Academic Travel Abroad

Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (JEDI)

Academic Travel Abroad is committed to becoming a more equitable and inclusive organization that better serves our travelers, students, employees, and communities. From the stories we share through travel to the inclusive workplace we strive to create, we welcome voices from all races, religions, origins, abilities, gender identities, and sexual orientations.

Our Anti-Racist Action Plan

In October 2020, we announced an organization-wide Anti-Racist Action Plan (ARAP). This plan was created in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and in recognition of the extreme prejudice directed at Black community, Indigenous Communities, and other communities of color for centuries.

This plan extends out as far as 2030 and aims to make diversity, equity, and inclusion work an integral part of who we are and what we do as an organization. We want these actions to be woven into the very fabric of our organization, so that the work of this plan will be viewed by internal and external stakeholders alike not as an “add-on” series of steps, but instead as a key component of our workplace. By achieving the goals we have set in this plan, we will establish a solid platform from which to extend the plan’s continuation, one that aims even higher, when the next decade arrives. 

Actions to Transform our Workplace

  • Hire and retain more people of color, with the goal of having a staff that is more diverse in each racial/ethnic category.
  • Identify and remove barriers that might be impacting our ability to hire more candidates of color.
  • Conduct a yearly audit that focuses on retention of employees of color, and make recommendations that will enhance our retention of these employees.
  • Continue organization-wide discussion sessions at least three times annually on racism and inequity in the U.S. and abroad.

Actions to Transform our Programs

  • Overtly include DE&I considerations in program goals, descriptions, and curricula.
  • Create, provide, and update yearly resources for students and travelers that forefront DE&I considerations, such as information on race and racism in the countries in which we operate.
  • Conduct a yearly audit that focuses on retention of employees of color, and make recommendations that will enhance our retention of these employees.

Actions to Transform our Industries

  • Commit to increase the number of people of color-owned businesses, vendors, restaurants, hotels, venues, and tour staff we work with wherever possible within the U.S. and in foreign destinations.
  • Continue our strong support of the Fund for Education Abroad.
  • Support National Tourism Association efforts to increase diversity and inclusion efforts in travel.

JEDI Principles in Action

As we actively unlearn our own biases and do the work to transform our workplace, programs, and industries, we acknowledge that progress may not always be linear. We believe transparency is an important cornerstone of JEDI work and will post updates and other related blog posts here.

Checking in on our Anti-Racist Action Plan: Year 1

ATA Blog Post
In October 2020, we shared our Anti-Racist Action Plan (ARAP)—a 10-year roadmap to becoming a more equitable and inclusive organization that better serves our students, travelers, employees, and communities. [...]
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Curriculum Review

CET Blog Post
An integral component in our Anti-Racist Action Plan (ARAP) is the Curriculum Review—a three-year audit of our study abroad programs with a view to identify and interrogate structures of difference, power, and equity that are uniquely present in each of program locations. [...]
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The Anti-Racist Action Plan

ATA Blog Post
In early June, we stated our commitment to stand in solidarity with Black communities. We committed to unearthing and unlearning our inherent biases as an organization and to listening to the voices of Black colleagues, students, and travelers in educational travel. [...]
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Juneteenth, #PullUpForTravel

ATA Blog Post
On this Juneteenth, we support the Black Travel Alliance and respond to their call to #PullUpforTravel. Academic Travel Abroad provides cultural and educational group travel experiences for leading media, cultural, and educational institutions in the US. [...]
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Our Statement on Racism and Injustice

ATA Blog Post
We are in awe of the courageous communities across the U.S. (and the world!) taking action against police brutality, racial inequity, and other forms of systemic racism that target and harm Black communities. [...]
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