It was our pleasure to host all of you at the RISE Travel Institute Annual Conference on Saturday, June 28, 2025. This annual event showcased the incredible work of participants from the RISE Flagship Certificate Program in Sustainability and Anti-Oppression in Travel, who presented their capstone projects to the community.

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The day began with opening remarks from Dr. Vincie Ho, Founder of RISE Travel Institute. Following that, we shared RISE's 5-year impact report. To kick off the presentations, Dr. Anu Taranath, Professor at University of Washington author of Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World, delivered a keynote address. Morning and afternoon sessions were dedicated to presentations by RISE Flagship alumni, ranging from those new to the industry as well as seasoned tourism professionals.

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During the ten sessions of the RISE Flagship Certificate Program, participants interact with professionals and academics in tourism, social justice, animal protection, and climate change, cultivating an understanding of different frameworks of sustainability and how to approach sustainable travel holistically.

As the culmination of a comprehensive, decolonial, systems- and research-based education on sustainable travel, the conference offers Flagship participants the opportunity to share their reflections and initiatives toward making the travel and tourism industry more just, sustainable, and inclusive. The full conference program is available below.

 

If you were unable to join us Live or were only able to attend part of the conference, we invite you to watch the recordings.