intrepid travel annual report 2022

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Intrepid Travel Releases Integrated Annual Report  

March 23, 2023

Intrepid Travel has released its sixth integrated annual report, offering a fully transparent look into its financial, environmental, and social performance.

The report is completely voluntary and published as a marker of trust and credibility for their customers, partners, and the entire global travel industry.

The 76-page 2022 Integrated Annual Report outlines how Intrepid has performed across all parts of its business in the past year. It includes accomplishments such as returning to strong operating cash inflow of $34.2 million (versus a $31 million outflow in 2021); reopening operations in 86 countries and rebuilding its global workforce through recruiting more than 500 new roles.

Intrepid’s report shows that the business has significantly reduced its operational loss (to $25.9 million in 2022, from $60.7 million in 2021), and that it will return to profitability in 2023. This reflects the resilience of Intrepid’s business model; the rapid recovery in the global travel industry; and growing global demand for sustainable and experiential travel.

The report also shares some of the challenges from the year, including the skills shortages in global travel and tourism; and the 2022 financial loss that was incurred in the first half of the year during the global Omicron outbreak. Intrepid went on to generate a profit in the second half of the year and the business now has a goal to achieve an EBITDA of above pre-pandemic levels in 2023.

From an environmental perspective, Intrepid’s report includes new and expanded carbon reporting, which now includes emissions generated from technology services, marketing and more.

Intrepid produced 27,898 tCO?e of greenhouse gas emissions (compared with 51,486 tCO?e in 2019) and is encouraging other travel businesses to take greater accountability for their carbon emissions and to transparently report on their impact on the planet.

James Thornton, Intrepid Travel CEO, said: “This report marks Intrepid’s transition from survival to revival mode. I’m incredibly proud that we’ve continued to invest in the business and as a result, have emerged as a thriving, transformed company.”

Thornton continued: “There were so many highs last year, including experiencing our best booking days in our history during November and December 2022. This was almost inconceivable at the start of the year and it’s truly remarkable how our business recovered, through the support of our industry partners and customers.”

Report highlights include:

• Achieving Intrepid’s best ever Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 75. The company now aims to improve again this year, aiming to achieve an NPS of 76.
• Completed the majority acquisition of environmentally conscious walking and trekking company Wildland Trekking and Australian tour operator JOOB. Entered into a 50 per cent partnership with low-impact accommodation company CABN.
• Chalked up a record sales day on 3 December with $6.1 million in bookings.
• Plans to increase the number of staff shareholders from 52 employees in 2022 to approximately more than 500 staff members in Q2 of 2023. This will be achieved by the company opting to pay eligible staff 2022 bonuses via shares, in countries where this is possible.
• Achieving its best-ever people engagement result with an employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) of 56.
• Raised nearly $700,000 AUD via its not-for-profit The Intrepid Foundation, including $151,000 for emergency relief in Ukraine. The Intrepid Foundation has a goal to more than double its fundraising in 2023.

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Intrepid Travel: 6th Integrated Annual Report

Posted by Chisa Boonmee | Mar 23, 2023 | Business News | 0 |

The 76-page 2022 Integrated Annual Report outlines how Intrepid has performed across all parts of its business in the past year. It includes noteworthy accomplishments such as returning to strong operating cash inflow of $34.2 million (versus a $31 million outflow in 2021); reopening operations in 86 countries and rebuilding its global workforce through recruiting more than 500 new roles. Intrepid’s report shows that the business has significantly reduced its operational loss (to $25.9 million in 2022, from $60.7 million in 2021), and that it will return to profitability in 2023. This reflects the resilience of Intrepid’s business model; the rapid recovery in the global travel industry; and growing global demand for sustainable and experiential travel.

The report also openly shares some of the challenges from the year, including the skills shortages in global travel and tourism; and the 2022 financial loss that was incurred in the first half of the year during the global Omicron outbreak. Intrepid went on to generate a profit in the second half of the year and the business now has a goal to achieve an EBITDA of above pre-pandemic levels in 2023.

