colleagues about what is happening. Direct them to where to find information about the online volunteering activities you have available.
  • Encourage them to write you if they see misinformation online about your organization and its work in this crisis situation.
  • Set up a YahooGroup or GoogleGroup only for these potential online volunteers, and tell them online volunteering opportunities will be announced on this group as soon as they become available. You could use the group to brainstorm with these potential online volunteers what activities they could undertake for your organization.

Some things these spontaneous online volunteers could do regarding this crisis or immediate high-profit situation:

  • Translate some of your existing web site material, flyers, blogs, Facebook status updates or new information into another language
  • Translate texts or blog comments coming into your organization from another language into English, so you can read and respond to such.
  • Monitor media reports and bring certain articles or information to your immediate attention.
  • Monitor online communities and blogs and bring certain information, and even misinformation, to your immediate attention (more on how to deal with misinformation).
  • Research what other organizations are doing that your organization might need to urgently know about, such as projects that are mapping eyewitness/on-the-ground reports of critical needs. For instance, following the Haiti Earthquake, OpenStreetMap created a crisis mapping project, mobilizing highly skilled online volunteers to layer up-to-the-minute data, such as the location of new field hospitals and downed bridges, onto post-quake satellite imagery. This data was made freely available by for-profit companies including GeoEye and DigitalGlobe. The digital cartography — informed by everything from Tweets to eyewitness reports — helped aid workers speed food, water and medicine to where it was needed most.
  • Create a smart phone application that is urgently needed. CrisisCamp mobilized hundreds of online and onsite volunteers in Washington, DC; London, England; Mountain View, California; and elsewhere to build and refine a variety of tech tools needed after the Earthquake in Haiti, including a basic Creole-English dictionary for the iPhone to help aid.

These are not just nice things for online volunteers to do in a crisis; they are critical services. Depending on the mission of your organization, you might want to consider including how to deal with spontaneous online volunteering candidates in your crisis communications plans.

The above information is from the revised Virtual Volunteering Guidebook, which will be published later in 2013.

Adventure tourism as a tool for economic & community development

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I’m passionate about travel – not just as something for myself, positive effects of tourism on economies and travelers (especially women) alike. The positive effects of tourism, or tourism for development, is something that has been of interest to me for several years, and something I continually research on my own, when I can find the time to do so.

Personally, I’m most fond of adventure travel: going to a location that offers basic accommodations (camping, hostels, in-home stays), food and cultural events unique to that area, and some activity or location that can best be enjoyed by hiking, kayaking, white-water rafting, bicycling, touring by motorcycle or horseback, etc.

The 2012 Adventure Travel World Summit was held in Switzerland in October (2013’s will be in Namibia). I would so love to go to one of these! (alas, no funds). When leaders of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), WWF International and Google addressed more than 600 tourism industry professionals during this year’s summit, a common refrain emerged: adventure travel as an economic driver, as a force of sustainable development and one that delivers to travelers transformative experiences in nature, culture and active travel. More about the summit here.

UNWTO and the Adventure Travel Trade Association, a global organization dedicated to responsibly growing the adventure travel market, have even announced a new partnership concerning global sustainable tourism development.

As both an adventure traveler and someone with experience in UN and other development initiatives, I would so love to be involved in this partnership somehow. Perhaps this blog might get someone’s attention?

Also see these resources I’ve developed that relate to tourism development:

Also see these organizations and individuals that tweet regarding tourism for good / for economic development.

For those that want to help those affected by Sandy

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For all of you wanting to volunteer to help people affected by Hurricane Sandy, and all of you wanting to donate clothing, food, or other things to help those affected by Sandy, please see these two resources ASAP:

Volunteering To Help After Major Disasters

Donating Things Instead of Cash or Time (In-Kind Contributions)

Let’s give the REAL help that’s needed – or get out of the way and let those who know how to help do their jobs!

 

So many young people

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Youth bulge: Almost 40 percent of the global population is under 24; over one billion people – one in five people – are aged 15-24; in one third of the world’s countries, more than 60 percent of the population is under 30; and 85 percent of the world’s youth live in the developing world. “Youth are a dominant demographic reality… a reality that demands urgent focus and consideration, especially in our development plans,” William Lacy Swing, director-general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), told the conference.

“Without investments early on, youth remain trapped in situations of poverty and dependency, and are easily co-opted into criminality, social conflict, and patterns of inter-generational violence.”

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Participants also stressed the need to better engage youth in humanitarian aid. “People under-estimate the capacity of youth,” said Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and a UN Messenger of Peace. “How is it that we give them so little role in setting the global development agenda or helping find new routes to ending political conflicts that deplete our energy and resources?”

In defense of skills over passion

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I say this regularly on various online groups, and I’ll say it again here: your desire to help others, or your desire to travel, or your ambition, are not enough to make a difference in the lives of the poor and vulnerable in other countries.

