WHAT IS FRIENDSHIP CORPS?

Friendship Corps is a CIMPA initiative developed from meetings with congress and travel professionals who have attended our  international conferences and incentives. Asian Leaders Association is partnering with CIMPA.

It is genuinely exciting to think about the power we have, as meeting planners, incentive and travel organizers to change attitudes and perspectives of travelers. Friendship has no limit and the joy and gains of a unique friendship is boundless, if we are ready to share.

The purpose of  Friendship Corps is to promote understanding, friendship and tolerance among peoples of the world.

PACKAGING TOURS FOR FRIENDSHIP CORPS

Tours may be packaged as incentive programs, spouse tours, pre and post tours for meetings and conferences or stand-alone Friendship Corps trips. At least 50% of the time should involve interaction with the local people. 

 

CIMPA will take responsibility for distributing the information to target markets via its website, e-newsletters and magazine. 

 

To qualify as a Friendship Corps trip, it has to have the following minimum components:

 

BEFORE THE TRIP

1. Understand the history of the place. This gives travelers a better perspective of why local people do what they do and live how they live. All tour operators will provide information on the historical sites to be visited in advance of the trip.
2. Get a feel of the culture of the place. How should you dress and behave so as not to offend local people?

DURING THE TRIP – Tour operators must tailor the program to provide these experiences: 

1. Understand how people live. What are the families like? Are they small nuclear families or big extended ones? What is the man’s role in the household? What is the woman’s role? What roles do children play?
2. How do people make a living? This provides opportunities for collaborative activities.
3. Sample what people eat.  Break bread with the locals. Participate in a cooking demonstration. Perhaps the tie that binds all peoples best is food.
4. Leave something tangible. Share the expertise of participants with the locals. The projects may be small or big, depending on the abilities of the target participants.  Plant a tree, bring books and read to the children, dig a well, talk about how clean water save lives and help them get it,  build a playground, conduct a Community Health Day, teach local entrepreneurs small business skills, stack a library, provide tools. These are just a few possible projects. There is no limit to what a group can do.

 

AFTER THE TRIP

1. At the end of the trip, participants should pledge to keep in touch with at least one person in the local community.
2. Tour operator must periodically follow up on this pledge while selling additional trips.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We are encouraged by the tremendous response to our Request for Proposal for Friendship Corps programs and delighted with the variety of  programs we have received so far.

Some of these are:

• Playground in Romania,
• Community Health Awareness Day and Sports Day in Malaysia
• Medical mission to Laylay, Marinduque in the Philippines
• Interesting dialogue with people in Peru regarding native herbal medicine and Western medicine
• Educational safari and dialogue in Kenya and others.

Below are the Frequently Asked Questions. We regret that due to the volume of mail we receive, we are unable to respond individually to all of them. 

Is this open only to CIMPA members?

No. Anyone can submit a proposal. But Emerald Membership in CIMPA is FREE. The free use of our domain names alone (there is a long list of benefits)  is worth the fees for Gold and Ruby membership. www.cimpa.org/members.htm

I work for a Tourist Board/CVB/Hotel/Speaker. Am I qualified to submit a proposal?

Yes, you are. However, it is best if you worked with a tour operator or DMC. They are used to putting together programs that I assume will involve the use of your products/services. We do not have pre-designed programs. You must indicate the objective as well as the day by day itinerary.

What are the dates?

You have to tell us what are the best dates for your program. For example, if this is an outdoor project, you probably do not want it in the winter unless it is in Asia, Africa, Central/South America or the Caribbean. We also would like to avoid the high season to lower costs. 

What kind of programs are you looking for?

Our objective is to promote tolerance, understanding and friendship among groups of people around the world. A very important component is that at least 50% of the time should involve interaction with the local people - working together on a project that will benefit the community, workshop, seminar, community events, A Free Day with a Local Friend, others. 

Is there an application form?

None. All the information we need are in the RFP. You can put as much detail as you want.

Who do we send the proposal to?

Send it to Faith Baggett. Email is preferred. 

WANTED: SPONSORS

We have also received email from people and organizations who are interested in co-sponsoring some of the programs. We are delighted to share resources so that we can have as many projects activated as soon as possible.

 If anyone else knows of any possible sponsors, please send email to Faith Baggett

WANTED: TRAVEL AUCTION DONORS

Friendship Corps Missions are supported by profits from our events as well as proceeds from online travel auctions on EBay. We need the help of our supplier partners. Please click here for more information

This FAQ will be updated. Please visit us frequently. 

THANK YOU for your interest in promoting tolerance, friendship and understanding in our world. We at CIMPA look forward to working with you.