From an environmental perspective, Intrepid’s report includes new and expanded carbon reporting, which now includes emissions generated from technology services, marketing and more. Intrepid produced 27,898 tCO₂e of greenhouse gas emissions (compared with 51,486 tCO₂e in 2019) and is encouraging other travel businesses to take greater accountability for their carbon emissions and to transparently report on their impact on the planet.

“This report marks Intrepid’s transition from survival to revival mode. I’m incredibly proud that we’ve continued to invest in the business and as a result, have emerged as a thriving, transformed company,” said James Thornton, Intrepid Travel CEO.

“There were so many highs last year, including experiencing our best booking days in our history during November and December 2022. This was almost inconceivable at the start of the year and it’s truly remarkable how our business recovered, through the support of our industry partners and customers,” Thornton added.

As the world’s largest travel B Corp, Intrepid is committed to the highest standards of environmental and social performance, part of which includes the publication of its integrated annual report. Highlights outlined in the 2022 Integrated Annual Report include:

Completed the majority acquisition of environmentally conscious walking and trekking company Wildland Trekking and Australian tour operator JOOB. Entered into a 50 per cent partnership with low-impact accommodation company CABN.

Chalked up a record sales day on 3 December with $6.1 million in bookings.

Plans to increase the number of staff shareholders from 52 employees in 2022 to approximately more than 500 staff members in Q2 of 2023. This will be achieved by the company opting to pay eligible staff 2022 bonuses via shares, in countries where this is possible.

Achieving its best-ever people engagement result with an employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) of 56.

Raised nearly $700,000 AUD via its not-for-profit The Intrepid Foundation, including $151,000 for emergency relief in Ukraine. The Intrepid Foundation has a goal to more than double its fundraising in 2023.

Intrepid’s report has been released just weeks after the company was named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2023 for Corporate Social Responsibility by Fast Company.

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Intrepid Travel releases fifth annual integrated report

Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly

The world’s largest travel B Corp has released its 2021 Integrated Annual Report, which shows how the company has rebuilt, refocused and reinvested for the rebound of travel. 

As a certified B Corp, Intrepid holds the highest standards of transparency. The company is privately owned by its co-founders and staff and is not required to report publicly. Despite this, Intrepid has released an integrated annual report since 2017.

Its 2021 report highlights how, despite ongoing challenges, the company successfully restarted its global operations after the shutdowns of 2020 and continued to raise funds for communities in need around the world.

According to the UNWTO, in 2021, global tourism arrivals were down 72 per cent on pre-pandemic levels. This follows 2020, the worst year on record for tourism when international arrivals decreased by 73 per cent.

Despite this challenging global operating environment, in 2021 Intrepid invested in retaining as many staff as possible, returning office staff in its three key sales regions to their full-time hours, brought back a number of staff benefits, invested in leader training to support tour guides for the new operating environment and ran trips in 40 countries.

The company was also recertified as a B Corp, which involved a rigorous external audit that evaluates every facet of a company’s social, environmental and governance aspects.

“In 2021, it was great to get back to doing what we do best: designing and operating life-changing trips in every corner of the globe,” said James Thornton, Intrepid Travel CEO. “Our team put in an amazing amount of work to ensure trips were safe for everyone, including the communities we visit. I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done – from championing vaccine equity to helping us recertify as the world’s largest travel B Corp.”

“We take a long-term view. I know that what we achieved and how we positioned the business for future growth sets us apart,” added Thornton.

The 2021 report revealed other notable accomplishments made by Intrepid during the year, including:

• reopening operations in 40 countries
• acquiring New Zealand’s Haka Tours and ANZ Nature Tours and US eco-conscious walking company Wildland Trekking to support domestic and active travel growth
• establishing two new Destination Management Companies in Australia and the United States
• achieving the highest ever customer Net Promoter Score of 75
• receiving the highest ever staff engagement score of 82 per cent (compared to 77 per cent in 2019 and 2020)
• raising $501,447 AUD by The Intrepid Foundation
• providing access to COVID-19 vaccines for 28,233 people due to funds raised by The Intrepid Foundation for UNICEF Australia’s Give the World a Shot fundraiser

The report also outlines Intrepid’s progress on key environmental and social measures. Intrepid is the only global tour operator with a verified carbon emissions reduction target by the Science Based Targets initiative. This means Intrepid is decarbonising its business at the pace and scale that science says is necessary to limit global warming to 1.5C.

