Global Exchange’s 2006 “Reality Tours”

Back in 2001, when World Hum wasn’t yet a year old, we published a story by Jeff Spurrier about the eye-opening “reality tour” he took of Tijuana, Mexico with a San Francisco non-profit called Global Exchange. It sounded like a great experience, and I’ve been following the travel offerings from the human rights organization ever since.

I just received an e-mail with their new slate of trips, and they sound like the kind of journeys that could inspire even the most die-hard indie travelers to try a tour. (In short, they’re no ordinary tours.) They include a journey to Afghanistan in March to learn about the role women are playing in public life these days, and a trip to Syria and Lebanon, where participants will meet with leaders of religious and political groups.

Here’s what Global Exchange says about its tours:

The idea that travel can be educational, transformational and positively influence international affairs motivated the first Reality Tours in 1989. Unlike traditional tourism, Reality Tours promotes socially responsible travel as our participants build true “people to people ties”. Reality Tours are founded on the principles of experiential education and each tour focuses on important social, economic, political and environmental issues. When you journey with us you will meet the people, learn the facts first hand, and then discover how we, both individually and collectively, contribute to global problems and how we can enact positive change.

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