Les Passeurs d'Aventures

Les Passeurs d'Aventures — commonly shortened to PassDav — is a French non-profit association and community brand built around travel, adventure and the sharing of travel experience. It was constituted at the end of 2011 by five founding members who wanted to build a bridge between travellers both online and in the real world. The organisation describes itself as a co-operative run in associative form, directed by its travelling members, and it operates through five areas of activity (pôles de compétence) that create reasons for travellers to meet. PassDav is best known for its free events across France. Its flagship recurring formats include #ApéroVoyageurs, informal meet-ups where travellers share stories over a drink; #AteliersPassdav, practical workshops on photography, video and preparing a round-the-world trip; and #ProjoPassdav, screenings of independent travel films by young adventurer-directors. The association states that it has already held more than 50 evening events in France and that entry to its evenings and workshops has been free since day one. Its stated values are summarised as 100% free, 100% sharing, 100% friendly and 100% PassDav — a philosophy of travel rather than a commercial offer. The community is run by a bureau of volunteer members, presented on the website as people who are 'made by and for travellers'. Founding members include Adeline Gressin, who travelled solo around the world for a year in 2010 and writes about solo travel, and Julien Grenet, whose taste for travel began in Senegal in 2007. The association is not a tour operator or a retailer: it does not sell trips, and its purpose is to promote encounters, curiosity about the world and respect for other cultures. Because it is an association rather than a company, PassDav has no listed status, no parent company and no commercial product line. Its 'products' are its event formats, its online presence and its volunteer network. It communicates mainly through its website and social networks, and it invites travellers in French cities to join the team or attend the next event.

Les Passeurs d'Aventures was constituted at the end of 2011 by its five first members, who wanted to build a bridge for exchange between travellers in both the digital and the real world. The association describes itself as a co-operative governed in associative form, of great diversity and directed by its travelling members. From the outset it was conceived not as a travel agency but as a community of thought and shared curiosity about travel, foreign places and respect for the world. The founders brought different travel backgrounds. Adeline Gressin discovered travel during a year in Australia at the age of 20, then explored Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Indonesia, making Asia her preferred continent; in 2010 she set off on a one-year solo round-the-world trip that changed her life, and she later shared her adventures and solo-travel advice online. Julien Grenet caught the travel bug in Senegal in 2007 and has since sought discovery and change of scene, including twice reaching Morocco in a 4L. These personal trajectories shaped the association's emphasis on human adventure and encounter. Over the following years PassDav developed five areas of activity (pôles de compétence) designed to provide 'alibis' for travellers to meet, whether virtually or in real life. Its public formats became recognisable hashtags: #ApéroVoyageurs, the flagship meet-up where travellers gather over a drink; #AteliersPassdav, practical workshops on photography, video and preparing a round-the-world trip; and #ProjoPassdav, screenings of independent films by young adventurer-directors. The association reports having held more than 50 evening events in France, always free of charge, and presents itself under the slogan '100% gratuit, 100% partage, 100% sympa, 100% PassDav'. PassDav is run by a volunteer bureau whose members are presented as 'made by and for travellers'. It is not present in every large French city and invites travellers to write in if they want to join the team and take part in the adventure. Its communication is centred on its website and social networks, through which it announces upcoming evenings. As an association, it has no commercial product line, no parent company and no stock listing; its continuity depends on volunteer involvement and the free sharing of travel experience from traveller to traveller.

• 2011

  Association Les Passeurs d'Aventures constituted at the end of the year by its five first members.

• 2010

  Founding member Adeline Gressin departs on a one-year solo round-the-world trip.

• 2007

  Founding member Julien Grenet's taste for travel begins in Senegal.

A free, non-commercial travellers' community and association that promotes encounter, sharing and a philosophy of travel.

• #ApéroVoyageurs

  Recurring free meet-ups where travellers share adventures over a drink.

• #AteliersPassdav

  Workshops to improve photography and video skills or prepare a round-the-world trip.

• #ProjoPassdav

  Screenings of selected independent films by young adventurer-directors.

1. 1passdav.fr – Les Passeurs d'Aventurespassdav.fr
2. 2À propos – passdav.frpassdav.fr
3. 3Wikidata Q139594990wikidata.org