The report details how the company put this into action in 2021. This includes four of its offices now running on 100 per cent renewable energy, removal of short-haul flights from five of its most popular itineraries, and the development of 40+ low carbon trips, with a particular focus on walking, trekking and cycling.

In 2021 and 2022, Intrepid has been recognised as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company for its environmental impact via its decarbonisation efforts, and its social responsibility for championing global vaccine equity.

To download Intrepid’s 2021 Integrated Annual Report, visit:  https://www. intrepidtravel.com/integrated- annual-report-2021 .

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Shopping cart items, intrepid releases sixth integrated annual report.

Intrepid Travel, the world’s largest travel B Corp, has released its sixth integrated annual report. The report, which offers a fully transparent look into the company's financial, environmental, and social performance. It is completely voluntary and published as a marker of trust and credibility for their customers, partners, and the entire global travel industry.    

The 76-page 2022 Integrated Annual Report outlines how Intrepid has performed across all parts of its business in the past year. It includes noteworthy accomplishments such as returning to strong operating cash inflow of $34.2 million (versus a $31 million outflow in 2021); reopening operations in 86 countries and rebuilding its global workforce through recruiting more than 500 new roles. Intrepid’s report shows that the business has significantly reduced its operational loss (to $25.9 million in 2022, from $60.7 million in 2021), and that it will return to profitability in 2023. This reflects the resilience of Intrepid’s business model; the rapid recovery in the global travel industry; and growing global demand for sustainable and experiential travel.

The report also openly shares some of the challenges from the year, including the skills shortages in global travel and tourism; and the 2022 financial loss that was incurred in the first half of the year during the global Omicron outbreak. Intrepid went on to generate a profit in the second half of the year and the business now has a goal to achieve an EBITDA of above pre-pandemic levels in 2023.  

From an environmental perspective, Intrepid’s report includes new and expanded carbon reporting, which now includes emissions generated from technology services, marketing and more. Intrepid produced 27,898 tCO ₂ e of greenhouse gas emissions (compared with 51,486 tCO ₂ e in 2019) and is encouraging other travel businesses to take greater accountability for their carbon emissions and to transparently report on their impact on the planet.  

“This report marks Intrepid’s transition from survival to revival mode. I’m incredibly proud that we’ve continued to invest in the business and as a result, have emerged as a thriving, transformed company,” said James Thornton, Intrepid Travel CEO.   

“There were so many highs last year, including experiencing our best booking days in our history during November and December 2022. This was almost inconceivable at the start of the year and it’s truly remarkable how our business recovered, through the support of our industry partners and customers,” Thornton added.   

As the world’s largest travel B Corp, Intrepid is committed to the highest standards of environmental and social performance, part of which includes the publication of its integrated annual report. Highlights outlined in the 2022 Integrated Annual Report include:   

• Achieving Intrepid’s best ever Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 75. The company now aims to improve again this year, aiming to achieve an NPS of 76.  
• Completed the majority acquisition of environmentally conscious walking and trekking company Wildland Trekking and Australian tour operator JOOB . Entered into a 50 per cent partnership with low-impact accommodation company CABN.
• Chalked up a record sales day on 3 December with $6.1 million in bookings.   
• Plans to increase the number of staff shareholders from 52 employees in 2022 to approximately more than 500 staff members in Q2 of 2023. This will be achieved by the company opting to pay eligible staff 2022 bonuses via shares, in countries where this is possible.  
• Achieving its best-ever people engagement result with an employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) of 56.  
• Raised nearly $700,000 AUD via its not-for-profit The Intrepid Foundation , including $151,000 for emergency relief in Ukraine. The Intrepid Foundation has a goal to more than double its fundraising in 2023.   

Intrepid’s report has been released just weeks after the company was named one of the  World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2023 for Corporate Social Responsibility  by Fast Company.   

