A collaboration between the Australian Society of Travel Writers (ASTW), the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the British Guild of Travel Writers (BGTW) has been formalised at the Society of American Travel Writers’ 2018 convention in Barbados.
Representatives from all three bodies were at the Hilton Barbados Resort to formalise the exciting new initiative in an agreement that will strengthen their ties and create an international partnership to benefit all members.
The societies have agreed to start the collaborative process by appointing three representatives to oversee it: Barbara Ramsay Orr and Danielle Lancaster as the outgoing Presidents of the SATW and ASTW along with Alastair McKenzie, the soon to be outgoing Chair of the BGTW.
Ms Lancaster flew to the convention with Delta Airlines to be a part of this ground-breaking move and commented on how extremely rewarding it was to meet with her esteemed colleagues and see their idea become a reality, after months of discussion.
She added, “I was honoured to be a part of this project, which would not have been possible without the generous support of TravMedia and Delta Airlines, who enabled me to attend the event on behalf of the ASTW committee.
“The power and reach of each of the organisations can be increased exponentially through this international partnering.”
Ms Ramsay Orr said, “We have much to share and to learn but together we also can own the global space to advocate for journalists on our shared travel and journalism issues.”
Mr McKenzie has been delighted with the overwhelming support he has encountered for this initiative, which for the most part has been “why haven’t we done this before?”
He has also been encouraged by how quickly the co-operation has moved forward. SATW and ASTW members have already been made part of the judging panel for the BGTW members awards, the Presidents of each organisation have already been made honorary members of the others and members of all three organisations are already talking together and advising each other as a community on the combined Facebook group.
.jpg){kind=tracking}