The Globe Swappers Travel Project: 4 HEC Paris students tackle the Sharing Economy subject
4 HEC Grande Ecole students, The Globe Swappers, have set themselves a challenge: Spend 6 months in Latin America discovering the continent through exchange only.
Roman Londner, Sacha Bellaiche, Anthony Samama and Julien Ceddaha have planned this expedition, spread over the 9 countries, on the subject of ‘exchange’. Three main aspects will be covered: Physical Exchange (The Chain of Swaps), Collaborative Exchange, and Human Exchange.
- The Physical Exchange - The Chain of Swaps
The Globe Swappers will leave from France with one iconic object that represents their country and that their community of followers will have chosen. Each time they make a key encounter with an emblematic local figure, they will swap this object for a new iconic object from the region they are visiting. They will then leave with this new object and they will swap it once again for another one in another region, therefore creating of chain of exchange. Hence, the Globe Swappers have a two-fold goal: on the one hand, they seek to discover new regions through iconic objects; on the other hand, each object will symbolize a link, both to the next and from the previous destination, in the chain of swaps.
- The Collaborative Exchange
Couchsurfing, car-pooling or exchanging currency with locals are all ways that represent this new way of thinking in society through the Sharing Economy. The Globe Swappers are hoping to travel differently by using these methods of exchange.
- The Human Exchange
The human exchange, or volunteering, consists in working in local associations in exchange for housing. The Globe Swappers hope to create a social link to locals of the countries they visit by sharing in their daily lives as much as possible.
During their journey, they will write a travel diary in order to share their experiences and their adventures. They will add a photo gallery representing the chain of swaps and some portraits of their major encounters. When they are back, they will also make a movie about their journey and their conclusions about the Sharing Economy in Latin America.
After having presented and introduced the project on their website, the four students are now launching a crowdfunding campaign to help kickstart things.
To support them, you can donate here: : ulule.com/globe-swappers/
Follow The Globe Swappers:
Website : theglobeswappers.com
Facebook : The Globe Swappers
Twitter : @GlobeSwappers