The United Nations, along with other leading global development organizations have called for people to step up and give their most valuable assets to make the world a better place: their time, brains, and love.
While volunteering overseas can be a way to do that, done incorrectly, it can actually create a lot of harm. It can also erode dignity, create dependencies, and ruins local economies. For this - any many more reasons - it's a hotly debated topic.
Experteering is a movement replacing the perils of voluntourism, seeking to transfer skills and know-how to local groups already developing their own solutions.
Here are the 5 most notables ways that Experteering is different:
We start by going to communities and leaders around the world that have identified local solutions. They then approach MovingWorlds with a specific support area.
Our organizations don't receive money to host you. Instead, they co-invest in your experience. This is a sign that your actual skills are needed.
In Exerteering proejcts, both parties have much to gain. In the planning process, Experteers and hosts talk about the benefits they hope to gain and give. They work together - as partners - for mutual benefit.
MovingWorlds guides Experteers and hosting organizations through training, preparation resources, and a collaborative planning process to ensure expectations are clearly set.
In Experteering projects, we define success as something that happens one year after an Experteer leaves. This means that our Experteers are working to create lasting change, not chasing a cool Facebook photo.