ABOUT INTREPID TRAVEL              Intrepid Travel   is a world leader in sustainable experience-rich travel that has been taking travellers to discover the world's most amazing places for more than 30 years. The company’s mission is to create positive change through the joy of travel. The company offers more than 1,150 trips on every continent and every is designed to truly experience local culture. With its own network of destination management companies in 28 countries, Intrepid has unique local expertise and perspectives. Globally renowned as a leader in responsible travel, in 2018 the carbon-neutral business became the world’s largest travel company to be   certified B-Corp . Intrepid Travel is the first tour operator with near-term science-based climate targets through the Science Based Targets Initiative, and its not-for-profit,   The Intrepid Foundation , has raised more than $12 million for more than 130 partners around the world. Follow Intrepid on   Facebook ,   Instagram ,   Twitter   or   LinkedIn .      

Intrepid Travel’s three previous integrated annual reports can be accessed here:   2021   2020   2019  

Contributing members are responsible for the accuracy of content contributed to the Member News section of AdventureTravelNews.

Intrepid Travel Narrows Losses With Record-Breaking Bookings

Selene Brophy , Skift

March 21st, 2023 at 5:00 PM EDT

Intrepid Travel has hinged its return to profitability on continuous investment into product innovation and its people. Now, a record-breaking start to 2023 sees it turn the dial from revival to thrive mode.

Selene Brophy

Australian-based tour operator  Intrepid Travel  returned to positive operating cashflow, after closing off 2022 with record bookings for its 33-year history.

The company managed to pare its loss in 2022 to $14.6 million (AU$22 million), down from $41 million (AU$ 61 million) in 2021 while notching positive operating cash flow of $23 million (AU$34 million) for the year. While a privately held enterprise, Intrepid offers transparency by making its financials public each year. The most recent numbers were disclosed in its sixth integrated annual report released this week. 

Intrepid Travel CEO James Thornton told Skift in an exclusive interview that the company had gone from survival mode where global operations were stopped, with its staff cut in half at the height of the pandemic, to a story of revival, largely in the second half of last year.

“It was the year we got back up and running as a global tour operator again, which was fantastic. It was a year of two halves for us because the first half of the year was still very much impacted by the omicron variant and the pandemic,” said Thornton.

However, the year culminated with some of the biggest booking days in the company’s history. November’s record was quickly eclipsed by $4 million (AU$ 6.1 million) on December 3. The first two-and-a-half months of 2023 continued the record-breaking trend, and the company expects to see this year’s metrics exceed those of 2019, according to Thornton.

January bookings totaled $39.4 million (AU$ 58.7 million), and February bookings ended at $39.5 million (AU$ 58.9 million). The biggest month previously in Intrepid’s history was $35.5 million (AU$ 53 million) in January 2020 — just before the pandemic.

“We’re feeling very bullish, and this report really is a reflection that now we’re heading into thriving mode, which we are very excited about,” said Thornton. 

Intrepid Staff Awarded Shares Instead of Bonuses

Thornton confirmed there are no plans for an initial public offering in the immediate future, yet the company started releasing its financials back in 2017 as part of its push towards being a fully transparent B Corp.  

B Corp certification is awarded to companies that meet certain social and environmental standards, and prioritize ethical practices and stakeholder interests alongside profits – intending to use their operations as a force for good and positive impact in the world.

“We don’t need to reveal this information, but part of B Corp methodology is that you have high standards of social and environmental performance and public transparency. It’s something we believe in strongly,” said Thornton.

Some 500 staff members will be made part owners in Intrepid, with voting rights at shareholder meetings and eligible for a dividend when one is paid. 

“Intrepid shareholder mix is relatively diverse. It’s not just our key shareholders. And it’s really important that they have a public and open and transparent view of the company’s performance.” 

Approximately 6 percent of Intrepid shares will be owned by staff. The remaining shareholding is held by Intrepid’s co-founders Darrell Wade (Intrepid Chair) and Geoff Manchester, and Genairgy CEO Julien Leclercq.   

Essentially, 27 percent of Intrepid’s total workforce of 1,790 will become shareholders by quarter two in 2023.  To be eligible for the bonus, an office-based staff member must have worked over 50 percent of the 2022 calendar year with Intrepid. 

“Staff always have input into Intrepid’s long-term growth plans via regular company and departmental meetings and bi-annual staff surveys, but shareholders can additionally vote on certain matters.”

