Youth Ambassador Rebecca Mazzu raises the issue of voluntourism at recent Model United Nations conference

February 28, 2017 admin

by Rebecca Mazzu

In January, the city of peace of justice, The Hague, played host to the annual Model United Nations (THIMUN) conference, a five-day event attended by over 3,000 high school students from around the world. I went as a delegate of Japan in the 2nd General Assembly. But I also had an opportunity to raise one of the issues close to my heart as Stahili’s first Youth Ambassador.

One of the topics before the General Assembly was “Designing a global code of ethics for tourism”. While reading the research report, I was struck by how it made no mention of “voluntourism”. The issue of unqualified and inexperienced volunteers traveling to developing countries to “help people”, including vulnerable children in orphanages, is rarely brought up at MUN conferences because people don’t realise it’s a problem in the first place. I believe that it is a crucial issue which warrants discussion among students who are both eager to make a difference in the world and enter universities. Students often believe that a volunteer abroad experience will increase their chances of getting a university place.

I challenged myself to bring the issue up in my resolution, hoping that by convincing a group of around 300 fellow students of the dangers of unethical tourism they would themselves become advocates of the issue.

After four days of conferencing, the big moment came. As I nervously read out my resolution, I was aware that in a room of ambitious students looking to formulate a well-rounded college application, there would be many who had personal experience of volunteer trips abroad. Not only did I have to explain the issue, but also convince them to vote on a resolution that may contradict their experience, or their plans to go to Tanzania this coming summer.

I was utterly surprised by the response.  Delegates took the floor to acknowledge the harm they had themselves caused as they recounted personal experiences of volunteering abroad and urged others to vote in favor of my resolution.

My resolution called for three main actions:

  • Creating a special investigative team to research and monitor companies offering volunteer trips abroad, with special regard to any interactions with children, preserving cultural heritage, financial transparency, and promoting sustainable development among host communities.
  • The adoption of a set of regulations, to be formulated with the help of NGOs such as Stahili and Lumos, on ethical tourism, with special regard to orphanages.
  • Encouraging organisations to follow Stahili’s model in empowering local communities by, for example, hiring local people rather than foreign volunteers and promoting vocational training for community members.

My resolution passed with an overwhelming majority and was sent to the United Nations, like all passed resolutions at THIMUN.

Will the students go back and speak about the harms of voluntourism? Maybe. But as one delegate put it, this was the beginning of a conversation in the MUN sphere. My hope is that the issue of voluntourism will feature as a topic in future MUN conferences, and that more young people will become advocates for the cause and start a counter trend in favour of responsible volunteering.