I watched Life On Our Planet which features David Attenborough speaking about how humans have affected wildlife and the natural world in general during his lifetime.
The Big Show: Jernene Poponne & David Corell
Ollie, Jernene and Dave discuss the flaws of 'voluntourism' in West Africa, and how we should be more aware of the actual needs of communities before we ignorantly prescribe what we think they need.
‘Voluntourism’ has proved to be a contentious issue, raising a debate on whether schemes actually benefit communities, or whether they exist only to boost profile for those with a saviour complex. Whatever your stance on the issue, before taking on a voluntourism project, you should always consider what skills you have and how these skills can have a real impact. Your help is needed, we just need to be smart about it. Don’t just do it for social media…
In the podcast we didn’t want to paint everyone by the same brush and assume that all volunteers were self-obsessed and only trying to bolster their CV. Of course there are many out there providing very effective and important volunteering projects overseas, however many voluntourism and gap year projects can so often cause more harm than good to host communities.
Enjoy the podcast and let us know what you think.
In the podcast we didn’t want to paint everyone by the same brush and assume that all volunteers were self-obsessed and only trying to bolster their CV. Of course there are many out there providing very effective and important volunteering projects overseas, however many voluntourism and gap year projects can so often cause more harm than good to host communities.
Enjoy the podcast and let us know what you think.
Hosted by Ollie Nicholas
with Jernene Poponne & David Corell
with Jernene Poponne & David Corell

‘Voluntourism’ in India. Photo: Pixabay
- 2nd March 2020
- The Big Show: Jernene Poponne & David Corell
- By Ollie Nicholas
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Ollie, Jernene and Dave discuss the flaws of 'voluntourism' in West Africa, and how we should be more aware of the actual needs of communities before we ignorantly prescribe what we think they need.

‘Voluntourism’ in India. Photo: Pixabay
Hosts
Hosted by Ollie Nicholas
with Jernene Poponne & David Corell
with Jernene Poponne & David Corell
Tracklist
About
‘Voluntourism’ has proved to be a contentious issue, raising a debate on whether schemes actually benefit communities, or whether they exist only to boost profile for those with a saviour complex. Whatever your stance on the issue, before taking on a voluntourism project, you should always consider what skills you have and how these skills can have a real impact. Your help is needed, we just need to be smart about it. Don’t just do it for social media…
In the podcast we didn’t want to paint everyone by the same brush and assume that all volunteers were self-obsessed and only trying to bolster their CV. Of course there are many out there providing very effective and important volunteering projects overseas, however many voluntourism and gap year projects can so often cause more harm than good to host communities.
Enjoy the podcast and let us know what you think.
In the podcast we didn’t want to paint everyone by the same brush and assume that all volunteers were self-obsessed and only trying to bolster their CV. Of course there are many out there providing very effective and important volunteering projects overseas, however many voluntourism and gap year projects can so often cause more harm than good to host communities.
Enjoy the podcast and let us know what you think.
Social
Share Post
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on google
Share on email
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