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www.crtmmu.org
Rachel
“All through the training I’d had my
doubts, but I’d told myself and told
myself that once we got to the
district, it’d be OK.”
“… when we got there [we] still had
no idea what we were doing – and
we went for a walk around in the
dark to see our new surroundings.”](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/vort-150630085443-lva1-app6891/75/Vo-rt-21-2048.jpg)
Uploaded byManchester Metropolitan University
Vo&rt
The document discusses responsible international volunteering and ethical considerations from the perspective of a political scientist. It examines the motivations and responsibilities of volunteers and organizations. While volunteering abroad can aim to do good, there are also issues that need to be addressed such as unintended negative consequences, lack of skills or language abilities undermining positive impact, and displacing local employment. True responsibility requires critical self-reflection on whether activities abroad would be acceptable in the volunteers' home countries, avoiding harm, and empowering local communities.
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- 1. 1 www.crtmmu.org Responsible International Volunteering andEthical Considerations? Manchester Metropolitan University. Centre for Responsible Tourism MMU Dr Harold Goodwin Professor of Responsible Tourism Examining the ‘Self’(volunteer) and the ‘Other’(communities) UKC 26 June 2015
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- 3. 3 www.crtmmu.org A Political Scientist’sPerspective "Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.“ Theses on Feuerbach 11 Marx, Brussels, 1845 Volunteering as part of tourism is a commercial activity whether run by large or small companies, NGOs or charities It is not the only form of volunteering abroad. individuals, churches, youth groups….
- 4. 4 www.crtmmu.org Responsibility Accountability – liability- obligation Social and political life – common good – role models? Limits to freedom – respecting the rights of others Held responsible for actions and consequences Agency => responsibility
- 5. 5 www.crtmmu.org What do wemean by responsibility? 1. Rights and responsibilities - respect 2. Latin respondeo to answer, reply, respond 3. Contemporary meanings Legally responsible, accountable in law - causal link (blame or praise) Moral obligation – stepping up to take responsibility, personal Wanting to make a difference Reputation risk – change of action
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- 8. 8 www.crtmmu.org Ethical vs responsible 1995 Campaign for ethical tourism – too broad – inoperative Responsibility was preferred – It could be delineated – Could be empowering & held to account Davidson & Griffin – Social obstruction – Social obligation – Social response – Social contribution Responsibility is free, you can take as much of it as you can handle. Denis Wormwell CEO Sheairngs
- 9. 9 www.crtmmu.org Why Responsible? Respons-ability Individuals and organisationsare expected to respond and to make a difference. This requires partnerships, a plurality of relationships, learning, praxis, and critical reflection. Accountability Actions and consequences can be attributed to individuals or legal entities, who can be held accountable, and legally they are liable. 9
- 10. 10 www.crtmmu.org The alternative IrresponsibleTourism.info www.facebook.com/groups/irresponsibletourism/ Negative Volunteer Reviews www.facebook.com/groups/454436357989887/ Off loading or outsourcing Denial
- 11. 11 www.crtmmu.org What does theexercise of responsibility require? Knowledge and awareness of causal linkages Recognition of an obligation to act – awareness of making a difference? Willingness to take responsibility Conscience – ethical framework Is empathy enough? Add capacity? » Add courage?
- 12. 12 www.crtmmu.org Responsibility Imputability –the integrity and independence of the individual – choice was made (omission or commission) - blame can be attached The consequences of our actions Accountability – held to account Liability – responsible for .. Moral decision making
- 13. 13 www.crtmmu.org Jost Krippendorf “every individualtourist builds up or destroys human values while travelling.” “Orders and prohibitions will not do the job – because it is not a bad conscience that we need to make progress but positive experience, not the feeling of compulsion but that of responsibility.”
- 14. 14 www.crtmmu.org Volunteering: “the roadto hell is paved with good intentions” The origin of this often quoted maxim dates back at least to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153), who is credited with “Hell is full of good intentions or desires.” Unintended consequences
- 15. 15 www.crtmmu.org Aristotle: Phronesis Politics & Nichomachean Ethics Definedesirable ends in particular circumstances & the means to achieve them Phronesis is the ability to determine ends and to act in particular contexts. This requires prudence and a degree of maturity
- 16. 16 www.crtmmu.org Whose perspective? Core Volunteersand their funders Sending organisations – charities and businesses Project partners The local community Periphery Media and commentators in originating markets and destinations Academics Politicians and governments
- 17. 17 www.crtmmu.org Motivation Organisers – tomake money but also to do good in the world and to make change. Volunteers for altruistic reasons, to give back, to make a difference - and to build a CV Great deal of confusion – Just Giving
- 18. 18 www.crtmmu.org Confusing ends andmeans It is not the concept of volunteering abroad that is the problem It is the form it takes So whose responsibility is that?
- 19. 19 www.crtmmu.org The volunteer journey? Recruitment& marketing Trading Standards & ABTA Checking with returned volunteers In country experience & care Trading Standards & ABTA Complaining and checking contract compliance Development Impact Check with returned volunteers False claims may be actionable Reporting, social media and naming & shaming Caveat emptor
- 20. 20 www.crtmmu.org What is theproblem? Double standards Volunteering abroad is attractive because it is abroad & because you get to be allowed to do things abroad you can’t do at home If you can’t do it at home, why is it OK to do it abroad? Issues, there are many Poor Quality experiences Employment Lion petting Child Protection & Orphanages Internalisation of the blame – misattribution of responsibility – Rachel
- 21. 21 www.crtmmu.org Rachel “All through thetraining I’d had my doubts, but I’d told myself and told myself that once we got to the district, it’d be OK.” “… when we got there [we] still had no idea what we were doing – and we went for a walk around in the dark to see our new surroundings.”
