Do you want to travel and make a positive impact on the world? This book is designed for you. How to Be an Amazing Volunteer Overseas will give you essential advice on how to decide what to do and where to go. It will help you to prepare for life in a new country. And most importantly, it will set you up to get the most out of your experience by learning from local leaders and contributing in a meaningful way. Full of practical tips and personal stories from the author's experience having worked and volunteered in 70 countries, How to Be an Amazing Volunteer has been endorsed by leaders in the international development community, and is a must-read as borders begin to open up post-pandemic, and as purpose-driven Gen-Zers around the world look to broaden their horizons while making a positive impact. Net proceeds from book sales will go to support education programs in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kenya and a First Nations community in Canada. "People who change the world are not necessarily 'special' people. They are everyday people who do not hesitate to respond to outside signals. Volunteering is about discovering what you can do and about getting to a point to take your own first steps. This book chronicles Susan's journey to discover herself - you'll enjoy being a co-traveller with her." -- Professor Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2006

Just a generation ago the notion that holidays should be invested with ethical and political significance would have sounded odd. Today it is part of the lifestyle political landscape. Volunteer tourism is indicative of the growth of lifestyle strategies intended to exhibit care and responsibility towards others less fortunate, strategies aligned closely with developing one’s ethical identity and sense of global responsibility. It sits alongside telethons, pay-per-click, Fair Trade and ethical consumption generally as a way to “make a difference”. Volunteer tourism involves a personal mission to address the political question of development. It draws upon the private virtues of care and responsibility and disavows political narratives beyond this. Critics argue that this leaves the volunteers as unwitting carriers of damaging neoliberal or postcolonial assumptions, whilst advocates see it as offering creative and practical ways to build a new ethical politics. By contrast, this volume analyses volunteer tourism as indicative of a retreat from public politics into the realm of private experience, and as an expression of diminished political and moral agency. This thought provoking book draws on development, political and sociological theory and is essential reading for students, researchers and academics interested in the phenomenon of volunteer tourism and the politics of lifestyle that it represents.

Volunteer tourism describes a field of tourism, in which travelers visit a destination and take part in projects in the local community. Projects are commonly nature-based, people-based or involve restoration of buildings and artifacts (e.g. restoration of a Buddhist temple inMongolia).

Summary: This book revisits and further develops the topics and themes covered in Volunteer Tourism: Experiences That Make a Difference, written over 10 years ago. Concentrating on the experience of the volunteer tourist and the host community, this new edition builds on the view of volunteer tourism as a positive and sustainable form of tourism to examine a broader spectrum of behaviours and experiences and consider critically where the volunteer tourist experience both compliments and collides with host communities, using multiple case studies. The book has nine chapters and a subject index.

The Sustainable Development Goals are an ongoing focus around the world as the needs of people and society continue to evolve at a rapid pace. The need for a more sustainable future has never been more pressing as issues such as climate change, natural disasters, and overpopulation present unique difficulties for the decision makers of the world. In order for them to make the best decisions regarding current priorities and strategies, up-to-date and detailed research regarding where we currently are as a society, where we want to be, and the many challenges that stand in the way is crucial. The Research Anthology on Measuring and Achieving Sustainable Development Goals is a comprehensive assessment of the current innovative research and discussions on the challenges to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the measures that have already been put in place to achieve them. Covering topics such as green consumer behavior and peace promotion, this book is vital for academicians, scientists, researchers, students, postdoctoral students, specialists, practitioners, businesses, governmental institutions, decision makers, environmentalists, and policymakers.

'Practicing Sustainable International Volunteer Tourism' provides a uniquely holistic “how to guide” for the practice of sustainable international volunteer tourism which incorporates contextual as well as practical advice for primary stakeholders including communities, practitioners, governments and volunteer tourists. The first full length guide that highlights the interconnected relationship among and between key stakeholders, Practicing Sustainable International Volunteer Tourism integrates theoretical insights with application. As the international volunteer tourism sector continues to grow, it has become an increasingly complex marketplace which has materialized into a diversity of expectations, motivations and experiences. While sometimes convergent, opportunities for divergence among key stakeholders can also become core challenges in creating an ethical as well as sustainable sector. This timely guide was written with the shared belief that for international volunteer tourism to be appropriately practiced, each individual stakeholder needs to understand their co-stakeholders’ interests and the corollary nuances of their participation. As such. this book is divided by stakeholder group and includes sections for each on “how to practice sustainable international volunteer tourism”, ethical and moral issues, choosing your project, a case study, do’s and don’ts and additional resources. International volunteer tourism is now includes commercial operators, international as well as domestic NGOs, government agencies and local communities around the world. Additionally, while the market has traditionally been dominated by international volunteer tourists from the Global North to the Global South, today Global South-to Global South volunteers further diversify international volunteer tourism mobilities. These diverse stakeholders have developed an array of services and programs designed to serve the needs of host communities as well as the international volunteer tourists. As a result of the numerous critiques against the international volunteer tourism industry, various organizations have developed guidelines. Yet, these guidelines lack a comprehensive perspective that addresses the multiple key stakeholder interests as well as challenges. In this book, the authors: * Highlight the critical need for key stakeholder groups to understand the complex interests at stake in order to create a more mutually beneficial and ethical international volunteer tourism sector; * Challenge traditional assumptions of the benefits of volunteer tourism, and suggests how best practice can truly enable positive contributions to local communities economically, politically, socially and environmentally; * Advocate international volunteer tourism practices that link with national and international governmental organizations that are better prepared to affect policy changes in order really have positive effects. This book is a must-have reading for all those studying and working in the tourism industry as well as not for profits, commercial operators, International and National NGOs, government agencies, communities and international volunteer tourists themselves.

Designed to promote reflection and 'better practices' among the prospective volunteers and organizers of travel-for-service experiences, International Volunteer Tourism provides narratives on short-term international volunteering in Central America written by North American organizers, student participants and Central American partners.