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The following guidelines were produced
by the Inter-Organizational Task Force on
Health and Safety Guidelines For Study
Abroad Programs. The Global Youth
Institute Committee has reviewed these
guidelines and developed rules and
procedures to ensure the safety of all
participants and staff in the Global Youth
Institute.
Guidelines for
Participants
Participants can have a major impact on
their own health and safety abroad though
the decisions they make before and during
the program and by their day-to-day
choices and behaviors.
Participants should:
1. Read and carefully consider all
materials issued or recommended by the
sponsor that relate to safety, health,
legal, environmental, political, cultural,
and religious conditions in host
countries.
2. Consider their personal health and
safety needs when accepting a place in a
program.
3. Make available to the sponsor
accurate and complete physical and mental
health information and any other personal
data tat is necessary in planning for a
safe and healthy study abroad
experience.
4. Assume responsibility for all the
elements necessary for their personal
preparation for the program and
participate fully in orientations.
5. Obtain and maintain appropriate
insurance policies and abide by any
conditions imposed by the carriers.
6. Inform parents, guardians, and any
others who may need to know about their
participation in the study abroad program,
provide them with emergency contact
information, and keep them informed on an
ongoing basis.
7. Understand and comply with the terms
of participation and codes of conduct of
the program, and obey host-country
laws.
8. Be aware of local conditions when
making daily choices and decisions.
Promptly express any health or safety
concerns to the program staff or other
appropriate individuals.
9. Behave in a manner that is
respectful of the rights and well-being of
others.
10. Accept the consequences of their
own decisions and actions.
Guidelines for Parents and
Guardians
Parents and guardians play an important
role in the health and safety of younger
participants by helping them make
decisions and by influencing their
behavior overseas.
When appropriate, parents or guardians
should:
1. Obtain and carefully evaluate health
and safety information related to the
program, as provided by the sponsor, the
Center for Disease control, the U.S.
Department of State, and other
sources.
2. Engage the participant in a thorough
discussion of safety and behavior issues
related to the program.
3. Keep in touch with the
participant.
Guidelines for Program
Sponsors
Program sponsors should:
1. Conduct assessments of health and
safety conditions for the program, and
develop and maintain an emergency
preparedness and crisis response plan.
2. Provide health and safety
information for prospective participants
so that they can make informed decision
concerning participation in and behavior
on the program.
3. Notify prospective participants that
home services and conditions are not
replicated at the overseas site.
4. Provide orientation to participants
prior to the program and as needed on
site, which includes information on how to
deal with health and safety issues,
potential risks, and appropriate emergency
response.
5. Consider health and safety issues in
evaluating the appropriateness of an
individual's participation in a study
abroad program.
6. Provide to participants either
appropriate health insurance, or
information about how to obtain
coverage.
7. Evaluate the local environment of
the program, including program-sponsored
events, excursions and other activities,
on an ongoing basis and provide
information and assistance to participants
as needed. Use reasonable care when
selecting any third party to provide
products or services.
8. Evaluate available medical and
professional services, provide information
to participants, and help them obtain the
services they may need.
9. Provide appropriate and ongoing
training on health and safety guidelines
and practices for program directors and
staff.
10. Communicate applicable codes of
conduct and the consequences of
noncompliance to participants. Take
appropriate action when aware that
students are in violation.
11. Inform participants when and where
the sponsor's responsibility ends, and
what aspects of their overseas experience
are beyond the sponsor's control. In
particular, the Global Youth Institute
cannot:
- a) Guarantee the safety of
participants or eliminate risk from the
study abroad environments.
- b) Monitor or control all the daily
personal decisions, choices, and
activities of individual
participants.
- c) Prevent participants from
engaging in illegal, dangerous or
unwise activities.
- d) Assure that U.S. Standards of
due process apply or provide or pay for
legal representation for
participants.
- e) Assume responsibility for the
actions of persons not employed or
otherwise engaged by the program
sponsor, for events that are beyond the
control of the sponsor and its
subcontractors, or for situations which
arise due to the failure of a
participant to disclose pertinent
information.
- f) Assure that home-country
cultural values will apply on the
program when these differ from those of
the host country.
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