People-First Tourism Lab Blog

The final chapter in Half the Sky discusses social change movements and lays out four principles that a worldwide women's movement to address inequality, education, and health needs should adhere to: Coalitions should bridge political, religious, and social perspectives; Don't undermine your own credibility by overselling and exaggerating findings - being passionate is a good thing unless you let it cloud your ability to thing and problem solve as objectively as possible; The health and education of boys and men should not be ignored - certain initiatives that target men can be just as beneficial for women;  Groups and individuals should exchange parochial views and actions for a more global focused outlook.  The author adds a fifth principle that should be applied throughout: flexibility.  Do you agree with these principles? What would you adjust or change? And, in general, what can you do about the issues discussed in this boo...

This gives a good snapshot of the state of women in the tourism industry and gives a good overview of the benefits and challenges faced by women who pursue social entrepreneurship and informal sector work in developing areas. Link to PDF of UNWTO's Global Report on Women in Tourism 2010

Using a Nominal Group Technique exercise, tourism students from NC State identified and ranked challenges to the implementation of People-First Tourism in North Carolina.  These students have been thinking about this project since August, and have been reading extensively about business solutions poverty.  They are also talking with people with vulnerable livelihoods about micro-entrepreneurship and they have even been asked to search for tourism micro-businesses in the region that might qualify as People-First.  So...  I think we should take their input seriously.   I am posting this list here in the hope some of you may want to comment with ideas on how to overcome each challenge. Bellow are the challenges in order of importance with the number of votes each item received in parenthesis. How to train micro-entrepreneurs in efficient/effective/timely/affordable ways (8) New micro-businesses will struggle to compete with existing and more established b...

Micro-finance was popularized by Bangladeshi professor Muhammad Yunus with his creation of Grameen Bank that loaned money to impoverished women. Although the idea of helping people help themselves out of poverty has existed for several decades, ease of communication via the internet and attention to the matter afforded by Grameen Bank’s success has brought microcredit to the forefront. In the past decade a variety of similar institutions have emerged or become more prominent, including FINCA , Kiva , and Accion . While microcredit is not a cure-all for poverty alleviation, it is a step in the right direction, providing funding opportunities for able individuals who wish to start or expand a small business.   How does microcredit availability lead to empowerment in developing and developed nations?  Should this strategy be employed in combination with education and health initiatives?  And more importantly, what role will micro-credit likely play in the long term success ...

The importance of education is generally accepted across age, gender, and creed in the developed world. A recent report from the United Nations Girls Education Initiative  celebrates strides that have been made in recent years pertaining to the parity in primary school enrollment of girls and advantages girls have gained over boys in secondary and tertiary education enrollment. Despite gains that can be seen, not only in the developed but also in the developing world, girls, especially in the most economically depressed countries, still face barriers to education. These barriers vary by location and range from distance, cost vs. income, masculinity and violence, low physical access to schools, and overall poverty. The world community should be encouraged by steps forward in the education of girls worldwide, but significant barriers still need to be addressed. From your reading of Half the Sky and other sources, what strategies have been emp...

The assigned chapters for this week consider the role of religion in the oppression of women in developing countries. It is easy for those of us in countries that enjoy religious equality and freedom to equate the issues related to disparities in women’s health and human rights with restrictive religious beliefs. Women living under a theocratically ruled government, as we see in many Islamist countries in the Middle East, face numerous injustices and abuses that are often thought to be prescribed by God. At the same time, the United States, while claiming the idea of religious freedom, has enacted policy based on conservative Christian values that also negatively impact oppressed women in developing countries. It might be valuable to take a step back from what could easily become a circular argument and consider whether it is religion or deeper cultural issues that need to be addressed. A few questions we might ask ourselves: How does religion affect the health and welfare of women in ...