Go Global Expo helps students explore different places overseas. Christine Ford walking the streets of Florence, Italy. (Courtesy Christine Ford).
By Persis Abraham
Aspiring travelers don’t need to fear any more because Go Global Expo is coming to Toronto this weekend.
Go Global Expo is an organization produced by Verge Magazine, designed to give students and the public opportunities to volunteer, study, work and even live in over 100 countries ranging from England to China.
The question of safety in a different country always comes into play, especially when it is involving university and college students.
Jeff Minthorn, co-founder of Verge magazine and Go Global Expo explains how the organization offers a “risk management” seminar which assures students that they will be provided with the utmost information that outlines safety while traveling in unfamiliar places.
“A credible organization will have a risk management plan in place. They will have all kinds of information for students about how to be safe and how to overcome those jitters,” said Minthorn.
“There’s usually a lot of prep-work done ahead of time to make sure that people know that they’re going to safe places. These are considerations that you need to look into and questions you ought to ask,” he said.
“What is their risk management plan? What if something goes wrong? Do you have local staff who are equipped to deal with emergencies,” Minthorn continued.
Post-secondary students from all around the world can come to the event held annually in Toronto and Montreal to learn about which travel opportunity may be best for them, how they can fund this journey and how an experience like this can build their resume.
Minthorn explained that the best part about their organization is that students can sit in seminars taught by experts who have actually lived overseas and studied in different countries.
Former Humber College student, Sarah Johnson is going to the event for the first time this weekend.
She has always been interested in pursuing an international career but felt she never had the right information provided through different online publications. Johnson also feels like talking to experts will get her out of her comfort zone and allow her to experience new places and cultures.
“I’ve always dreamed about traveling or volunteering abroad but I’ve never really known the right way to go about it. It’s going to be awesome to have all these vendors and all this information in one spot,” Johnson said.
Minthorn said one workshop focuses on questions about careers for globe trotters.
“It’s an opportunity for the audience to engage in a discussion about, ‘What would I need to do to cultivate an international career?’ What if someday, I wanted to jet off to Luxembourg for a week to consult on something. How do I make that career path?’”
He believes that panel discussions and workshops are much more effective and meaningful than students just scrolling online to find their travel answers.