Voluntourism

Part of a travelling experience can be volunteering and contributing to ongoing projects and charities in countries that may be poverty stricken, without educational institutions or clean water. Voluntourists can get involved in many projects from providing medical aid or helping to clean up an area that has been affected by natural disasters.

The basis of voluntourism is good intentioned; it is even a dream of many people to visit a beautiful, new country and make a difference while they are there. However it must be done responsibly and address the actual issues rather than thinking building something pretty will bring the real changes needed.

It is undeniable that voluntourism is a great initiative; it inspires a charitable work ethic, encourages people to give back and provides resources to vital projects worldwide. It is also crucial for promoting sustainability, increased awareness of our planet and the consequences of our actions. However exploitation is not unheard of in the regions where the work is supposed to be of benefit to the people; fraudulent behaviour such as keeping orphanages in terrible conditions purposefully to attract more charitable visitors even though they have more than enough funds to improve conditions for the children . This puts vulnerable people at risk and can even exacerbate the exiting problems.
The most important result of voluntourism is that the receiving community is involved in initiatives and developments that are crucially necessary. It may not always be obvious and speaking directly to the people it will effect is a very important step in providing sustainable giving. For example funding to train teachers and to purchase school equipment might be more important than building an oversized and unneeded commercial school in a village of 500 people.

Volunteer abroad sensibly is the message. Do research into the country, culture and the history before jetting off to gain an understanding of how social and cultural factors influence poverty. Fundamentally travellers need to be made aware of the short- and long-term implications involved with voluntourism.


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Rebranding: Trials and Tribulations

Recently Facebook have faced animosity towards their new changes, the time line has been met with the most unfavourable reaction yet. Past changes have been disagreeable however they were eventually accepted by the social networking community. This time the heat is being felt.

Are changes, in particular rebranding, always a good idea?

The following examples suggest that sometimes listening to the public is the best idea for your brand.

Even giants like coca cola can make dire mistakes. Coke launched New Coke in 1985 to combat Pepsi’s latest campaign and the fear that Pepsi would over take them in the market. The CEO changed the formula of coke and this disastrous decision was short lived, after three months Coke Classic was reintroduced, outselling Pepsi.

Gap similarly made a mistake that had its customers tweeting with rage. The clothing brand didn’t predict such an adverse reaction when it changed its logo to simple black lettering on a white background and a small blue square in the right hand corner. The new logo was pulled only a few days after the launch and the disgruntled public won.

Not all rebranding results in outrage and a swift U-turn. When the chocolate bar Marathon Americanised its name to Snickers in 1990 it was a move that made sense as Snickers was its global name. The name change didn’t diminish UK sales, and the chocolate bar was recently named the all time best-selling chocolate bar in the world, quite a title.

A brand new palindrome was bought to our attention when Norwich Union rebranded itself as Aviva in 2008. This change was smooth due to it already being known as Aviva in overseas markets. The renaming was a success after a wide-reaching advertising campaign featuring celebrities who had changed their names before they were famous and polls following the name change also suggested it had boosted brand recognition.

There are many more examples in the vaults of bad business decisions, can you recall any other disastrous changes or rebranding?

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The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

We are all preparing ourselves for the exciting summer ahead with both the Olympics and the Queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations to look forward to.

There are many events and visits planned for the long weekend in June that will celebrate the monarch’s 60th year on the throne. This includes the Epsom Derby and the Thames Pageant consisting of 1000 boats and the royal barge which will make quite a sight on the Thames, on 3rd June. However the sight we are anticipating the most at MSE is the royal procession on 5th June.

The Royal Household Cavalry are going through extensive training in preparation for the celebrations and have recently had a dress rehearsal. 116 men and horses of the mounted regiment will travel alongside the Queen through London starting at Westminster Hall to Buckingham Palace; ablaze with colour and pageantry. There are some impressive and amusing characters in the parade this year with one of the ‘mane’ events being Thomas the kissing horse who will affectionately kiss you if you offer him his favourite minty treats. Amongst the other playful equines is a moustachioed horse with the rank of Major, another who likes to shake hooves with visitors and other talented individuals that can sweep the floor and bed themselves down in their own stables.

To learn more about the history and role of the household cavalry why not visit the museum for an interesting and fun day out.

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Easter and all the rest

The Easter break is soon upon us and with the news that airlines will be under-staffed there is panic and concern over severe delays for those travelling on the busy bank holiday weekend. It is questionable whether going away for a long weekend is really the best thing. However it doesn’t seem to have deterred the thousands hitting the road, tracks and the skies this Easter.
Today Heathrow and other airports have expressed concerns over UK Border Agency Staff shortages which will in turn cause delays for passengers. With 200,000 people expected to pass through Gatwick and 370,000 departing from Heathrow, the increase in demand over these busy periods will put extra strain on travel operators.

