SO!YOUHAVEVOLUNTEEREDTOLEADAJOURNEY?
Someideasandguidelinesasyoubegintheplanning…
Inmostcasesa‘Global’or‘Themed’journeywillhavebeenconceivedbytheperson
electingtodevelopandleadit,soyouwillalreadyhavesomeideas,butthisisabigproject
andthemoreinformationyouhavebeforebeginning,thebetterpreparedyouwillbe.
Bynow,youwillhavedecidedonadestination(mostoftenyourownhometownvicinity)or
atheme,whichhasgreatpotentialforsuccess.
Theonethingwhichdefinesajouneryisthatyou,areresponsibleforbothaspects.YOU
AREBOTHINBOUNDANDOUTBOUNDCOORDINATOR–bepreparedforeverythingthatthis
willmeantoyou.
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Thefirststep,then,istoapplytoFFI(planningdepartment)forpermissionto
proceedwiththejourney.Theywillforwardaformforyoutocomplete–a
comprehensiveoutlineofyourplan,costs,timelineandproposedprogram.
Onceyouhavethe‘go-ahead’andannumber,youcanbeginseriousplanning.Some
peoplefinditeasiertoworkalone,orwithminimalassistance,butyoumaywishto
assembleacommitteesothatdutiescanbeshared.
Mostly,thefeesarepaiddirecttoFFIbecausepricesarealwaysadvertisedinUS
dollarsandpaymentsaremadetotheofficeinAtlanta–andthendisbursedtothe
hostingclub,oranycommercialoperatorinvolved.Thisavoidsconfusion.Of
course,insomecircumstances,thisarrangementcanbevaried.
Becarefultothinkofeverypossiblecontingency,gooverandovertheplanto
ensurenothingislefttochanceandeverycostisaccountedfor.**Onewordof
caution–inanormalclubtoclubjourney,arrangementswithanycommercial
suppliers/operatorsaremadeoncenumbersareclear,butinaGlobalJourneytheseare
agreedbeforeanyrecruitment.Besureofthecancellationconditionsorpriceincreases
wheneitherreducednumbersareachieved,orcancellationoccurs.Don’tputyourselfina
difficultsituation.
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Makesureyourprogramhasbeenrealisticallycosted.Under-estimatingthecosts
canbeterminal,but,atthesametime,makingthepriceunrealisticallyhighwillstop
peopleevenenquiring.Ifthereareanyaspectsoftheprogramwhicharenot
coveredbytheprogramcost,makesuretheseareclearlydefinedsothat
ambassadorsdonotreceiveanastyshock.
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StaffatFFIarealwayshappytogivegreatassistancewithadvertising.However,you
needtodevelopagreatadvertising‘blurb’whichmakesitimpossibleforthereader
toresisttheinvitationtoparticipate.Makeyourwordingconjureupexcitementand
agreatpositiveexperience,whilerememberingtostopshortofbeinguntruthful.A
descriptiveprogram/itineraryisvital.
Remember,ifyouareprovidingphotographs,thatcopyrightisveryimportantto
observe–choosepictureswithhighnumbersofpixels,sourcedfromsuitable
providers.Yourownphotographsworkwell.
Onceallthesepreliminarieshavebeensetinplace,andtheadvertisingbegun,theenquiries
begin.Tobereadyforthis,itiswisetothinkofall/anyquestionswhichmightbeposedby
interestedambassadors.Remember,beingaGlobalCoordinatormeansthereisvirtuallyno
opportunityforyoutoaddressyourambassadorsasagroup–exceptbyemailor,perhaps,
Skypeorsimilar.Thismeansthatnoneofthoseindividualsknowwhatquestionseachofthe
othersmightbeasking,leadingtoyouhavingtoanswerthesamequestionnumeroustimes.
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BeingpreparedwithFAQs/answerswillsaveyoumuchtimeandfrustration.Develop
adocumentwhichapproachescommonconcernswithtravelvariations,
arrival/departurerequirements,activitylevels,accommodationtypes(otherthan
homehosting)temperaturevariations,clothingguidance,visarequirementsforyour
countryetc.,andcirculateitwhenansweringinitialenquiries.
Oncetheapplicationformsbeginarriving,ensurethatyoufollowupwithobtaininga
referencefromeithertheclubpresident,oraformerAmbassadororHost
Coordinator,toestablishsuitabilityofanapplicantforthetypeofjourneyyou
envisage.Shouldanon-memberapplytojoin,thebestapproachwouldbetoeither
call,orSkype,theapplicanttoassesstheirsuitability.
EnsurethatrecruitshavepurchasedTravelInsuranceandaskforevidenceofthis.
