Voluntourism and Quebec sans frontières

Colourblindness in international volunteering

Bibliographic Data

ID19217643
AuthorsJanie Comtois (Université du Québec à Montréal, corresponding author), Thomas Delawarde-SaÏas (Université du Québec à Montréal)
Year2026
Pages1-21
Publication date2026-05-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThird World Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0143-6597 • E-ISSN: 1360-2241
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01436597.2026.2669650
OpenAlexW7162413864
LanguageFR
References cited76

International volunteering is a form of voluntary service carried out across national borders. While it can generate positive outcomes, it also has been widely criticised for remaining embedded in unequal power relations shaped by colonial history when it occurs from the Global North to the Global South. Voluntourism crystallises these critiques. In Quebec, the government created an international volunteering programme with placements to the Global South. The programme positions itself as distinct from voluntourism. Using an exploratory approach, we first examined how the programme works in practice, then sought to understand the mechanisms that enable or prevent this programme from standing out from the criticisms associated with voluntourism and colonial logic. To do so, we conducted interviews with 29 participants from Quebec involved in the programme. Our findings indicate that the programme reproduces the typical patterns and consequences of volunteer tourism and colonial logic, while stakeholders deploy arguments to rationalise them. These results are analysed in light of the colourblindness concept. The contribution of this article lies in highlighting the often-invisible mechanisms that reproduce inequalities, despite intentions to act differently or responsibly, and in emphasising the need for concrete tools and frameworks to recognise and address these biases and racial dynamics

International relations · South–South cooperation · Third world · Tourism · Climate Change and Geoengineering · Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering · Tourism, Volunteerism, and Development

Tools

Open DOI