“Intrepid’s priority is on implementing our expanded staff shareholding, continuing to grow rapidly and working on our 2030 strategy. As the world’s largest certified travel B Corp, we always look to create long-term value for all our stakeholders and we will continue to look at ways to do just that in the future,” said Thornton.

Product Innovation and Purpose-Driven Initiatives 

Ongoing consumer demand certainly remains a driving force as the company sees record-setting bookings, but Thornton further underscored the work that Intrepid did during the course of the pandemic. 

“We made the conscious decision within the Intrepid board to keep investing in the business. And we are still heavily investing in the business. I think this has helped put us in really good shape that we’re able to deliver these record booking numbers.”  

He believes being B Corp certified and a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact since 2008 continues to set the company’s purpose and appeal. 

“I think consumers increasingly want to buy experiences that are truly sustainable, and they increasingly want to work for companies that are sustainable.” 

Thornton added that Intrepid had doubled down on gender equality by doubling its female tour leaders. It has also released a series of new tours focused on diversity and inclusion, with 100 indigenous tours added for 2023 and a range of women-only tours, with its first dedicated expeditions in Pakistan and Nepal. The company recently undertook an audit of its wildlife tours , removing those that continued to exploit animals for commercial gain.

“We take our purpose seriously. The reality is B Corp methodology provides you with a formula or a template to try and keep improving the business . We’re always looking at ways to innovate new products that we think our consumers would like or enable us to enter new markets. 

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Tags: intrepid travel , tours and activities , travel booking , Travel Experiences

Photo credit: Women-only tour along Poon, Hill, Nepal. Source: Intrepid Travel Intrepid Travel / Intrepid Travel, Nepal, Poon Hill.

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Intrepid releases 5th Annual Integrated Report

Its 2021 report highlights how, despite ongoing challenges, the company successfully restarted its global operations after the shutdowns of 2020 and continued to raise funds for communities in need around the world.

Intrepid Travel has released its 2021 Integrated Annual Report , which shows how the company has rebuilt, refocused and reinvested for the rebound of travel.

As a certified B Corp, Intrepid holds the highest standards of transparency. The company is privately owned by its co-founders and staff and is not required to report publicly. Despite this, Intrepid has released an integrated annual report since 2017.

Its 2021 report highlights how, despite ongoing challenges, the company successfully restarted its global operations after the shutdowns of 2020 and continued to raise funds for communities in need around the world. According to the UNWTO , in 2021, global tourism arrivals were down 72 per cent on pre-pandemic levels. This follows 2020, the worst year on record for tourism, when international arrivals decreased by 73 per cent.

 Despite this challenging global operating environment, in 2021 Intrepid invested in retaining as many staff as possible, returning office staff in its three key sales regions to their full-time hours, brought back a number of staff benefits, invested in leader training to support tour guides for the new operating environment and ran trips in 40 countries.

The company also recertified as a B Corp, which involved a rigorous external audit which evaluates every facet of a company’s social, environmental and governance aspects.

“In 2021, it was great to get back to doing what we do best: designing and operating life-changing trips in every corner of the globe,” said James Thornton , Intrepid Travel CEO. “Our team put in an amazing amount of work to ensure trips were safe for everyone, including the communities we visit. I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done – from championing vaccine equity to helping us recertify as the world’s largest travel B Corp.”

“We take a long-term view. I know that what we achieved and how we positioned the business for future growth sets us apart,” added Thornton.

The 2021 report revealed other notable accomplishments made by Intrepid during the year, including:

• reopening operations in 40 countries
• acquiring New Zealand’s Haka Tours and ANZ Nature Tours and US eco-conscious walking company Wildland Trekking to support domestic and active travel growth
• establishing two new Destination Management Companies in Australia and the United States
• achieving the highest ever customer Net Promoter Score of 75
• receiving the highest ever staff engagement score of 82 per cent (compared to 77 per cent in 2019 and 2020)
• raising $501,447 AUD by The Intrepid Foundation
• providing access to COVID-19 vaccines for 28,233 people due to funds raised by The Intrepid Foundation for UNICEF Australia’s Give the World a Shot fundraiser.

