In September, I will arrive in Leeds balancing the excitement of being an exchange student with the responsibility of being a mindful guest.
My view of sustainable travelling changed after solo travelling to Indonesia. Low-cost services pushed unsustainable options as the default choice for tourists, making flights to easily accessible areas the norm. This culture of convenience persisted even on car-free islands, where visitors made exhausted horse carriages hold their bags. Before Indonesia, I’d associated travel with relaxation and decisions based on my own convenience but I realised that being mindful of how my choices impacted a destination didn’t lessen the journey, and even created my favourite memories. This is the mindset I want to bring to Leeds: to enjoy my exchange fully, but without treating convenience as an excuse for unnecessary waste.
As the daughter of two Moroccan parents, I also learned to see travel from another perspective. Much like Bali, Morocco is celebrated as a tourist destination, but when consuming everything a destination offers, it is easy to overlook the respect and support we owe in return. I watched first hand the impact of travelling on host countries, and how every decision we make can have an effect on the environment and communities, which is why I want to avoid having the same tourist reflex where my exchange is simply a temporary backdrop to my life.
When considering how my placement in Leeds can be sustainable, my guiding principle will be to focus on what I consume and leave behind. With family and friends in Paris, it would be tempting to travel back and forth by plane, but I have promised myself to avoid unnecessary trips, aligning with SDG 13: climate action. Since my exchange is short, I don’t want to accumulate items I will abandon. I will borrow bulky objects from friends, buy second-hand when needed from Facebook Marketplace, and pass on whatever I have to buy, reflecting SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. For me, this also connects to SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, because I want to treat Leeds as a community I am joining, not a place where I consume carelessly.
My understanding of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is not only theoretical. As president of a student association supporting a school in Elana, Senegal, I worked on a project linked to SDG 4: Quality Education. After listening to the school director’s needs, we raised over €1,000 and chose resources that would remain useful after our involvement: a printer, books and sports equipment. I realised that sustainability is too often reduced to environmental gestures when it actually matters more to leave behind something needed and lasting, a logic that can be carried onto my exchange, with the present and the future at the forefront of my mind when making decisions.
Ultimately, I see sustainability as a means of experiencing life more mindfully rather than as a limitation on my interaction. My goal remains straightforward: to immerse myself in Leeds fully and purposefully.
www.facebook.com/marketplace/
