Ethics in Volunteer Tourism with Nora Livingstone

Volunteer travel has its roots in the "voluntourism" through which people volunteer on projects abroad. Volunteer travel has been reimagined as a social enterprise model with a focus on working within local communities and creating value for them, rather than for the volunteers themselves. 

Volunteering abroad, especially in developing countries, has become a necessary experience for many people who label themselves as 'world citizens'. However, like any other growing industry, volunteer tourism brings with it new experiences and new problems.

Christine’s guest today is curious, an animal-lover, an a feminist. 

Nora Livingstone is the CEO & Co-Founder of Animal Experience International. Her work has taken her to over 45 countries, including Oman, Sierra Leone, Guatemala, and Mongolia. Nora is a qualified Crisis Counselor and holds FEMA certifications in leadership and deployment during natural disasters. 

Nora and Christine talk about the ethics of volunteer travel, consent based tourism and what that means to her having a values align business and her commitment to addressing social issues, and how we can understand white privilege narratives that exist in companies like ours, that are run by white women.

For full show notes and to access resources mentioned in this episode, head to https://www.lotussojourns.com/podcast-episodes/episode86

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Credits. Christine Winebrenner Irick (Host, creator, editor.) Nora Livingstone

(Guest). Original music by Clark Adams. Editing and production by Rayna Booth

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