Global Citizenship: Social Responsibility
“Learn to do common things uncommonly well; we must always keep in mind that anything that helps full the dinner pail is valuable.”
― George Washington Carver
What does it mean to be a responsible traveler? It means much more than just traveling light, recycling plastic bottles or even reusing your hotel bath towels. Those things are great first steps but being a responsible traveler is a “heart action”.
Social responsibility has given a new dimension to tourism and people are indeed acting responsibly & changing the way they travel . A social responsible traveler has a heart for people. He/she ensures that negative social, economic and environmental impacts are minimized and that positive footprints that enhance economic benefits for local people and host communities are the only thing left behind.
Bottom line, a social responsible traveler is a global citizen and ambassador for humanity. Whenever you visit any new place be aware of the impact of your actions and reactions, choose social responsibility and contribute in a positive way.
An Indonesian Village that Changed its Fate with the Internet
By Rose MundayWhen it comes to Indonesia, you might wonder how islands like Java can compete with the likes of Bali. Read more
Asia Technology Social Responsibility
Volungearing: A New Way to Do Good
By Bianca CaruanaA new kind of volunteer tourism has entered the travel industry with an innovative approach; Volungearing, conceived by TribesForGOOD, taps an individual’s skills to pair him or her successfully in the social impact sector. Read more
Asia Volunteer Travel Social Responsibility
Chilean Tourism and the Indigenous Mapuche
By Leijia HanrahanThe regions of Biobío and Araucanía, which lie somewhere in the middle of the 2,653 miles that stretch from Chile’s top to bottom, are nevertheless known as “the south.” Read more
Central and South America Indigenous Social Responsibility
Animal Cruelty for Tourists’ Entertainment: An Industry in Need of Reform
By Bianca CaruanaAs selfies with tigers, primates and other wild species front Instagram and Facebook feeds, tourists are now forced to question the morals and ethics of their encounters with captive animals. Read more
The World Insights Social Responsibility
A Burundian Lesson in Hospitality
By Breana JohnsonIt’s evening in the small African nation of Burundi, and the waning sun throws shadows over the city of Bujumbura. In the old Land Rover, we bump and jostle our way through the crowded dirt roads of the capital. Before we left the mission station where my husband’s family lives, … Read more Read more
Africa Off the Beaten Path Social Responsibility
Responsible and Cultural Travel in Montana
By Tara TadlockWhitewater rafting in crystal clear waters. Horseback riding through the tall prairie grass. Purple mountains as the backdrop for local craft breweries. Sounds like a dream, but it’s actually Montana. Read more
United States Adventure Off the Beaten Path Social Responsibility
TODAY IN HISTORY: National Geographic Society is founded (Jan. 27, 1888)
On January 13, 1888, a small group of explorer and scientists, 33 in all, gathered at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC. (A place where DC members of the famed Explorers Club, including World Footprints, meet today.) They proposed to organize a society “to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge while … Read more Read more
United States History Social Responsibility
Bringing Mobility and Hope to the Philippines
By Jessica BarrettCreating 19 prosthetic limbs for 13 children in under a week might seem like a daunting task, but Robert Schulman has never shied away from a challenge. The certified prosthetist and founder of US-based nonprofit Limb Kind Foundation arrived in Davao City, Philippines in September with a team of 11 … Read more Read more
Asia Accessible Volunteer Travel Social Responsibility
Dark Tourism in Cambodia: Exploitation and Cultural Insensitivity
By Tara TadlockOver four years in the early 1970s, Cambodia, a Southeast Asian country now frequented by backpacking tourists, faced one of the worst human atrocities imaginable– a state-sponsored genocide wiping out one-third of the nation’s population. Read more
Asia Insights Social Responsibility
SPECIAL: Remembering 9/11
World Footprints commemorates the anniversary of the terrifying attack that changed the world and brought heroes to the front-line. You will hear from survivors their first-hand account of the events as they experienced them. Read more
United States History Social Responsibility
Kenya Embraces Sustainable Tourism As The New Normal
By Bianca CaruanaSince 2013, tourism has expanded and evolved in the region, welcoming a more sustainable narrative — one far more inclusive of a positive social and environmental impact than at any time in Kenya’s tourism history. Read more
Africa Social Responsibility
Township tourism: The good, the bad, and the ugly
By Rachel FlynnIf you have traveled to a developing country, you have probably seen tours that visit favelas, slums, or in South Africa’s case, townships. Read more
Africa Insights Social Responsibility
How Tourists Play a Role in Protecting Thailand’s Elephants
By Bianca CaruanaIn the last century, Thailand has lost roughly 92 percent of its elephant population. Read more
Asia Social Responsibility
Developing a Consciousness for Marine Conservation
By Tonya FitzpatrickIf you were to hear that by 2050 there will be more plastic in our oceans (by weight) than there will be fish, would you be alarmed? I definitely was alarmed when I read white paper about the plastic economy projected by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Read more
The World Conservation Social Responsibility
Cause for a change: The post-pandemic future of Asia’s elephant tourism
By Bianca CaruanaIn a small town in the southwestern region of Nepal, Eva the rescue elephant and her new companion Lhamo are sprouting a charming kinship. Read more
Asia Social Responsibility