Hello! My name is Madeleine Loh, and I was a Communications and Development Intern at Planeterra this summer, generously funded by the Lev Bukhman Internship Award. I am entering my final year at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ as an International Development Studies Major, double minoring in Social Entrepreneurship and East Asian Language and Literature. I have always taken an interest in learning about community development and how it can impact communities on different levels. Through this internship with Planeterra, I was able to explore the positive impacts tourism can have on community development around the world.
As an intern at Planeterra, I've had the great opportunity to contribute to something bigger than myself - the development of the organization's learning content. Creating and updating vital infographics for community tourism enterprises around the world has been a significant part of my role. Working closely with the Development and Communications team, I'm proud to say that I completed various projects, including producing educational infographics for community enterprises. What makes this accomplishment even more remarkable is the collaboration that went into it. It wasn't just about my team; I also got to collaborate with other interns and departments. These infographics serve an essential purpose: they not only keep our internal team updated about ongoing community activities, but they also educate G Adventure's guides and visitors about these programmes.
However, working with a global team dispersed across different time zones has been one of my biggest challenges. While the majority of my team is headquartered in Canada, Planeterra is a global organization with members from South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Dealing with time zones has been challenging, but It's also been an exciting experience. I've had the opportunity to meet people from many origins and cultures, all of whom have extensive experience in sustainable tourism. The diversity adds an entirely fresh perspective.
Reflecting on my internship tasks, I realize that each one has been a stepping stone in my professional path, from updating CEO graphical pages to editing the World of Good Booklet and creating communication materials for social media. The opportunity to contribute to a new learning hub module focusing on "Sustainability for Tourism Services" also demonstrates my progress in terms of skills and perspective. All the projects I have had the opportunity to work on have helped me develop not only hard skills, like developing proficiency on Canva but also soft skills, like how to work in a professional setting and how to collaborate effectively in teams.
One of my many highlights from this summer was attending our team meetings every two weeks and being able to talk to coworkers who lived around the world. This allowed me a chance to connect with people outside of my team in a more conversational setting. In addition, meetings with my supervisor were also a highlight. Being able to debrief the week and talk about goals was very exciting as I progressively had the opportunity to take on more responsibility based on my progress. This also gave me the opportunity to ask questions and receive feedback regularly.
Reflecting on the end of a really fulfilling summer, I am sincerely grateful for the opportunity to work among people who share a steadfast commitment to sustainable tourism. This collaborative commitment has proven to be a source of inspiration, leading us to significant breakthroughs in our work. Seeing genuine progress in the field of sustainable tourism has been an extremely rewarding experience. The evolution of this sector, driven by a commitment to ethical ideals and conscientious practises, emphasizes the critical necessity of our joint efforts. Our united quest for a more sustainable future is clearly delivering considerable positive change within the sector.
