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Emergency Action Plan
International Operations has developed an UMB Emergency Action Plan Template as a resource for group and individual travelers. Download a copy and edit according to your travel plans.
If you have questions or wish to further discuss your Emergency Action Plan, contact International Operations.
Data Security
Consult the Data Security Guide before traveling to ensure compliance with UMB regulations and best practices on data security while traveling internationally.
Travel Tips
The Pre-departure Check List provides a to-do list that helps you prepare for your upcoming trip. The checklist contains general information and we encourage you also to consult the information provided by International SOS and the. Department of State's Country Information pages, as they contain pre-travel tips specific to your destination country.
Women Travelers
All travelers face risks abroad, but women traveling alone or in female-only groups can often face additional risks and obstacles. To be best prepared for your upcoming trip, please visit the Department of State for information for women travelers, including a detailed checklist.
LGBTQIA+ Travelers
LGBTQIA+ travelers need to understand the laws, levels of enforcement, and cultural restrictions toward same-sex activity in their destination countries. International SOS has produced a helpful white paper, Managing and Mitigating Risks for the LGBT Mobile Workforce (2018), that we encourage you to consult before departure. In addition, please consult the information the Department of State provides for LGBTQIA+ travelers.
Below are additional valuable links for LGBTQIA+ travelers:
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International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association provides information on LGBTQIA+ rights worldwide.
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International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association provides travel advice for gay and lesbian people.
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Stonewall has global workplace briefings that outline the legal, socio-cultural, and workplace conditions in different countries.
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Asher Fergusson outlines the best and worst places for safe travel.
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Equaldex is a collaborative knowledge base.
Learn About Your Destination
Traveling, living, or working in another country allows you to engage with new cultures and experiences but presents certain personal security risks. Understanding the culture of the host country and developing local relationships will help you determine the most appropriate strategies for safely navigating new environments. It takes time to develop the understanding and skills to recognize and accurately interpret cultural cues and nuances. As you prepare to travel to a new location, learning about the country of destination will minimize security risks and contribute to a productive and safe experience. Understanding the location's political, economic, cultural, and environmental context is vital to your ongoing personal security assessment.
In the Destination Check List, you can find tips and recommendations on what to learn about your destination before traveling. To help you with your research, the Overseas Security Advisory Council also provides high-quality country reports containing essential information. You can download Country Security Reports.
If you have any concerns, questions, or doubts, you can also:
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Reach out to International Operations' Safety & Security team request a pre-departure security briefing. During these briefings, you can ask questions about your upcoming trip and address concerns regarding your destination country.
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Reach out to International SOS before you travel. They can answer any security or medical questions regarding your destination country. Calls to International SOS are free of charge, so you should take advantage of the service they provide. If you call, make sure you have the International SOS membership ID - 11BCAS519702, since they will ask for the company name and membership number.
Government Safety & Security Alerts
We highly recommend travelers enroll with Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). (Detailed registration instructions can be found in this "How to Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)" video) which enables US citizens to receive information from the embassy regarding new or updated Department of State travel warnings and alerts, as well as security and informational messages. Additionally, the embassy can reach out to travelers in the event of an emergency in-country and facilitate communication with the traveler should their family need to reach them in an emergency. Travelers who are not US citizens should enroll in their equivalent country's STEP.
Students are encouraged to check the Department of State's Student Abroad section, which consolidates several resources about visas, travel warnings, recent embassy messages, important contact information, and general safety and security advice.
For a more comprehensive understanding of the travel risks, especially regarding high-risk locations, it is possible to consult more than one government's travel warning and alert information. A few English resources to explore include:
The Overseas Security Advisory Council provides country security reports, daily news, and US consulate alerts and warnings.
UMB Travel Alerts
Check UMB Travel Alerts to make sure your destination is not subject to additional UMB travel recommendations and/or restrictions. If your destination location is listed in this section, contact International Operations for further information and clarifications.
Cultural Humility and Ethical Engagement
UMB values ethical engagement and mutually beneficial relationships with international partners. Cultural humility is a more useful concept than "cultural competence," which implies that someone can learn all there is to know about another culture. Cultural humility is lifelong learning that focuses on developing awareness of one’s own culture and critical self-reflection as a pathway to understanding other cultures.
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Watch this TedTalk by Dr. Juliana Mosley; it is an invitation to learn why cultural humility is a more profound and impactful way to engage with other people and cultures.
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Take the Ethical Challenges in Short-Term Global Health Training online course. This free course created by Johns Hopkins University consists of a series of 10 cases based on real scenarios to introduce trainees and others involved in global health research and service to ethical issues that may arise during short-term training experiences abroad.
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Read an article by UMB professor Virginia Rowthorn on ethical challenges to be aware of in short-term global experiences: Not above the law: A legal and ethical analysis of short-term experiences in global health.
Questions?
If you have any safety and security questions or concerns about your upcoming trip or destination country, please schedule an appointment with the Safety & Security team. You can directly request a meeting to discuss your travel plans or to request a pre-departure security briefing. When you choose one of the services provided by the International Safety and Security team, please include some details about your trip and whether there are particular topics you would like to discuss.
If you have any problem scheduling an appointment, please contact the Global Hub and we will assist you.
