Beyond Voluntourism: Designing Ethical, Accredited Service Programs for School Trips

Michael Lee

Michael Lee

Director, The Centre for Global Citizenship Studies

Many schools now run overseas trips and “service” experiences, but struggle with three big questions:

  • Are we doing more good than harm?
  • How do we move beyond charity to real partnership and learning?
  • How do we show parents and universities that this is more than a feel-good trip?

In this session, Michael will share a practical framework used by the Centre for Global Citizenship Studies (CGCS) to turn existing outdoor and service programs into ethical, academically rigorous learning journeys.

We will explore how to:

  • Prepare students before departure (motivation, power, culture, and context)
  • Design on-the-ground experiences that centre local partners and avoid “white saviour” dynamics
  • Build structured reflection that links to SDGs, global citizenship, and student wellbeing
  • Attach recognised credit or micro-credentials without adding heavy teacher workload

Participants will map one of their own trips against this framework and leave with concrete next steps, example structures, and simple tools they can adapt for their context.

About Michael

Michael Lee is the Founder and Director of the Centre for Global Citizenship Studies (CGCS), an education organisation that blends outdoor experiences, service learning, and accredited qualifications. He has over 20 years’ experience in international education, working across schools, universities, and providers in the UK, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

Michael’s work focuses on helping schools and trip providers move beyond “voluntourism” towards ethical, curriculum-aligned programming that builds real community partnerships and student agency. At CGCS he has designed Level 3 diplomas and university-credit short courses that wrap around existing trips, turning them into structured journeys of preparation, experience, and reflection.

He has led teams, built global partnerships, and supported hundreds of students to gain recognised credit from meaningful, well-designed field experiences.