Forecasted snow, airline gridlock, strikes, rail closures and busy bank-holiday roads; is it just scaremongering? It is certainly a terrifying prospect for the long weekend as half the country travel from one end to the other in order to visit family and friends or make the most of a few extra days off.

The weather reports are not helping matters. The horror at what might happen over Easter if it snows and the effect this will have on travel is immeasurable. The snow that has already hit Scotland and North- East England causing road closures and power cuts in 40,000 homes, is reportedly heading south. The fact that the country experienced the hottest recorded days of March only a week ago makes it all seem slightly mad.

The only way to avoid the inevitable jams and delays, miserable weather and irate passengers is to stay at home and enjoy a quiet relaxing break. There are plenty of other activities to engage in over Easter; why not visit a city farm, take a stroll to Hampstead Heath, finish that book you’ve been reading for the past 3 months….

What ever it is you plan to do here are some excellent tips in keeping the stress of Easter break to a minimum.

Have a wonderful Holiday!



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Garrard and The Prince's Trust

 Garrard, the World’s oldest jewellers gained its first royal commission from Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales (1707 to 1760) and in 1843 it officially became the crown jeweller. Garrard (pronounced Gerrard) has a very long and well established history, founded by George Wickes in 1735 and later given the name Garrard when Robert Garrard took control over the company. Today it continues to create divine pieces desired by many and often seen on the elegant hands and swan necks of celebrities; Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Rihanna to name but a few and all who have donned beautifully designed diamond creations by the esteemed jeweller.

The latest collection has limited edition pieces of exquisite black gold, and were recently viewed by MSE’s Managing Director, Nina Johnson-Bennett a member of the Prince’s Trust Women’s Leadership Group at an exclusive reception celebrating Garrard’s partnership with the Trust which included a private tour of their new Diamond Jubilee exhibition. As a  sponsor they hosted the Princes Trust Diamond Jubilee Event in London on the evening of 29^th March, featuring many of their new pieces including the special diamond jubilee pendant specifically for this year’s celebrations in June, each pendant has a birthstone set in the crown and is being launched in gold, white gold and rose gold. The evening was a resounding success as purchases were made throughout the night. An as yet unspecified however evidently substantial amount was raised for the Prince’s Trust Charity, 10% of purchases went directly to the charity as donations.

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Unemployment on the Rise

Needless to say if you are currently employed you are incredibly lucky. UK unemployment increased by 28,000 in the last 3 months to 2.67million and even though this is the lowest increase in almost a year it is still a huge amount.

In this economy and the ‘doom and gloom’ news across Europe with Greece and Italy in dire straits it is easy to understand people’s frustration and desperation. Those who find themselves unemployed, whether that is due to staff cuts within companies, redundancy or liquidation of a business, can be facing long term periods of unemployment. One jobseeker claims to have applied for 1,639 jobs over the course of a year and has had no luck so far.

Most media coverage of mass unemployment focuses on the impact it has on young people and graduates between 16-24 years old. The figures of unemployment in this age group rose by 16,000 to 1.042 million since January. However a huge amount of people over 50 are part of the figures and reports of ageism are increasing. Those who have contributed for years and gained experience are particularly affected by becoming suddenly unemployed and the ability to get back into work is increasingly difficult. With retirement age forecasted at 75 in the future it begs the question how are these people going to find work.

But the message is to keep going; although being unemployed can be dispiriting and even ‘mind numbing’ seeking work is a ‘full time job’. Taking on volunteer work and other activities to build on skills gives a reason to set the alarm clock and dress presentably. Having some kind of purpose is helpful to avoid getting stuck in a mindset where unemployment becomes wearisome and even depressing.

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Sport Relief

With the combination of endurance, hilarity and celebrations of Sport Relief coming to a close it is apt to consider what has been achieved and the “distance” still needed to go to reach the ultimate goal. Every year it seems that the deprivation of the needy including young children, often orphaned and living in unimaginable conditions, the majority concentrated in under-developed countries is worsening across the globe. The success stories are few and far between compared to the tragic and dire conditions in which many still live. It is incomprehensible that this continues in 2012 and despite Sport Relief reaching over £52 million from donations and celebrity endeavours that such a monumental amount will not touch the tip of the iceberg to help many who continue to suffer.

How are all these millions spent? Obviously huge events like Sport Relief cost money to organise, and there is also the cost of flights, aid and a significant amount in between that needs to be taken into account. So only a fraction of the money raised goes to those who need it most. These large celebrity-saturated charities do some good such as providing vaccinations, mosquito nets, education, food, clean water and further measures to prevent the spread of disease.


Does the vague descriptions on the Sport Relief site about how money is spent merely highlight and accentuate the severity of the issues that need to be tackled rather than showing how they have been resolved?

After more than 20 years of Sport Relief and other large events like Comic Relief, few “goals” have been reached in that time and the question that must be asked is; how much is needed to really make a difference?

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