Authenticitys Social Impact Report 2016
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Index 5
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Forward 9
Our manifesto
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The power of indicators 24
2016 Annual Summit 32
Our Partners II 16
Authenticitys’ impact measurement
2017: Sustainable tourism year!
Our Partners I 13
Authenticitys’ Goals 22
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Theory of Change 28
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Press
Our Partners III 33
Fun Facts
Our Growth 11
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B-Corp
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Authenticitys’ Theory of Change Authenticitys’ journey in 2016
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Our Team
Contacts
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Forward Did you know… That by 2050, two out of three people will live in cities
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70% of global greenhouse gas emissions are from cities (5% is due to tourism)
In 2015, we saw 50 million more tourists, bringing up the total of people travelling to 1.2 billion worldwide
And that 72% of tourists believe “travel giving” is important Sources: Responsible Travel, Adweek SocialTimes, Rezdy
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Forward: How we started
Authenticitys is all about connecting travelers with cities in a way that positively impacts the city. We are bringing people together: locals, immigrants, foreigners, travelers, students, children and grandparents, into a community of do-good travellers.
Authenticitys hosts experiences in cities where visitors leave the city better than they found it. Our experiences are educational, do-good, authentic ways to visit a city, meet locals and leave a positive foot print of impact you will be able to follow up on next time you visit.
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Forward: How we started
We started developing and prototyping experiences as early as 2010 in Vietnam, and 2013 in Barcelona with local partners. After a year we had co-created functional and purposeful experiences full of passion and positive impact in 3 cities. The trend spread and experiences with impact started emerging throughout different cities.
Authenticitys then became the connector, the host, and the impact measuring expert for organizations that wanted to do good through travel. People in cities worldwide were joining together around a purpose. We started cocreating and designing experiences around a variety of local challenges, in open city labs, and invited the travel industry to a world of meaningful and impactful transformation.
What challenges exist in your city? If we join all our dreams and skills together, we believe we can create real change. Let’s make this dream come to life. Join us in this journey!
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Our Manifesto
Picture of Authenticitys members
Picture of Authenticitys members
Elena RodrĂguez Blanco Co-Founder, Experience Curator
Kim Lessig Co-Founder, US Operations
Picture of Authenticitys members
Picture of Authenticitys members
Toni Ripoll i Roig Web Developer and Tech Guru
Sandra Schoeber COO and Experience Curator 6
Our growth: Social Impact Experiences in different cities Paddle Surf the Beach Clean - Barcelona
Discover Soho & Fitzrovia – London
Authenticitys’ partners offer an experience that integrates travellers who get to enjoy one of the trendiest water sports, paddle surf, they also have the opportunity to connect with the spirit of Barceloneta, the unique neighborhood in the city’s old port that is surrounded by the ocean and beaches on the other.
This experience will give you an appreciation for the area’s historical and social significance. Soho holds a history that houses everything from the late 17thC French Huguenots, the Red Light District of the 1960s to the media and entertainment elite of today while Fitzrovia is full of delis, restaurants and remnants of London’s Italian immigrant community.
The experience starts with a paddle surf lesson with a private instructor and Barceloneta’s amazing scenery as a backdrop. Then you’ll go on a guided tour of the area, learn about its transformation through the years, the environmental challenges that stem from being one of Europe’s most visited beaches and, actively fight pollution by helping out with a beach clean-up.
Throughout the experience our partner Pink Tours, will both educate and offer you opportunities to help give back to the neighborhood. You can contribute by distributing food to the local homeless community and also just by joining the tour, you are immediately helping out as Pink Tours support tolerance in the area and all the proceeds are used to help people that suffer prejudice. 7
Our growth: Social impact experiences in different cities Amsterdam Underground – Amsterdam Amsterdam Underground takes you on a very different tour around Amsterdam’s Red Light District. Its guides have been homeless in the past, living in the very streets you’ll visit. The guides share their stories, they spread their knowledge of the homeless life, often combined with substance abuse, and tell you about how they got out of that situation. Amsterdam Underground offers its guides, whom often have a big distance from the labour market, a chance to participate in society. It gives their guides the opportunity to make something positive out of their experience and gives you a chance to learn more about people who are homeless or substance users.
