DEAR IOI COMMUNITY
2020 has been a challenging year, particularly for the travel industry. After a somewhat desperate summer—and with your help—IOI has now secured funding to remain alive for the rest of the year, despite all study abroad and volunteering programs being closed until 2021.
Times of change are always a good moment to step back and reflect upon the former status quo. As I am writing this letter, the dire need for action on climate change is more urgent than ever. California is experiencing its worst fires on record while the Gulf Coast is battered by a record seventh named storm to make landfall in the US before the end of August (previous record was six in 1916). Both events are directly related to climate change.
While IOI is of course a sustainable development NGO, most of our funding comes from educational travel in study abroad and volunteering. How do sustainable development and carbon-emissions-heavy funding combine, you ask? So have we, and IOI is striving to be part of the solution to climate change, perhaps the biggest challenge of our time. In anticipation of reopening in 2021, IOI is moving forward with its Carbon Negative 2022 Initiative, leading by example in a traditionally emissions-heavy industry.
It is inspirational to see that more and more large organizations are also picking up some of the sustainable practices that IOI has been promoting. Sustainability leaders in their traditionally carbon-emissions-heavy industries, Patagonia and White Oak Pastures have made impressive progress in the cotton/apparel and meat production industries, respectively.
As you will read below, despite heavy cutbacks, our local projects and our initiatives to promote sustainable agriculture and biodiversity protection are being pushed forward as our remaining staff maintains our project work. Stay tuned for the launch of an exciting online education campaign that combines our field experiences with pre-arrival courses and internships.
Keep up the positive spirit—we’ll get through this together.