The report also outlines Intrepid’s progress on key environmental and social measures. Intrepid is the only global tour operator with a verified carbon emissions reduction target by the Science Based Targets initiative. This means Intrepid is decarbonizing its business at the pace and scale that science says is necessary to limit global warming to 1.5C.

The report details how the company put this into action in 2021. This includes four of its offices now running on 100 per cent renewable energy, removal of short-haul flights from five of its most popular itineraries, and the development of 40+ low carbon trips, with a particular focus on walking, trekking and cycling.

In 2021 and 2022, Intrepid has been recognized as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company for its environmental impact via its decarbonisation efforts, and its social responsibility for championing global vaccine equity.

Tatiana Rokou

Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.

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Number of antisemitic incidents reached record high in 2023, says B'nai Brith Canada audit

'zionism is not a dirty word or something anyone should be targeted for agreeing with,' trudeau says.

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In its latest annual audit, B'nai Brith Canada reports the number of antisemitic incidents in the country more than doubled from 2022 to 2023 and has now reached a record high.

"If a physical barometer did in fact exist, the reading for 2023 would be off the chart," Richard Robertson, the group's director of policy and research, said in Ottawa on Monday, which is also Holocaust Remembrance Day or Yom HaShoah.

B'nai Brith, a Jewish advocacy organization, said that between Jan. 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2023, it logged 5,791 incidents of antisemitism, surpassing the previous record of 2,799 reported in 2021.

Self-reported antisemitic incidents have doubled in last year, B'nai Brith Canada says

Robertson said he's particularly troubled by the 208 per cent increase in the number of violent incidents, with 77 such incidents recorded last year, compared with 25 in 2022.

"The systemic nature of the antisemitism has forced Canadian Jews to question the continued vitality of the nation's Jewish communities," he said.

Robertson said that recent conflicts in Israel, first in May and June and then beginning on Oct. 7 of last year, "make it abundantly clear: when there is unrest in Israel, Jewish Canadians suffer unduly."

• 'Violent rhetoric from extremist actors' increased since Oct. 7 attack, CSIS says

About 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7 and about 250 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures. More than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed during Israel's military response since then, health officials in the territory say.

Robertson said antisemitic incidents were also driven by the invitation to Parliament of Yaroslav Hunka , a 98-year-old Ukrainian Canadian who served in the Nazi SS Galizien formation during the Second World War.

Hunka was invited to sit in the gallery in September by then-House Speaker Anthony Rota to attend Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address to Parliament.

At the event, Rota introduced Hunka as a "Ukrainian hero" and a "Canadian hero," prompting a standing ovation in the House of Commons. Rota later stepped down from the Speaker's chair when Hunka's Nazi history came to light.  

AI used to promote antisemitism

B'nai Brith Canada said it recorded a rise in antisemitic incidents coming from across Canadian society and from a wide variety of actors, including figures on the far right and far left and "those acting at the behest of foreign actors."

The incidents the group says it recorded include the firebombing of a synagogue and Jewish community centre in Montreal, eggs being thrown at a Holocaust Memorial Monument in Calgary, a Jewish student being assaulted in an antisemitic attack in B.C.'s Lower Mainland and a rise in antisemitic graffiti in public places involving messages such as "Kill the Jews."

B'nai Brith also said in a media statement that artificial intelligence (AI) technology has been used to "to create antisemitic propaganda and materials."

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David Matas, B'nai Brith's chief legal counsel, said his organization would be making submissions to Parliament regarding the forthcoming online harms bill . He said the proposed legislation needs to be strengthened to combat the threat posed by AI.

"Artificial intelligence, like a lot of technologies, is both a benefit and a harm," Matas said Monday. "With each new technology, as we come to appreciate the benefit, we have to put in the safeguards against the harm, and we have not done that yet."

Liberal MP Marco Mendicino, a member of the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group who attended the press conference, defended the bill but said the fight against antisemitism must start much earlier.

"The online harms legislation does make references to deepfakes, and this is probably the most disconcerting aspect of artificial intelligence," he said.

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Mendicino said it is "equally important, if not more important, to ensure that we are educating young Canadians about the Holocaust and what antisemitism looks like today in the 21 century."