- 22. 22 www.crtmmu.org Your cub pettingexperience Thousands of people visit facilities where they interact with lion cubs. To pet, cuddle and have their photographs taken with a cute lion cub. Thousands of volunteers wish to work at wild life sanctuaries, particularly if they have lion cubs to take care of, to bottle feed, to hand raise. Lion petting Walking with lions Exhibited for photo opps Canned hunting
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- 25. 25 www.crtmmu.org Don’t create orphans Orphanagevoluntourism incentivizes those involved in the burgeoning orphanage industry to bring children from villages to orphanages in the city and tourist areas. In some cases it even encourages managers to deny the children proper care, because the worse conditions the children appear to be in, the more they will pull at the heart strings of volunteers, thus making it easier for the orphanages to solicit donations. Next Generation Nepal
- 26. 26 www.crtmmu.org Working with children Attachment/detachment Paedophilia Skillsmatter Ask whether you would be allowed to do it in your own country
- 27. 27 www.crtmmu.org Don’t displace localemployment Teachers fired or laid off to create volunteering opportunities Volunteers digging holes and painting walls – which may be knocked down “Don’t send us any more volunteers we have no more chickens”
- 28. 28 www.crtmmu.org Employing the inexperienced “Despite a number of differences between my volunteering experience and that of many others, there is one overarching similarity: I, the volunteer, was the primary beneficiary of my volunteering. I had an incredible trip and gained a wealth of CV-enhancing experience. However, I coached football with only a basic basketball coaching qualification, and I taught with no formal teacher training.”
- 29. 29 www.crtmmu.org what you cando abroad
- 30. 30 www.crtmmu.org Rachelrtw. It takesa rare kind of honesty to admit even to one’s closest friends that you did not enjoy a trip intended to change your life. Rachel has had the guts to say it and to write about it on her blog “We were in an area where nobody needed us, and where we could make little to no difference. We couldn’t speak the language and had been told beforehand that it wasn’t necessary, so we had next to no input. I felt useless. I was acutely aware that I was there for two reasons and two reasons only: to attract attention, because I am white, and to attract money, because I am white. It was made quite clear to us at the end of the programme that the money the UK government invested in the programme, in return for Nepal taking on UK workers, paid the wages of several of the Nepali staff. They didn’t need me – they needed my government’s money.”
- 31. 31 www.crtmmu.org Gap-year holidays thatreveal the madness of overseas aid "The day was spent swimming, sunbathing and eating… As the sun set over the sea, we headed back to San Salvador for a pizza,” “On Tuesday, we went to work in a bakery, learning how to make Salvadorian treats and cakes Then it was back to “relaxing in our hammocks on our balcony, with 360-degree views of the cathedral, the mountains, Typical tales from young people on their gap year, perhaps. Apart from one thing: these youngsters are among 1,250 British kids enjoying their all-expenses- paid, three-to six-month journeys of self-discovery courtesy of the Department for International Development.
- 32. 32 www.crtmmu.org Volunteers forgive tooeasily “They run many, many programmes in many different countries and I have only heard good things about their other programmes. I also think they work for an excellent cause” This is about my experience and I don’t wish to speak for other people.” “The charity I went with are not part of some greedy, money-making scam, but rather a new government scheme in its early days.” I don’t feel like I have the right to name and shame an organisation that sent me to the other side of the world free-of-charge, and whose warnings about the lack of difference I would make I simply didn’t heed.” Blog 2012-2014
- 33. 33 www.crtmmu.org Securing change Outbound Regulation– misselling & failure to deliver on what was sold: trading standards, trade associations, ASA NGOs and charities & consumer pressure, amplified by social media Host country regulation
- 34. 34 www.crtmmu.org The Business Casesfor Responsible Tourism The right thing to do Minimising risk License to operate Product quality Cost savings Staff morale Market Advantage Market Advantage Experience – richer – more authentic – guilt free Differentiation and PR – Reputation – Referrals – Repeats
- 35. 35 www.crtmmu.org Social Media: Gossip Threat You cannot not be on social media Negative comment is multiplied by social media Opportunity Never been cheaper to maintain relationships – secure engagement Communication is cheaper Negative comment can be refuted Repeats Referrals
- 36. 36 www.crtmmu.org Consumer or researchquestions? Whose idea was the volunteer project and who runs it? How will my skills be used effectively? I’m only going to be there for a few weeks – how can my input be of any real use? Who decides what my role will be?
- 37. 37 www.crtmmu.org Who knows aboutme before I arrive and what do they know? Where will I live? What kind of support is there for me? Will you advise me about local culture and how I should behave? Do you have a child protection policy in place for this project?
- 38. 38 www.crtmmu.org The “killer” consumerquestions Will my normal travel insurance cover me for volunteer work abroad? How long before I know I'm accepted? When, how and where is my money spent? Can I talk to previous volunteers? Can I talk to local people before I travel? But they need to know what the answers should be and why
- 39. 39 www.crtmmu.org Two kinds ofchange The changes we make ……. – Choice and imperative The changes we respond to: – Consumer demand – Changing markets & exchange rates – Regulatory frameworks – New technology & availability
- 40. 40 www.crtmmu.org Further information www.crtmmu.org www.haroldgoodwin.info www.wtmresponsibletourism.com http://blog.wtmresponsibletourism.com www.icrtourism.org/ www.responsibletourismpartnership.org www.responsibletravel.com/awards/ [email protected]