Alternative Peru– Lima Alternative Peru offers authentic off-the-beaten-path tours which allows travelers to experience Peruvian culture beyond the main tourist attractions. ¨Central Lima through a local’s eyes¨ tour combines the classic highlights of Lima’s historical centre with, less touristic hidden gems. These are all just outside the touristic area and gives you a good idea of the ‘real’ Lima, full of color, people and little shops. Your guide will share some interesting stories and facts not only about the history of these places, but also about Lima’s current social reality.
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Doru, our partner‘s vision ÂŤ My vision is to develop alternative tourism in Bucharest. While a lot of urban alternative experiences are based on street-art, the art itself is not that common here as in other cities such as Berlin. We started the Street Art Project to make Bucharest more colorful and thus also more attractive to tourists by inviting local and international artists. Even though street art is oftentimes still considered vandalism in Romania, the admission to paint the wall of the University of Architecture shows that we are making progress. Âť
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Authenticitys is a proud B Corp. B Corps are for-profit companies certified to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
2048 B-Corp
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Countries
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Industries
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Goal
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Arma, our partner‘s vision
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« I came to Madrid 8 years ago for romantic love and then developed a love for Spain and Madrid. However when I arrived, the tourism offers were very traditional and focused on the typical highlights. Due to my experience in leisure tourism and art consulting, I have an eye for finding places a bit off the beaten track. The experiences I offer today are those that you wouldn’t find among the highlights in your typical travel guide, but they invite you to discover Madrid from the locals’ point of view »
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2017, the UN year of sustainable tourism ! Objectives •
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Raise awareness on the contribution of sustainable tourism to development Mobilize stakeholders in making the sector a catalyst for positive change Foster change in policies, business practices and consumer behaviour in tourism Key areas
• Inclusive and sustainable economic growth • Social inclusiveness, employment and poverty reduction • Resource efficiency, environmental protection and climate change • Cultural values, diversity and heritage • Mutual understanding, peace and security 12
UN Goals for sustainability Authenticitys’ has aligned their impact with the UN sustainability goals to align with the ecosystem
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The Year of Sustainable Tourism and us This year is a unique opportunity for all of us to contribute to the tourism sector by travelling responsibly.
The goal for 2017 is raising awareness by using the year of Sustainable Tourism to its fullest. Our aim is to reach 500,000 people in 2017 to let them know how they can participate in the global challenges and the amazing things we can do together! Let’s join forces in this challenge! 14
The Year of Sustainable Tourism and US Our Global Impacts
Keeping mind, body, and heart at their optimal state. Through physical activity, healthy food, emotional management, community building, an overall holistic lifestyle.
Knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and habits are transferred to each other. Through cultural interrelations, social conscience, taking risks and having a profound ecosystem knowledge.
Our home. Learning, knowing and experiencing the value of our resources. The full lifecycle of materials. Living KM0 and plastic-free lifestyles.
Understanding and dignity for each one. Acquiring new skills, transferring artisanal practices and wisdom. Contribution to society. Meta-cognition and capacity to learn to learn.
Respect for the other. Honoring, accepting and learning from each other, celebrating diversity and embracing everyone of any age, sex, colour, nationality, religion and profession.
Self-confidence and positive reinforcement. Satisfaction of learning by doing and sharing with others. Connecting with inner passion and drive. Bliss.
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The Power of Indicators
In 1992, The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development recognized the important role that indicators could play in helping countries make informed decisions concerning sustainable development.