Conservative co-deputy leader Melissa Lantsman, who is also a member of the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group and was at the event to express her party's support, dismissed the online harms legislation as a solution.

"We are not going to solve this by criminalizing speech, particularly having a government decide what you can say and see on the internet," she said.

"Where the focus needs to be after this report must be in making sure that the physical security of institutions, of synagogues, of schools, of businesses of people in the streets who find themselves in the middle of vile, hateful demonstrations, are kept safe."

'It's not right' that Jewish people feel unsafe in Canada, PM says

Speaking at the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa at an event to mark Yom HaShaoh, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel there has been a "disturbing increase in antisemitism to a scale we have not witnessed for generations."

"Windows of synagogues have been broken and shot at, Jewish stores vandalized, all of these acts, open wounds of painful chapters in our collective history," he said. 

Trudeau said that those continuing to deny the Holocaust or the Oct. 7 attacks are leaving Jewish Canadians feeling "isolated and unsafe in their communities."

"In a country like Canada, it should be and it must be safe to declare oneself a Zionist. Jewish or not, Zionism is not a dirty word or something anyone should be targeted for agreeing with," he said. 

"It is the belief, at its simplest, that Jewish people, like all peoples, have the right to determine their own future."

Poilievre says antisemitism is rising as memories of Holocaust fade

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who also attended the Ottawa event, said the memory of the Holocaust has started to fade and antisemitic attitudes have again started to gain favour.

"We see at university campuses, the hateful anti-Jewish rhetoric directed at innocent students. We see firebombings of Canadian synagogues; something we never would have imagined a short time ago," Poilievre said. 

He said it's the responsibility of every Canadian to support the rights of Jewish people to proudly display their culture, history and religion.

"In the last year, antisemitic attacks are up over 100 per cent," he said. "That means the Jewish people are being doubly victimized, once with the bloodshed they witnessed in their homeland of Israel, and again on the streets and in their synagogues."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Senior writer

Peter Zimonjic is a senior writer for CBC News. He has worked as a reporter and columnist in London, England, for the Daily Mail, Sunday Times and Daily Telegraph and in Canada for Sun Media and the Ottawa Citizen. He is the author of Into The Darkness: An Account of 7/7, published by Random House.

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HISD's Black, Hispanic students underrepresented in GT program in 2022-23 year, report finds

H ouston ISD’s Black, Hispanic and low-income students remain underrepresented in the district’s gifted-and-talented program, an issue that administrators hope is being partly addressed by new fifth-grade testing that is poised to give HISD a record number of GT middle schoolers next year.

HISD’s annual Gifted And Talented Program Evaluation reviews the effectiveness of the district’s GT program and how it complies with legal policies and procedures. The 2022-23 report, which published in late April, concluded that the district is over-identifying GT students and that white and Asian students continued to be overrepresented in GT programs and Vanguard magnet schools.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: Join our private Zoom event with HISD Superintendent Mike Miles

According to the report, 21.3% of HISD students are Black, while Black students make up 10.7% of the GT population, and about 62% of HISD’s students are Hispanic, compared to 49.3% of GT students. More than 78% of HISD students are economically disadvantaged, compared to about 49% of the district’s GT students, the report wrote. 

The report also found that Hispanic and Black students are underrepresented in the district’s 15 Vanguard Magnet elementary and middle schools, which require an application to attend and only accept GT students. They also apply at disproportionately lower rates to Vanguard schools, according to the report. 

THE REPORT CARD : Subscribe to the Houston Chronicle’s weekly newsletter recapping HISD news

Jaret Hodges, an assistant professor at the University of North Texas, said GT services help provide an enhanced educational experience to marginalized students that they may otherwise not be able to access, and low-income students are hurt the hardest when they don’t have or lose access to GT programs. 

“No test that can identify students as gifted can completely overcome systemic poverty and systemic racism,” Hodges said. “We haven't been able to devise such a test yet. So that's a big issue. Houston ISD is facing the same issues that every big school district is facing, not just in Texas, but across the U.S.”

To address the lack of diversity and equity in the GT program, Nicole Anderson, a cross functional team member in HISD’s GT department, said the district began conducting universal testing of second graders for the GT program during the 2023-24 year, instead of testing all kindergartners like in previous years.