Itisworthbeingawareoftheairlinesservingyourcountryfromdeparturepoints
aroundtheworld,andtimesnecessaryforambassadorstoleavehometoarrivein
timeforthecommencementofthejourney.Somecheaperairlinesbuildinan
overnightonlongerroutesandarrivalcanbenegativelyaffectedbythis.
Includeinformationonanyculturaldifferenceswhichmayaffectagatheringof
peoplefromvariouscountries.
Keepthecommunicationup–eveninquietertimes.Aquickcircularemail,justto
touchbaseisreassuringtoyourrecruits.
AGlobalCoordinatorwillalmostcertainlyfindthattheirhopesforrecruitingasuitable
numberofambassadorswillwaxandwaneduringtherecruitmentperiod.Itoftenhappens
thatamostenthusiasticenquirerwillputtheAmbassadorCoordinatorthroughallthe
hoops,numerousemailsandahostofquestions,onlytowithdraw.Don’tletthiscauseany
despondencyasitseemstobe‘parforthecourse’.
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Onceanapplicanthasbeenconfirmedandhaspaidasubstantialdeposit,Iliketo
askeachambassadortoprovideapersonal‘bio’(atleastahalfpage)andaclear,
headandshouldersphotograph.Icreateadocumentwitheachoftheseand
circulatethempriortothejourneytospeedupthe‘gettoknowyou’processatthe
beginningoftheprogram.
BeingaslightlydifferenttypeofjourneyaGlobal/themedprogrammayinclude
activitiesorexpectationsoutsidethenorm.Inthesesituationsitcouldbeadvisable
todevelopaformwhichoutlinesthedifferences,andexplainsthereasons,sothat
therearenosurprises.Thetypeofinformationthiswouldincludewouldbethe
lengthanddifficultyofawalk/hike,includinganyhills,etc.Thinkthroughyour
programandmakesureyouopenlydisclosethosefactorswhichmaycausedifficulty
toanunsuspectingrecruit.Theambassadorshouldsigntheformtoindicatetheir
understandingandagreement.
CongratulationsonyourwillingnesstotakeontheroleofGlobal/ThemedCoordinator.You
aretheveryfoundationofourwonderfulorganisationandjustexactlywhatweneedatthis
junctureofourdevelopment.YouobviouslyhaveVISIONandawillingnesstothinkandact
outsidethesquare.Hopefully,youwillalsobereadytorecruitby‘FISHINGWITHANET’and
todreamofsomethingjustthatlittlebitdifferentwhichwillattractnewmembersand
excitemorenewhoststobeinvolved.
IfyouareinterestedinmoreinformationpleasecontactMatthewNidekat
[email protected].
BobbieMulholland
Adelaide-Australia
CHECKLISTFORGLOBALJOURNEYS
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DecideonTheme
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ApplytoFFIPlanningDeptforapprovalandgetaJourneyNumber
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Thoroughlyplanforanexcitingandachievablejourney.
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Remembernottofillineverymomentwithactivities–freetimeismostimportant
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Carefullypriceouttheprogram
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Beclearonanycostsnotincludedintheprice,e.g.travelbetweenphases
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Engageanyserviceproviderscarefully,takingnoteofanycancellationpenalties.
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Deviseacatchyadvertisingregime–andhaveitregularlyincludedinthejourney
catalogue.Notonlytheinternationallistings,butlocally,too.
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Advertisementsshouldclearlyoutlineanyphysical(orother)limitations
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Respondimmediatelytoallenquiries.
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Checkallreferences
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BepreparedtoincluderecruitsfromoutsideFFmembership–FishingwithaNetis
animportantaspectofbuildingFFmembership.
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Knowtheairlinesthatserviceyourcity–andthelengthoftimenecessaryfor
ambassadorstotravelfromtheirhometoyou.
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KnowVisarequirementsforyourcountry–andinformapplicants.
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Besureto‘sight’evidenceofTravelInsurance
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KeepyourRegionalSupportManager(FFI)regularlyupdatedonprogress
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Keepclearandaccuraterecords–aspreadsheetisideal
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Keepallrecruitsinformed–don’tleavelongperiodsbetweencorrespondence
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Outlineanyculturalaspectsofvisitingyourcountryfromoverseas
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Havingacohesivegroupofambassadorsasthebasisofyourjourneyisthegreatest
starttoasuccessfulprogram–domakeanefforttoensuretheyseethemselvesasa
group.
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Rememberthat,inaGlobalJourney,ambassadorswillalmostneverarriveatthe
sametime.Haveastrategyforthis.Eitherhavethemmetindividually–or–have
thembookintoahotelandbeginthejourneyonthedayfollowingarrival.