Indicators‌
Communicate ideas, thoughts and values
Simplify and clarify
Incorporate physical and social knowledge
Measure and calibrate progress
Make aggregated information available
Warn to prevent economic, social and environmental setbacks
The third and most recent set is released after being agreed upon by 193 world leaders. 16
Authenticitys impact measurement In order to align our six dimensions of impact to the global efforts for sustainability, we are looking to focus on 3 main impacts which are Environment, Education & Employment (3 E’s) that align to the UN Sustainable Development goals. Measuring impact is one of our greatest assets and one that keeps evolving and we hope to have all clear.
Methodology
Label the tours with their respective impact
Collect data from our partners
Have KPIs for each UN Goals
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Authenticitys impact measurement Impact Measurement Examples • • • • • • • • • • •
Authenticitys Impact
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Number of people connected Kilos of trash collected Euros going to local economy initiatives Local economy initiatives promoted Beauty spotted Ideas to make the world better Euros going to youthled initiatives Guides new skills learned Guides earning an income from tour organizers Youth trained in employable activity Cultural heritage stories told 18
Impact measurement: here‘s how we do it Experience the Paddle surf at the beach clean beaches of Barcelona in a whole new 350 People different way. Join us connected through this experience on this quest and find out the stories of local 40 Local economy marine life, how to initiatives promoted help preserve them and enjoy some paddle 800 Euros going to surf along the way‌ ocean protecting initiatives 18,000 Cigarette butts collected 90 Kilos of trash collected
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Impact measurement: here‘s how we do it Biking the invisible Barcelona The invisible Barcelona experience will take you on a bike ride through the eyes of Mamadou, a social entrepreneur from Senegal living in Barcelona. He'll tell you the story, show you the streets of the Raval neighborhood and then you'll understand why it's a special place in the city.
528 People connected through this experience 32 Local economy initiatives promoted 2,700 Euros going to youth-led initiatives 6 Youth trained in an employable activity
Beauty spotted
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Theory of Change
What is it? The Theory of Change is a process whereby a company visualizes and sets its long term goals. The applicant of the theory of change then works backwards in order to identify the different preconditions, to be reached in shorter period of times, that have to be in place to reach the long term goals. By doing so, you create a plan with interventions for the company to follow in its daily operations.
« TRANSFORM TRAVEL»
How does it apply to Authenticitys? Authenticitys’ aim is to transform the way people travel, making responsible travel real. Using the Theory of Change, Authenticitys works backwards from this vision to determine which outcomes need to be established before we can reach its end goal. In doing so, Authenticity defines specific interventions/actions, that need to be performed so that a certain outcome is reached. Every outcome we reach is one step closer to achieving our vision. The definition of these outcomes and the interventions needed to achieve them, is what we use as a guide to plan our short term strategy. To keep track of the evolution and have a better understanding of the entire progress, indicators of the interventions are continuously monitored.
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Theory of Change: One of our main impacts Employment Authenticitys defined ‘fair employment of disadvantaged people’ as an outcome that needs to be reached to make the responsible travel a reality. Authenticitys works closely with partners that organise experiences with previously homeless people. To measure the progress in reaching this outcome, one of the indicators we have in place is the number of disadvantaged people that found a job after serving as an experience guide.
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Authenticitys Annual Summit 2016 On November 19th Authenticitys’ held its first annual summit in Barcelona. Throughout the entire day, travel professionals, experience partners, travellers, citizens and students gathered around one common reflection: how can we communicate responsible travel to wider audience?
The event was structured in several stages, it started with an introduction on Authenticitys’ activities and partners. It was then followed by a creativity stimulation exercise and a communication design thinking challenge. Finally, the reflection focused on the traveler's impact and its measurement in order to conclude with a reflection on what travel might look like in ten years. 23
Annual Summit 2016 What impact do travelers seek to achieve? Tourists are driven by curiosity, the pursuit of knowledge as well as unique experiences.
When traveling in developed countries
When traveling in developing countries
Cultural insights (heritage and history)
Equality in living conditions & education
Traditions (Food, music, etc.)
Preservation of local traditions (food, festivities, etc.)