“We moved to (testing in) second grade because we felt it would give everyone an equal playing field as all students would have two years of schooling, ... because at kindergarten, some students in some underrepresented areas do not have the resources that some others do have,” Anderson said. “Every student doesn't go to pre-K.”

TEST SCORE DECLINES: HISD reports lower SAT, ACT scores during 2022-23 academic year

In total, the report said the district had 26,532 students, or 15% of all students, identified as GT during the 2022–2023 school year, even though the state has previously recommended that the district identify between 3 and 8 percent of its students as GT. The percentage of GT students is a slight drop from the previous year, where 15.6% of students were identified as GT. 

Karen Rambo-Hernandez, an associate professor at Texas A&M University, said districts should try to serve as many students who have potential as possible, and it’s a good thing for HISD to be identifying more GT students than recommended. She said the only downside of over-identification would be if GT services are being diluted by being spread out among more students.

“More kids are getting served who wouldn’t have gotten served if HISD met the 3 to 8 percentage goal, so I wasn't alarmed and concerned that we have that HISD has this larger number,” Rambo-Hernandez said. “... Overall, they're serving more kids than average, so good for them.”

Despite a higher than average percentage of GT students, the report found that there were 147 campuses, including 124 elementary schools, seven middle schools, three high schools, that identified fewer than four GT students for at least one grade level, and that number has been slowly increasing since the 2018–2019 school year.

INCOMING BUDGET CUTS: Superintendent Miles says cuts on the horizon as district must make up $450 million gap

To ensure equity, the report recommends that the district reinstate universal testing of fifth graders after stopping last year due to budget cuts. Anderson said the district added another layer of screening this year by referring fifth and eighth graders to GT testing if they scored in the top 25% on the beginning-of-year Northwest Evaluation Association MAP Growth exams.

“With that testing, we were able to qualify 648 fifth graders this year, and if all of those fifth graders do enroll in HISD next year, that will be our largest GT cohort in the district's history, surpassing previous fifth grade cohorts,” Anderson said.

Anderson said HISD students are identified as GT based on their score on the district’s GT Identification Matrix, which considers standardized test scores, report card grades and teacher recommendations. The matrix also awards points for certain additional factors, such as if a student receives special education services or is economically disadvantaged. 

Rambo-Hernandez said while equity is a good goal, it’s not enough to simply have a proportional representation of students based on their demographics, but the district must also ensure that its programs are meeting the needs of all of its students by providing acceleration opportunities and preparing them for more rigorous work.

ADVANCED COURSES OVERHAUL: HISD to change how students get into the hardest high school classes

“You've got to make sure that you serve the kids,” Rambo-Hernandez said. “We can identify them and look at our numbers and go ‘Oh, yeah, we've reached a proportionality,’ but if you're not actually serving the kids, then all you've done is pat yourself on the back and you really haven't done anything.”

The report concluded that HISD’s student outcomes indicate that the district's implementation of its GT program is inconsistent, and the rigor “varies widely throughout the district.” It recommended that the GT department develop outcomes-based measures to monitor and evaluate the rigor of the curriculum.

Lisa Franke, HISD’s executive director for specialized learning, said the district is working to ensure its programs are meeting GT students’ needs through spot observations of teachers. The district also uses the MAP and State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness results to monitor the performance of GT students and the curriculum, she said.

“We are looking forward to growing and getting better and holding our department accountable for things that we know that we need to improve in the future,” Anderson said.

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Tax for Sustainable Development Goals Initiative Annual Report 2023

April 24, 2024.

Tax revenue remains the most sustainable source of income for governments and the most viable means to raise finances towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Responding to this demand from governments, the Tax for SDGs Initiative, led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and supported by the Governments of Finland and Norway, continued to provide tax administrations with unique expertise on increasing domestic resource mobilization to finance the SDGs.  The 2023 Annual Report details the Initiative’s engagements with 25 focus countries and highlights key regional and thematic developments. Additionally, it provides an overview of the results achieved by the joint OECD/UNDP Tax Inspectors Without Borders Initiative, which forms an integral component of Tax for SDGs engagements.

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