P A R T    O N E:

1.  Fill out an Application to attend the delegation. To request an application or if you need financial assistance email us at [email protected]

2. In the application provide us with information about your background and interests,  basic health, any dietary or disability issues organizers need to know about.

3.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection requires a valid U.S. passport to cross the Mexican border.

4.  Get a release/permission from your parents if you are a minor (under 18).

5.  You must be able to attend the mandatory orientation session on the night before the delegation. Plan on spending  a Thursday night and a Sunday night in Austin before returning home if you live out of town. 

6.  You will be riding in a van with 11 other persons, so pack light (no larger than a backpack).  Pack snacks in your bag.  There are scheduled meals at the hotel and in workers’ homes  in Mexico, but the tight schedule and driving to workers’ homes and touring industrial parks sometimes creates long gaps between meals.   Purified drinking water sufficient for all delegates is provided by ATCF. Bring a reusable water bottle. 

More info and RSVP instructions here: https://sites.google.com/atcf.org/rsvp-delegation/home

P A R T   T W O:

It is very important that delegates do the readings before going on a delegation.  The more background information you bring to the delegation the better your educational experience coming out of it.

BACKGROUND READINGS (complete by the time of the Orientation Meeting on the Thursday night before your scheduled delegation).

1.  Visit the Home Page for ATCF, which explains’ ATCF’s relationship to the Quaker-based American Friends Service Committee and to the Comité Fronterizo de Obreras (“CFO”) (delegation hosts in Mexico).  

2.  Visit the website for the Mexican partners for the delegation trips, Comité Fronterizo de Obreras (CFO) (The Border Committee of Working Women and Men).

3. Visit the materials on immigration and NAFTA and the global economy on this website. Note the stories pertaining to working women’s experiences.

5.  Read these blog posts by former delegates.  

6. Article: “23 Years of NAFTA: A View From Inside the Maquiladoras.”  A unique perspective on “free trade,” from the people most affected by it and least consulted (written by the women of the CFO).