Travel Education: Creating Meaningful Travel with Responsible Travelers
Meaningful Travel
Have you ever thought back to the most impactful learning experiences you had as a child? Chances are you can recall the feeling or sense of discovery that came from learning something new. That feeling of surprise and delight may be far more rooted in the experience itself than the words or topic at hand.
Travel is one of those experiences that can bring endless possibilities for the type of transformative learning that becomes a part of our bones. Visiting a new place, learning about an unfamiliar group of people, or putting ourselves in others’ shoes are just a few of the ways that travel effectively shifts how we see ourselves in the world.
On this International Day of Education, RISE Travel Institute shares the vision of an equitable and interconnected world.
When stepping beyond our individual worldview, the experiences of others can come to light. We find our common ground when we share the challenges and triumphs that make us human.
We see what might be possible, when before it felt impossible.
And those discoveries are available to people of all ages, from the kindergarten student going to the zoo for the first time to the seventy-year-old grandpa watching a video about Thailand for the first time.
More travelers navigating the world means that more people have the opportunity to learn about one another in a way that supports an invigorating impact. Divisions can be healed. Harms can be repaired. A new, equitable future can emerge.
Transformative Learning Experiences at RISE
UNESCO established the International Day of Education “in celebration of the role of education for peace and development.”
“Transforming the future requires an urgent rebalancing of our relationships with each other, with nature as well as with technology that permeates our lives, bearing breakthrough opportunities while raising serious concerns for equity, inclusion and democratic participation” (UNESCO, 2021).
There is no group of people more dedicated to this mission than K-12 teachers. RISE Travel Institute is thrilled and proud to be embarking on a course designed for K-12 teachers to reinvigorate their passion for teaching while preparing their students for local, international, and digital travel experiences. Teachers will be led through several topics designed to catalyze the reflection and planning of field trips and travel experiences with their students that create a positive impact on local and global communities.
One topic RISE K-12 teachers will study is “voluntourism,” or “international volunteerism,” which can perpetuate harmful economic systems and the idea of Western saviorhood. On a short-term volunteer trip, volunteers typically pay their own way, and may receive room and board in exchange for volunteer work. Work can vary between childcare in an orphanage to building projects to marketing. While short-term volunteer projects have a place in international development, travelers must take care to engage in activities that do not end up causing more harm. For example, volunteering in orphan care centers abroad may lead to children being trafficked from their homes in order to be used in the profitable adoption or orphanage industries. Equipping teachers who lead these types of groups with the skillset and knowledge to make informed decisions will have an immeasurable impact.
Setting Goals for Sustainability, Equity, and Ethical Travel
The UN Sustainable Development Goals provide a tangible framework that drives the global journey toward equity. One way to bring this positive impact to bear is through long-term organizational goals, carefully crafted through the lenses of ensuring health and well-being, eradicating oppressive structures and systems, and improving the longevity of the planet we call home.
RISE Travel Institute has established organizational goals to steer toward the mission “to inspire responsible, impactful, sustainable, and ethical travel through education.” Each of RISE Travel Institute’s organizational goals are also connected to one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Because each RISE Trave Institute course is created directly from these goals, programs like the K-12 Teacher Training Program will directly impact the individuals most likely to lead and create travel experiences for others, inspiring the types of shifts that will increase the health and wellbeing of our global community.
Our Homework
The first of the RISE Travel Institute organizational goals is to inspire behavioral change that leads to sustainable travel.
Travel offers the opportunity to walk alongside one another in our human journey. However, the tourism industry has historically perpetuated patterns of travel behavior that cause harm to local communities. Overconsumption, pollution, human trafficking, and damage to resources have made life unsustainably harder for the very communities that have come to rely on tourism for their livelihoods.
The good news? A traveler with a holistic approach can create positive change in the world.
Before stepping foot on the school bus, plane, train, ship, or car that will bring us to our destination, we can ask:
Who will receive the money I spend on this trip?
What are the cultural expectations I need to know?
What is the history of the people I will visit?
How can I participate without causing harm?
Who is the one telling the stories I have heard about this place?
The RISE Travel Institute Flagship Program, a comprehensive certificate program piloted in 2021 and launched in 2022, provides key learning experiences that will address these types of questions and more. The course is designed with a systems-thinking approach and anti-oppression lens to develop responsible travelers. The program guides students to explore how social justice, community development, animal protection, and environmental sustainability all intersect when we travel.
The RISE Travel Institute K-12 Teacher Training Program, launching in Summer 2022, will regenerate the spirit of adventure and global connection that can exist while teaching. Teachers will redefine travel and discover the roles of travel, experiential education, and problem-based learning.
The program will also highlight the importance of training teachers to ensure that students have experiential learning practices that:
- Are more impactful and long-lasting than traditional classroom time
- Encourage students to reflect on their privilege and position on the spectrum of power
- Create space for students to recognize the impact they have on the world as they travel
- Connect teachers with the parent and school community regarding travel
- Give teachers the opportunity to curate and receive feedback on field trips or travel plans
Both students and teachers are asked to enter every travel experience with a keen eye for what has happened — and what can happen — while traveling.
Keep the Conversation Going
What would our world be like if everyone on the planet was positively impacted by sustainable, responsible travel?
What milestones could we reach?
What connections could we form?
What futures could we create together?
When travelers adopt principles of anti-oppression, sustainability, and inclusivity, the global journey toward eradicating poverty and ensuring equity can be realized.
Be the first to learn about the RISE Travel Institute Flagship cohort and K-12 Teacher Training openings and new offerings by subscribing to our newsletter.
Read about RISE Experiential Journeys and discover how they are designed for mindful, holistic travel.
Learn more about the UNESCO International Day of Education and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
About the Author
Carly (she/her/hers) is on a mission to create equity in the world through literacy. As Creative Director of her company No One Story, Carly works as a content writer and copywriter, summoning her twelve years of experience as a K-8 reading teacher to design and evaluate written work. She believes in the transformative power of travel and balances her time between writing, traveling, and raising her two young children to be empathetic global citizens.
