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| FAQ: INTERNATIONAL EVENTS |
Why are NAI funds expended for international programs and staff travel to exotic places? We have a thriving international program at NAI that continues to expand. The good news is that it is costing virtually nothing in terms of membership dollars from the U.S. The office maintains a database of people who are interested in doing volunteer work abroad and when someone from another country calls us to see if we'd be interested in helping them do training, planning, or designing/building projects, we go through the database to see who has the appropriate skills and availability to get the job done. The projects are few and far between, and we don't spend any NAI money on them. They are totally supported by grants from third parties. We don't seek out these opportunities largely because staff time is limited, but when someone calls on us with money to support a project, we have volunteers ready to go. We've sent several people to China and Korea and have had interest from a number of other countries that are struggling to get interpretation projects up and running. Another activity is our annual international ecotour. This activity is totally fee-based. Participants pay a registration cost that includes a donation to NAI and expenses for a staff person to go (necessary for risk management). Staff who are not designated trip leaders can attend these trips at their own expense (taking vacation time), as can anybody else. We encourage NAI members to bring their families and friends - this is truly a unique experience to travel with your colleagues in a social setting. The ecotours have led to some exciting opportunities for additional training follow-ups (through the volunteer program if the funding comes through), as well as allowing members who would otherwise not travel internationally to experience interpretation through another culture's eyes. We've had nothing but positive responses from the places we've visited and the people who've gone on the trips. One couple who went on the Africa trip subsequently took a year-long leave of absence and returned to do volunteer work on their own in some small villages. As a result, we now have NAI Certified Interpretive Guides in Africa. We also offer an international conference each year. It is designed for a smaller audience than the national workshop, but brings together delegates from 30 to 40 countries to share their ideas and solutions to challenges they face. Anyone is welcome to attend or to make a presentation. Information about the upcoming year's conference can be found on the website - because of the cost and timing issues associated with mailings to other countries, all promotional material related to this conference is found on-line only. NAI supports this conference financially, through registration fees and sponsorships. Like the national workshop, the profits from the conference help support the national organization and provide additional funding for member services for everyone. NAI's international affiliates (currently NAI-China, NAI-Korea, and NAI-Greece) are partnerships defined by a Memorandum of Understanding with entities in those countries. Each of them approached NAI to develop such a partnership because they wanted the benefits associated with NAI's long history as they develop a similar professional organization in their country. In essence, the MOU requires NAI to provide its publications to the other country as a pdf file for distribution to members of the affiliate by the affiliate (costing NAI nothing). In return, the affiliate pays a percentage of any membership fees collected to NAI. We are currently experimenting with an international internship exchange program. Our first participant, from Korea, worked in the NAI national office for three months in early 2008. Soon we hope to be able to facilitate the exchange of interns to and from other countries at no cost to the members of NAI. Why is NAI taking such an interest in international activities all of the sudden? International activities have been going on for a number of years. It would be our greatest desire to see an active national organization for interpreters in every other country with whom we might collaborate; however, many nations lack the professional infrastructure to create that kind of association. Nonetheless, they desperately want training and publications that allow them to be more effective in their effort to protect natural and cultural resources in their countries. In accordance with our mission, we seek opportunities to encourage professionalism everywhere while respecting the need to invest our member funds in services that most efficiently provide growth and opportunities to learn. Grants, scholarships, and donations continue to be the primary support for working with people outside the U.S. Some nations can afford to bring training programs to their countries at full cost, and we provide those when we can. Many Certified Interpretive Trainers based in the U.S. are currently providing Certified Interpretive Guide and Host courses in other countries (12 at last count). NAI has members in over 30 countries, and it's important to support those dues-paying international members just as we support those in the U.S. In fact, international members pay a higher membership fee than domestic members, but receive no additional benefit - often they are not able to fully participate in the same events that U.S. members can, and their publications arrive damaged due to postal service difficulties in their countries. Can any member of NAI go on international trips with all expenses paid? Only on the NAI volunteer program run through the national office. Simply fill out an application form (found on the Web site) and indicate your willingness to go. There aren't a lot of projects, but when one comes up, you'll be considered based on a number of criteria for any given project. Other opportunities (like the international conference and the ecotour) are fee-based for everyone. Due to risk management factors, we do not use member volunteers to accompany ecotours as NAI representatives. Is the board aware of the amount of time staff travels internationally? The actual amount of staff time spent traveling internationally is very little when compared to how much time is spent domestically. The Executive Director spent 36 days traveling internationally on NAI time in 2006 (ecotour leader, NAI international conference, CIT class, speaker/delegate to Association for Heritage Interpretation conference, and speaker/delegate to NAI-China Geoparks Conference). Until 2007, international travel by staff was all taken on vacation time, even when the staff was representing the organization, but in 2007, the board requested that executive staff use work time when representing the organization abroad. The board approves any required memorandums of understanding and international initiatives prior to any staff activity in other countries. |
| International Events Quick Links NAI International Conference |
| National Association for Interpretation | 888-900-8283 |