In Estonia, a student from the USA gets a taste of life in a newly independent nation; in Japan, a South African student makes an earnest, whimsical attempt to eat with chopsticks; in the USA, a group of students from around the world comes together to help clean up after a hurricane; and in Finland, a Brazilian student makes a snowman for the first time. All of these scenarios were made possible by Rotary Youth Exchange. Exposure to new cultures and ways of life can foster a better understanding between people from different lands. That understanding can be the foundation upon which lasting peace and harmony can someday rest.
Youth Exchange provides thousands of young people with the opportunity to meet people from other countries and to experience their cultures, thus planting the seeds for a lifetime of international understanding.
Since 1927, students and host families all over the world have had their horizons broadened and their lives enriched by the generosity of Rotary's Youth Exchange programme. Administered by Rotary clubs, districts and multidistrict groups, the programme today involves more than 82 countries and over 8,000 students each year.
The first documented exchanges date back to 1927, when the Rotary Club of Nice, France, initiated exchanges with European students. Exchanges between clubs in California, USA, and Latin American countries began in 1939, and exchange activities spread to the eastern United States in 1958. In 1972, the Rotary International Board of Directors agreed to recommend Youth Exchange to clubs worldwide as a worthwhile international activity promoting global peace and understanding.
The Rotary Youth Exchange Long-Term Programme generally provides for the selection and sponsorship of students in the 15½ to 17½ year old age group, to travel to another country to spend twelve months attending a secondary school and living with host families in that country, whilst the Short-Term Programme offers a similar experience for a shorter period.
If you are ready for the challenge and the rewards of living in another land as an exchange student, then you are ready to discover new worlds through the Rotary Youth Exchange.
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Updated: January 2007