In the age of the War on Terror, youth travel programs are a powerful antidote to ignorance and fear.
Photo by Asian Insights
A global perspective is essential to deal with the challenges of the 21st century.
Addressing big problems like global warming and nuclear proliferation will require unprecedented levels of international cooperation.
Likewise, big opportunities like the chance to end poverty depend on our ability to extend compassion, knowledge and resources to the far reaches of the globe.
Many of the global citizens who will spearhead new levels of international cooperation in the next century are still young, students in high schools from Pittsburgh to Phnom Penh. We need to give the leaders of tomorrow the chance to get to know each other today.
Youth travel and grassroots exchange programs are one of the most important and cost-effective investments we can make.
Photo by Asian Insights
Travel is the Best Education
With travel comes both empathy and knowledge.
Travel – real, rugged, authentic travel – is the best sort of education. In this day and age, knowing Africa is more important than knowing algebra.
For our brightest students, taking a year to vagabond through China and study Mandarin looks more and more like a wise and practical alternative to a prestigious internship with Lehman Brothers or Bear Sterns.
Dragons in Cambodia
I recently had the opportunity to lead a group of 12 remarkable high school students on a 6 week Where There Be Dragons program in Cambodia.
The experience electrified me. I could not be more inspired.
The real world connections the students made in Cambodia are the seeds of future peace.
The courage they found in themselves to embark on an epic and challenging journey created a confidence that will carry them through life.
I don’t take any credit for the personal growth and profound education the students in my group experienced in Cambodia. The act of travel was what did it – the magical experience of confronting the world with clear and open eyes.
Photo by Asian Insights
Peace Depends on Knowledge
Where There Be Dragons is a funny name for a travel company. The thing about dragons, of course, is that they don’t exist. Our fears of the unknown are rarely justified.
We need young people who are willing to dream big.
Fear and ignorance are always dangerous, but especially so when institutionalized in the most powerful country in the world.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was dead on when he told Americans “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
In the era of perpetual War on Terror, we must nurture individuals who can distinguish between genuine threats to our security and paranoid fantasies born of ignorance and fear.
Photo by Shannanigans
Asking The BIG Questions
Travel forces the big questions.
The older we get, the less willing we become to question everything and make our choices as if we really can be the change we want to see in the world.
America needs smart, conscientious young people who are willing to dream big.
By empowering youth through authentic travel experiences in places where they are confronted with unvarnished truths, we create future leaders with the skill and motivation to work for peace and justice.
It’s not enough to drink away a study abroad semester in Florence, or traipse through Southeast Asian backpacker zones for a few months after college graduation.
Reaping the real humanitarian benefits of travel requires traveling close to the ground in places that provoke hard questions.
Overcoming a Foreign Policy of Fear
Photo by Shannanigans
We need young people who are not just clever, but also courageous.
We need high school students eager to break out of their sheltered suburbs and cozy Facebook networks to confront the world first-hand.
It costs billions of dollars to send cruise missiles and Predator drones to distant lands, but only thousands of dollars to help future leaders discover the world.
If you’re a parent, encourage your son or daughter to travel. If you’re a student, I’m envious – you can choose from a world of possibilities. If you’re a citizen who wants peace, please support youth travel programs.
The global challenges that lie ahead are too big to solve without profound, intimate knowledge of the outside world.
Community Connection!
For more inspiring essays about the value of travel and global citizenship in the 21st century, check out 10 Ways Travelers Can Change The World and A Manifesto From A Young American.
Where There Be Dragons offers youth travel programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
If you’re passionate about travel, dive into the Matador community and connect with like-minded innovators from around the world.
To help send inner-city youth on a Where There Be Dragons program to Asia, please support The Matador Fund.
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27 Comments... join the discussion!
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I can't agree more Tim. I attempting to be that kind of person. Time will tell. Keep inspiring me and that will be a good jumpstart.
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Tim, thank you for writing this. For anyone who is interested in reading about how travel changes young people please check out Rigo Lara's essay about his first travel experience here: ” target=”_blank”>http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/07/31/change...
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thanks Erica, great point – i think couchsurfing.com and wwoof.org are 2 good ways for young folks without much bank to travel abroad.
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thanks for the good words Bill!
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Wow, every parent should read this! Wouldn't it be great to see government get involved in this (even on a local level)? Something akin to the Peace Corps but with a short timeframe? I can't imagine a program that would benefit the country in the long term more than that.
