Pasporta Servo
Encyclopedia
The Pasporta Servo is a hospitality service
for Esperantists. The service publishes a directory of people from countries on every continent who are willing to host other Esperanto speakers in their homes for free. Within the Esperanto culture
, the annual directory is considered an important publication, second only to the Plena Ilustrita Vortaro (Unabridged Illustrated Dictionary). , there are 1320 hosts in 92 countries. However, the geographical distribution is somewhat uneven; for example, in 2004:
Hosts specify how many days and how many guests can stay along with a short comment with other restrictions or interests (no smokers, bring a tent, young people especially welcome, etc). The hosts enjoy having people from various countries stay at their homes while the guests enjoy free housing in the
locations listed (although hosts may ask for reimbursement of incurred expenses). Also, guests may feel more at ease because many hosts are willing to assist with transportation and local information etc, and some also provide meals, although the only actual commitment required of all hosts is to offer overnight accommodation.
The Pasporta Servo directory is published every year by TEJO
, the World Organization for Young Esperantists. Although the concept of offering hospitality to the traveler dates back to early cultures (notably ancient Greece
: xenia
), the idea of applying it specifically to Esperanto speakers began in 1966 in Argentina
when Ruben Feldman-Gonzalez started the Programo Pasporto. Pasporta Servo in its current form was first published in 1974 with 40 hosts, under the guidance of Jeanne-Marie Cash
in France
. Both are still hosts in the Pasporta Servo.
The Pasporta Servo has enjoyed much use in the Esperanto movement as a means
for promoting Esperanto, and is one reason why people start learning Esperanto. The official web site currently (April 2004) states: "While providing a service to Esperanto-speaking hosts and guests, at the same time it demonstrates, easily and clearly, to the outside public that Esperanto is useful and that it works in practice. [...] Many people learn Esperanto only because they want to travel by means of Pasporta Servo."
In the spring of 2009, TEJO launched Pasporta Servo 2.0, an online version of the service. According to their initial announcement in 2008, PS 2.0 is to exist in tandem with the printed version, while allowing more rapid updating of hosting information and networking features.
Hospitality service
The concept of hospitality exchange, also known as "accommodation sharing", "hospitality services" , and "home stay networks", "home hospitality" , refers to centrally organized social networks of individuals, generally travelers, who offer or seek accommodation without monetary exchange...
for Esperantists. The service publishes a directory of people from countries on every continent who are willing to host other Esperanto speakers in their homes for free. Within the Esperanto culture
Esperanto culture
The language Esperanto is often used to access an international culture, including a large body of original as well as translated literature. There are over 25,000 Esperanto books as well as over a hundred regularly distributed Esperanto magazines. Many Esperanto speakers use the language for...
, the annual directory is considered an important publication, second only to the Plena Ilustrita Vortaro (Unabridged Illustrated Dictionary). , there are 1320 hosts in 92 countries. However, the geographical distribution is somewhat uneven; for example, in 2004:
- 119 - FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- 98 - GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- 78 - UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
- 64 - RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
- 52 - United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- 42 - NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
- 34 - ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
- 29 - JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- 28 - IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
- 13 - CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
- 3 - IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- 67 - all of AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
- 78 - all of South AmericaSouth AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
Hosts specify how many days and how many guests can stay along with a short comment with other restrictions or interests (no smokers, bring a tent, young people especially welcome, etc). The hosts enjoy having people from various countries stay at their homes while the guests enjoy free housing in the
locations listed (although hosts may ask for reimbursement of incurred expenses). Also, guests may feel more at ease because many hosts are willing to assist with transportation and local information etc, and some also provide meals, although the only actual commitment required of all hosts is to offer overnight accommodation.
The Pasporta Servo directory is published every year by TEJO
TEJO
TEJO is the Tutmonda Esperantista Junulara Organizo, or World Esperanto Youth Organization. TEJO was founded in 1938 under the name Tutmonda Junular-Organizo . The current name was taken in 1952. In 1956, TEJO became the youth section of the World Esperanto Association...
, the World Organization for Young Esperantists. Although the concept of offering hospitality to the traveler dates back to early cultures (notably ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
: xenia
Xenia (Greek)
Xenia is the Greek concept of hospitality, or generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home. It is often translated as "guest-friendship" because the rituals of hospitality created and expressed a reciprocal relationship between guest and host.The Greek god Zeus sometimes referred...
), the idea of applying it specifically to Esperanto speakers began in 1966 in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
when Ruben Feldman-Gonzalez started the Programo Pasporto. Pasporta Servo in its current form was first published in 1974 with 40 hosts, under the guidance of Jeanne-Marie Cash
Jeanne-Marie Cash
Jeanne-Marie CASH is an active French Esperantist and TEJO volunteer who spent several years as a secretary for the Esperanto Culture Center in Toulouse and as a French-Esperanto translator for Le Monde diplomatique....
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Both are still hosts in the Pasporta Servo.
The Pasporta Servo has enjoyed much use in the Esperanto movement as a means
for promoting Esperanto, and is one reason why people start learning Esperanto. The official web site currently (April 2004) states: "While providing a service to Esperanto-speaking hosts and guests, at the same time it demonstrates, easily and clearly, to the outside public that Esperanto is useful and that it works in practice. [...] Many people learn Esperanto only because they want to travel by means of Pasporta Servo."
In the spring of 2009, TEJO launched Pasporta Servo 2.0, an online version of the service. According to their initial announcement in 2008, PS 2.0 is to exist in tandem with the printed version, while allowing more rapid updating of hosting information and networking features.