In addition, people do not get to be stock brokers, doctors, architects or lawyers just because they want to; for most professions, you have to also work over many years to acquire the skills and expertise needed. Why would working in international development?

And don’t people in developing countries deserve people with skills and expertise, not just people with a big heart?

I’m not disparaging people with big hearts – but I believe that it’s much more beneficial and economical to local communities in poor countries to hire local people to serve food, build houses, educate young people, etc., than to use resources to bring in an outside volunteers to do these tasks. I believe the priority for sending volunteers to developing countries should be to fill gaps in local skills and experience, not to give the volunteer an outlet for his or her desire to help or the donor country good PR – that doesn’t mean I think all volunteering by unskilled people should be banned, but it does mean that that such volunteering shouldn’t be the priority in helping people in the developing world.

So, on that note, I really liked this blog by Marianne Elliott, Why Your Passion Is Not Enough:

My point is that passion, perseverance and innovation are sometimes highlighted at the expense of professionalism… much more than passion is needed in order to make a positive difference in the world… Just as passionate persistence without professional skills won’t get you a part in The Hobbit, good intentions without professional skill won’t result in doing the good you intend.

April 20, 2018 update: Here is a blog by Jasmin Blessing, a UN Volunteer with UN Women in Ecuador. It is a really nice example of what effective volunteering abroad looks like.

Also see:

The realities of voluntourism: use with caution

Reality Check: Volunteering Abroad

Volunteering To Help After Major Disasters.

How to Make a Difference Internationally/Globally/in Another Country Without Going Abroad

Ideas for Funding Your Volunteering Abroad Trip.

How to Get a Job with the United Nations or Other International Humanitarian or Development Organization

transire benefaciendo: “to travel along while doing good.”

Motorcycles in Development / Aid / Relief & Volunteer Efforts

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Motorcycles for good? Indeed! This web page tracks the use of motorcycles in development / aid / relief / humanitarian efforts in developing countries. This isn’t so much about volunteers going to developing countries and using motorcycles for relief efforts; rather, these efforts are more about training local people to ride and service motorcycles themselves as a part of such efforts, which not only helps get aid, including medicine, where it needs to go, but also helps create small businesses.

Are you an individual, or part of a group, that wants to travel and do good (transire benefaciendo) via motorcycle? You have several options for helping either domestically (in your own country), or abroad (in another country), but note that it will take planning before your trip, as well as a lot of coordination in the weeks and days leading up to your on-the-road activities. This web page, transire benefaciendo, will help you coordinate such an efort. See in particular the section on Volunteering On Your Own Abroad. Also see this page on Finding Community Service and Volunteering for Groups, as well as the links at the bottom of that page.

I haven’t been to a developing country on my own motorcycle yet, but I’m working up to it:

Road into Garnet Ghost Town 2010

Of course, everyone knows Expat Aid Workers love motorcycles.

Tags: motorcycles, motorcycle, bikes, bikers, motos, travel, volunteer, volunteering, outreach, collaboration, community, engagement, international, community, service, help, helping, NGOs, nonprofits, INGOs, Africa, Asia, South America, abroad, good, work, assisting

People not following-through on volunteering in disasters

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The state of Queensland, Australia suffered from horrific floods in December 2010 and January 2011. Thousands of Australians expressed interest in volunteering, inundating volunteer centers and online message boards.

Recently, Volunteering Queensland offered this Submission to Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry, which said, in part:

QUEENSLAND’S peak volunteer organisation says the vast majority of people who registered to help clean up following the floods and cyclone Yasi backed off at the last minute.

Some people backed out because they realized this was a real commitment of time, and they couldn’t make that real commitment. Some dropped out because they could not donate a significant amount of time – an hour or two when you might have some time eventually is usually not enough for such a situation. Some backed out because they really were not prepared to volunteer (they hadn’t set up child care, time off from work, transportation, etc.).

Seasoned volunteer managers, of course, aren’t surprised. Even in a non-disaster situation, we have come to expect at least 50 percent of people who express interest in volunteering to drop out. That’s why many volunteer managers, including myself, insist on at least a bit of screening before a volunteer is placed into an assignment, so that drop outs happen in the screening process, not after the assignment is given and we’re counting on those volunteers.

Martin Cowling has done a great blog about this Queensland report, and I encourage you to head over to it, read it, read the comments (yes, I’ve commented there) and respond yourself.

Here is a resource I created following the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, Volunteering To Help After Major Disasters, which I’ve regularly updated at least monthly every since, per the over-whelming number of posts to places like YahooAnswers by people who want to volunteer following a disaster (earthquake, hurricane, tornado, tropical storm, flood, tsunami, oil spill, zombies, etc.). It’s become one of the most popular pages on my web site, despite being posted as almost an after-thought and being focused on people that the majority of my web site is not focused on (it’s not even linked from my home page!).