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Thanks Hal! I'd like to see colleges do more to support gap years – Nicholas Kristof has a great piece on that idea: ” target=”_blank”>http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/06/28/takin...
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yeah, I really enjoyed Rigo's article.
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On the funding front (to respond to Erica's astute comment), one thing Americans could do is demand that their government participate in more Working Holiday Visa programs with other countries. These things are nearly always reciprocal, and it's the US government's unwillingness to let young WHVers from other countries visit the States that prevents young Americans from working abroad themselves! I've always found it crazy that as a Canadian, I can get a one-year WHV to the UK, Ireland, France, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, etc, etc – but can't find a way to work in the States. A working holiday visa can be a great opportunity to live, work and learn in another country!
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Tim- Great and important article. As a former educational tour guide who led kids on trips in NYC, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, I can attest to the fact that even these "small" trips make huge positive differences in kids' lives and in society. I regularly had kids on my trip who were 17 or 18 years old and had never been on a plane or had never seen the ocean. These were life-changing experiences. And there IS funding for kids who lack the funds to travel. In addition to Matador's scholarship fund, EF Smithsonian runs an annual contest for high schoolers– grand prize? An all expenses paid educational trip to that year's destination (when I won about 12 years ago, the destination was England, France, and Switzerland).
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good call Eva!
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thanks big Julie! there totally are funds, just not enough – i think "fresh air" programs are especially deserving of funding, giving inner city kids the chance to live in the country for a while.
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I'm 17 and I look at all these things about traveling. I have a very open mind and want to do this type of thing for the rest of my life. There is always this talk about vagabonding and whatnot, but wouldn't it be cool to start a site just for that or something? A place where everyone can discuss their ideas to make this easier for people so used to a consumer society? I really want to know how to make my dream of being a world vagabond a reality. Everything on the topic just seems so vague; I would like to start a group, or organization kind of like couch surfing but for people interested (and serious) in living a nomadic life. We could even get it so people can travel together. I'm sure this happens in everywhere but it would be nice to get this going a little farther.
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Dylan, You've come to the right place. Check out our community http://www.MatadorTravel.com.It's full of nomads who are discussing how to live like a vagabond, but still contribute meaningfully to the world. Check a recent article that was published about 50 inspiring travelers on Matador http://matadorstudy.com/50-inspiring-travelers/
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this site is awesome. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
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Dylan, you made my day.
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Thank you for what you have written. I have signed up on Matador. My name is DylnHess on it, if you would be so kind as to add me (I'm not quite sure how to add people, still new) this is the link I am pretty sure: ” target=”_blank”>http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/dylnhes... Thank you once again!
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Fantastic article Tim! As a trip leader with Where There Be Dragons, it has been mind blowing to watch young and eager students grapple with radically different cultures and emerge with new wisdom, deep tolerance, and compassion. I highly encourage students and parents to consider summer travel programs! Alex
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Awesome article. I truly believe that if all American high school students visited developing countries our world would be a different place.
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I participated in an organization called Amigos de las Americas, which is an organization that provides mostly high school and college age americans, although there is no age or national descrimination, the opportunity to travel and live in one of several participating Latin American countries to facilitate cultural exchange as well as community service, locally and in the host country. The participants fundraise and recieve training on nutrition, health, english, leadership, team building and cultural awareness. This is a year-long commitment that culminates to a one to two month experience in the field. I highly recommend it for as many people as possible! It was an amazing experience!
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I couldn’t agree more! I didn’t have the opportunity to travel as a teenager, but over the last five years I’ve learned and experienced more than I ever could have in a lifetime of classroom education. Travel has opened my mind and inspired me to learn more about our world. Every kid would benefit from this opportunity.
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While they offer many adventure based programs, Rustic Pathways is another youth travel company that also has plenty of service-based trips. I’ve been on a few as staff, and they are rugged, but well planned, expertly staffed and safe.
Great article, btw
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I should preface this comment by saying that I work for Where There Be Dragons, a competitor of Rustic Pathways.
My sense is that Rustic Pathways is overly focused on entertaining students, without much thought to education or personal growth. The catalog is filled with photos of attractive teenagers in swim suits, and the adventures seem packaged and contrived – a little too well-planned.
That’s not to say a young traveler won’t have a life-changing experience on a Rustic Pathways trip. There are a lot of great people in the RP community, and the trips are cool. My impression, however, is that the programs don’t foster a lot of personal growth or global perspective.
Thanks for your comment, though, Adrienne!
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Fair enough.
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