The web offers a lot of resources. One of these is networking and supporting each other and this is what My Global Welcome – a network dedicated to travellers – sets out to do. This project and Viaggio da sola perché discovered each other a few weeks ago thanks to the web, they liked each other and decided to deepen their mutual knowledge.
My Global Welcome is a very interesting project that we are going to introduce you through the words of its founder, Michaela Reichler-Baldini.
What is My Global Welcome?
My Global Welcome is a social network that allows us to get in contact with our countrymen living abroad before or during our trips.
How has the idea to realize this project come into being?
The idea originated from my direct experience. Before I moved to Italy, I often came here on vacation, but I always had difficulties with the language. As a consequence, the possibility of interacting with other people and going around was very limited. I usually experienced the same in other countries when I didn’t know the local language all that well. But then I realized that when I found by chance a countryman who had already moved there, I had no difficulties at all.
Which are the main difficulties you have found in the solo travel experience?
Insecurity, always before and after every trip, but sometimes also fear and loneliness.
And what about women travellers?
A woman traveller can easily become a prey and she’s always more vulnerable compared to men. Also other factors play an important role for women travellers, for example appropriate dressing or behavings. A short skirt and a smile, very normal things for european women like us, sometimes are misunderstood abroad. You have to know very well local habits and customs to travel safely and peacefully. In certain places is even suggested not to go alone, but only accompained by a man.
What is or would be the role of the web in changing this facts?
Today the web and the technology allow us to do things that we would have never imagined before. In our case, is to give to woman traveller the certainty, even before leaving, not only to be very welcomed everywhere, but also to have a practical support when needed.
The attitude of people who have always wanted to travel but have never dared will surely change.
In a long-term period this will allow all fearful people to know the world in a peaceful way and with a very low budget.
There is an opened crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to finance the project. Which are your targets to set?
We have two targets: the first one is to collect our first $ 20.000 in order to create the website and the smartphone app. The second one is to spread this news and to collect as more feedbacks as possible to implement this platform the best we can
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