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Authenticitys‘ Annual Summit 2016 A possible future….
Increasing middle class
Increasing disposable income
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Ecological Issues
Tourism is responsible for 5% of cities’ greenhouse gas emissions
Raise Awareness
Promote sustainable tourism as the new solution
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Anna, Our partner
 After having worked in India for 8 years, I took some time off to explore different cultures. My travels sparked the desire to do social business, operating for the benefit of addressing social needs. I quit my job in 2011 and came back to India, where I’m focused on my work designing activities for engagement, building local partnerships and raising awareness in responsible tourism.  26
And the press also liked what we were doing “With more than 10 years of experience in several sectors, Elena is in her 4th social start-up and has changed roles and industries, countries and projects giving her the ability to take risks and believe in the power of ideas and teams of ordinary people achieving extraordinary things” Travindy, Anula Galewska “Authenticitys connects visitors with local, unforgettable experiences that make the city more personable and better.” 4YFN Connecting Start-ups
“Longlisted, among 75 other companies, for the World Responsible Tourism Awards 2016”. World Responsible Tourism Awards 2016
“Elena is a true expert in social entrepreneurship, as an academic and as an entrepreneur herself. She has undertaken courageous upstream professional choices but I think every company, whether a small business or a big corporation, will need her expertise sooner than they believe” Linkedin, Francesco Della Mora 27
2016, a journey in the life of Authenticitys Our first experiences in Central Eastern Europe: Authenticitys in Romania
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ITB Berlin!
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We were behind our desks coding away a big overhaul of our website
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Authenticitys engages in a number of conversations during this month to rethink tourism and responsible travel.
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2016, a journey of Authenticitys The Authenticitys Challenge is in full force at the Basque Culinary Center, IED, and Universitat de Barcelona.
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Authenticitys is now among the 75 long listed companies for the world responsible tourism awards in London.
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We hit a milestone: 5000 travelers have been part of an Authenticitys experience!
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Authenticitys accredited with the B Corp certification
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2016, a journey of Authenticitys We were at SOCAP: The largest conference on social capital in San Francisco.
Authenticitys Annual Summit 2016
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Sep
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Featured in Women for Impact publication.
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Hello LATAM! We began stretching ties with our LATAM partners!
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Fun Facts
21 Partners
11 Cities 18,000 Km traveled
6500 Travellers
43 Experiences 31
Team insights– Helena Lopes I am Brazilian, born in Sao Paulo. I am a journalist, but my professional experience has been in marketing and corporate communication. I have worked in large companies and startups in different sectors. I always wanted to explore the world. Therefore, I came to live in Barcelona to study a Master in Innovation. I fell in love with the city, met many people with values similar to mine, like Elena, and decided to stay and put my goals into practice here.
My best travel experience has been in the Amazon region of Brazil in 2015. I traveled a week by boat visiting communities that live in the middle of the rainforest. The scenery has been the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, people are so friendly, with beautiful stories, and the way they live until today is incredible. I can also highlight the trips I made to Peru and Morocco. In the first, I visited twice. I made the Inca Trail of four days and I slept on the floating islands in Puno with the locals. And in the second I traveled by car through the country for 15 days and spent three days with the nomads in the desert. Amazing experiences and stories I met.
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Team insights– Cristina Castellanos Born in Mexico City, grew up in a multicultural house. Food and travel have always played an important role in my life. I studied a degree in communication and another in Culinary arts in the Basque Country and that's when food and tourism became my motivation.
My best travel experience was in Sweden! It was so completely different from everything I know, I’m so used to Latin America and the latin countries like Spain, Italy and France. I found so much beauty in Sweden in the people, Oh the food! I was so surprised everything about it was so new and different to me it has definitely been one of those experiences that changed me.
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Thank you!
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AUTHENTICITYS EXPERIENCES S.L. Calle Saragossa 95, Atico 4 08006 Barcelona. CIF B66435025. +34 662 189 241 info@authenticitys.com www.authenticitys.com 34