Launch of the 2018 Exploring a World of Sustainable Destinations challenge!

Calling all young, modern-day explorers!

QUÉBEC, March 23, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Village Monde, Air Canada, Karavaniers and LOJIQ are proud to announce the official launch of their major 2018 Exploring a World of Sustainable Destinations campaign, which will give youth from Quebec and France the opportunity to go explore the heart of the planet, humanity and authenticity.

Receive a plane ticket and grant for the experience of a lifetime! If you are passionate about travel, adventurous and conscious of the footprint you are leaving on the planet, this is your chance to get involved, apply for exploration grants and go on an adventure! Village Monde, Air Canada and LOJIQ are challenging you! Registration is now officially open and will close on April 16 at 11:59 p.m. (Quebec time).

The 2018 Exploring a World of Sustainable Destinations challenge is a unique opportunity that, each year, gives 10 young, modern-day explorers the opportunity to travel a country for a month to discover sustainable and volunteer tourism initiatives in remote communities and to share them on social media. The goal is to inform the whole world about new destinations in little paradises that are still unknown to the public and to create a positive impact in the communities visited.

The first week of May, the 10 explorers selected among hundreds of candidates will be announced at a media event. Beginning in June, they will travel throughout the Americas, Africa and Asia. New this year, each explorer will be called upon to overcome challenges that take them out of their comfort zone to win the title of explorer of the year!

The selected explorers will create their own itinerary with Village Monde and will visit sustainable and volunteer tourism initiatives in various villages, completing as many challenges as possible from a list they will be given. They will also be asked to post photos and videos to raise public awareness of the benefits of tourism for local businesses.

Explorer of the year

Exploring is already a great adventure in itself, but we have decided to add little challenges to get explorers out of their comfort zones and present them with unique and fun experiences during their travels.

A three-factor scoring system will be used to select the explorer of the year: destinations visited, challenges successfully completed and reactions on social media posts. The explorer of the year is the one whose adventures had the most positive impacts.

Want to change the world one trip at a time and discover the planet in a new way? Register at www.villagemonde.com/explorationsolidaire/en/

The 2018 Exploring a World of Sustainable Destinations program offers three categories of grants: young explorers of Quebec grants, 50th anniversary of the OFQJ grants and Desjardins Charlesbourg grants.

About Village Monde

Village Monde is a Quebec organization of social innovation that works internationally and was founded by Charles Mony, a successful entrepreneur. Village Monde promotes the development of a sustainable tourism network that is a source of life, produces wealth and contributes to improving living conditions in remote and marginalized communities. Through its activities and its online platform https://vaolo.com, Village Monde connects communities located in remote areas with a large market of travellers, offers a quality label and supports the creation and enhancement of responsible and sustainable tourism initiatives. Village Monde offers the opportunity to go beyond traditional travel, offering adventures off the beaten path for the benefit of the communities and travellers. https://villagemonde.com/en/

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 200 airports on six continents. Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2017 served more than 48 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 airports in Canada, 60 in the United States and 98 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,300 airports in 191 countries. Air Canada rewards its most loyal customers through its top tier recognition program, Altitude, that offers frequent flyers a range of priority travel services, lounge access and upgrades to Executive Class, complementing their membership in Aeroplan, Canada's premier loyalty program, which provides numerous ways to earn and redeem Aeroplan Miles with over 150 travel and retail partners.

Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax, which also named Air Canada the 2017 Best Airline in North America.  In 2016, readers of Global Traveler magazine again voted Air Canada "Best Airline in North America." The readers Premier Traveler voted Air Canada," "Best North American Airline for International Travel," "Best Flight Attendants in North America," "Best North American Airline for Business-Class Service," and "Best Airline Website". For more information on Air Canada visit aircanada.com/media, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.

About LOJIQ

In 2018, LOJIQ is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Office Franco-Québécois pour la Jeunesse (OFQJ). LOJIQ is a group of four offices that annually assist and support over 4,000 Quebec youth between the ages of 18 and 35 who seek personal and professional development through rewarding and educational international mobility experiences. LOJIQ is also involved in welcoming nearly 3,000 young adults from abroad to Quebec. LOJIQ reports to the Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie. https://www.lojiq.org/

SOURCE Village Monde