Tags: volunteering, volunteers, relief, disaster, response, spontaneous, episodic, microvolunteer, microvolunteering. communications, public relations, engagement, engage, community, nonprofit, NGO, not-for-profit, government, outreach, staff, employees, civil society, floods, tornadoes

 

Helping left behind animals in Japan

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I have been riveted by the Facebook status updates of Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support (JEARS), whose volunteers are trying to help the many animals left behind following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Some of the animals are homeless or abandoned because their owners are now dead. Some are in this situation because their owners are not allowed to have them wherever they are living now. The stories of animals reunited with their families brings a tear every time. If you speak Japanese and can be entirely self-funded (taking care of your transportation and food and at least some accommodation), you would be welcomed onsite to help with JEARS. Otherwise, the best way you can help is with a financial donation.

JEARS is one of those organizations that gets Facebook, that understands you have to publish regularly with updates that help people understand you are doing great work — not just endless posts about the donations you need or something you are selling.

And on that note: animal shelters in tornado-stricken areas of the USA are facing dire straights. They need money, they need food donations (and donors need to bring it onsite to them – they CANNOT come get it), they need donations of washing machines, they need bedding, and they need people to adopt or foster abandoned dogs and cats. The shelters serving these areas are easy to find on Google.

ICTs & Disaster Response – Roundup

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Some terrific resources have come my way over the last few months regarding information communications technologies (ICTs) and disaster response / humanitarian efforts. Here’s a roundup:

Disaster Relief 2.0 – The Future of Information Sharing in Humanitarian Emergencies
The report analyzes how the humanitarian community and the emerging volunteer and technical communities worked together in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and recommends ways to improve coordination between these two groups in future emergencies.

Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC)
CDAC is a cross-cluster service working to enable humanitarian operations to get information to those populations affected by Haiti’s January 12 2010 earthquake and its aftermath and to channel their voices back to the providers of assistance working with local media and non-mass-media communications. CDAC uses various information and communication methods in an effort to act as a source of expertise and advice, a community of practice, and an advocacy platform that aims at ensuring that the humanitarian sector mainstreams CDAC and that local media play a role in maximising aid effectiveness, accountability, and transparency.

Left in the Dark: The Unmet Need for Information in Humanitarian Responses
This October 2008 policy briefing from the BBC World Service Trust explores the value of providing information and communication to disaster-affected populations by drawing on the example of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster – where, as stated here, the greatest dissatisfaction of the victims was over the poor information flow. “The humanitarian system as it stands is not equipped with either the capacity or the resources to begin tackling the challenge of providing information to those affected by crises. There is very little dedicated public communications capacity within major humanitarian organisations.”

infoasaid 
infoasaid seeks to improve how aid agencies communicate with disaster-affected communities. The emphasis is on the need to deliver not just material supplies in times of crisis but, rather, information – defined here as aid itself. Amongst its actions: infoasaid is producing a library of generic key messages (with some tailoring for local context) to be conveyed to the affected populations during an emergency.

ICT for Disaster Risk Reduction
This set of case studies explores the ways in which information and communication technology (ICT) has positively impacted the various phases of disaster management. The document highlights the different digital technologies and their use to reduce disaster risks. The need for journalism and media development is also recognised. This is from the Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development, but isn’t focused only on Asia and Pacific countries.

10 things aid workers can learn from Haiti about urban disasters
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) office brings together to UK’s largest humanitarian agencies to fundraise after major disasters. The report looks at the world through post-Haiti glasses to pick out other cities with similar geographical and social vulnerabilities. The report points to the importance of disaster risk reduction and preparedness work – as well as agencies’ own continuity planning. ALNAP has a nice blog about the report.

A large NGO donated their security policy and protocols to OpenSecurityDocs. The name of the NGO has been taken out to make it more general for other NGOs. Here is the document. You are invited to donate your security documents for the benefit of other NGOs to this initiative as well. Per your direction, references to your organization can be taken out before your resource is published on the OpenSecurityDocs site. 

Where do I find these resources? Often, via the Communications Initiative. I try to read their email update once-a-week, because I often find resources that help me in my work regarding communictions and community engagement for nonprofits, NGOs, international development agencies and others.

I also find them via who I follow on Twitter. Some recent tweets on the subject of ICTs & Disaster Response that got my attention:

Q: Are crisismappers bound by same accountability frameworks as humanitarian aid workers? A: Unclear, need to explore http://t.co/axAVL1W

[Video] An inside look at the Japanese #RedCross response to the March 11 #earthquake & #tsunami: http://ow.ly/52sCJ

New photos from #Haiti show us the continuing rebuilding efforts around Port-au-Prince. http://ow.ly/51px2 #RedCross

And don’t forget: I’m always looking for examples of how folklore, rumors (or rumours) and urban myths / urban legends interfere with relief and development activities, and government initiatives, and, even better, how these have been addressed. What you send may end up on this web page.

Tags: communications, public relations, engagement, engage, community, nonprofit, NGO, not-for-profit, government, outreach, innovation, non-traditional, innovative, staff, employees, volunteers, civil society, social media, technology, ICTs, Internet, network, smartphones, cell phones