Rotary Youth Exchange

The most powerful force in the promotion of international understanding and peace is exposure to different cultures.

The world becomes a smaller, friendlier place when we learn that all people — regardless of nationality — desire the same basic things: a safe, comfortable environment that allows for a rich and satisfying life for our children and ourselves.

Youth Exchange provides thousands of young people with the opportunity to meet people from other lands and to experience their cultures.

This plants the seeds for a lifetime of international understanding.

Download this excellent documentation; to read these documents you need

1. Exchange Student's guide (5mb)
2. Guide de l'étudiant d'échange (5mb)
3. Information for host families (4mb)
4. Information pour les familles d'accueil (4 mb)
5. This is Rotary (0.15 mb)
6. Voici le Rotary (0.15 mb)

History of Rotary Youth Exchange

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 program. Administered by Rotary clubs, districts and multidistrict groups, the program 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 RI Board of Directors agreed to recommend Youth Exchange to clubs worldwide as a worthwhile international activity that promotes global peace and understanding.
 

About Youth Exchange

A Brazilian student makes her first snowman in Finland. A South African masters eating with chopsticks at his Japanese hosts' home. An Australian becomes part of an extended family in Russia, and a Mexican student in France raises funds to benefit homeless children in Haiti. New experiences, new "families" and friends, and new adventures can await you, too.

This year, more than 8,000 teens will see the world the way it is best seen — from the inside out — through the Youth Exchange program. This could be your year.

As a Rotary Youth Exchange student, you will spend a year, or perhaps just an extended period of time, living with a host family in a country other than your own. You may learn a new language; you will learn a new way of living and a great deal about yourself. But there's more. While you are busy learning, the people you meet will be learning as well — about your country, culture, and ideas. You will be an ambassador. You will be helping to bring the world closer together, and you'll be making good friends in the process.

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.

Eligibility

If you are a high school student between the ages of 16 and 19, then you are eligible for Rotary Youth Exchange. As the oldest exchange program of its kind, Rotary Youth Exchange takes pride in choosing students who are academically above average, articulate, and demonstrate leadership in their communities.

Ideal candidates should also possess qualities — like flexibility and a willingness to try new things — that will enable them to become excellent cultural ambassadors. You do not have to be involved with Rotary in any way in order to apply, although children of Rotarians are more than welcome to participate.

Responsibilities

Host family responsibilities

As a Rotary Youth Exchange host family, it is your responsibility to provide room and board for your exchange student. You are also expected to exercise general parental supervision over the student just as you would your own children, and involve him or her in daily household chores and activities.

However, most host families' involvement with their student does not stop at room and board. The families often share their native background while also learning about their visitors' culture. This does not mean that you have to arrange elaborate entertainment, but simply make the student a part of your family. Give him or her the opportunity to share in the same aspects of your family life that most teenage students experience in your culture.

Other suggested host family responsibilities include:

• meeting your exchange student on arrival in your country and making the student feel at home as part of the family;
• helping the student achieve language mastery;
• involving the student in obligations similar to those established for your own family members;
• helping the student meet Rotary obligations, which usually include attending Rotary functions, including club and/or district meetings;
• seeing that the student meets other young people;
• providing a safe environment for the student and ensuring the student's safety;
• being tolerant of differences and willing to change your own ideas.

Rotarian responsibilities

Rotarians work to take care of the logistics of the exchange. As all Youth Exchanges are carried out at the local level, the local Rotary club and district will arrange school enrollment, tuition and other educational matters with the local secondary school (for long-term exchanges). All program volunteers are devoted to the safety of the students, and the host club and district maintain policies and procedures to protect the students. Local Rotarians also introduce the student to the other club members and organize some social and cultural functions for the student to attend.

For long-term exchanges, the hosting club or district appoints a Rotarian counselor and arranges a monthly allowance for the student. The Rotarian counselor maintains contact with the host family and the student throughout the exchange.

While Rotary International offers support to local Rotary Youth Exchange programs through publications and suggested guidelines, Rotary districts and clubs run their programs independently of Rotary International. Therefore, each club or district program has its own specific rules for youth exchange participants to follow.

Student responsibilities

All students are ambassadors of the Rotary club that sponsored them and of their country. They are expected to follow the Youth Exchange program rules, be open to new experiences, and strive to learn the language of the host country.

The student and his/her own family will assume certain financial obligations. These include round-trip air transportation, clothing, health insurance, administrative fees and incidental expenses.

Volunteer

If your family is interested in hosting a Rotary Youth Exchange student, please contact your local Rotary club. As Rotary clubs are named after the cities in which they meet, chances are you will find a club very close to you. If, however, there is no Rotary club where you live, look for the closest large city to your town. Once you have made contact with your local Rotary club, they will then refer you to the regional Youth Exchange coordinator, called the district Youth Exchange chairperson, for the screening process.

To ensure the safety and well being of students, as well as the success of each exchange, host families are carefully screened. All host families are required to fill out an application, which will then be reviewed by a committee of Rotarians in your area. Then, the district Youth Exchange chairperson will come to your house for an in-home interview. During this interview, all family members are expected to be present. The in-home interview helps the chairperson determine the enthusiasm and willingness of all family members to host a student.

Frequently Asked Questions

Host Families

Will our family be compensated monetarily by Rotary for hosting a student?
Rotary is not able to provide any monetary compensation for families that choose to host students. The reason why the Rotary Youth Exchange program does not provide compensation for host families is that it helps keep overall program costs low. Rotary Youth Exchange is the most affordable program of its kind, and is run entirely by dedicated volunteers. As such, students are not required to pay any kind of placement fee to participate in the program. This enables financially disadvantaged students and students from developing countries to share in the exchange experience.

How are the exchange students selected?
It is standard practice for local Rotary districts and clubs to screen young people interested in Youth Exchange using detailed applications and interviews. This process helps to ensure that only highly responsible and mature students are sent on an exchange. Program administrators in the student's home country generally assess an applicant's scholastic record, linguistic ability, and general adaptability, among other qualities.
 

 Does an exchange student need to have his/her own bedroom?
It is not required that you provide the student with a private bedroom in your home; however, a single bed is essential.
 

Why do long-term exchange students stay with three host families during their stay?
Because the primary goal of the Rotary Youth Exchange program is to promote cultural understanding, the best way for students to experience a wide cross-section of host country life is to live with more than one host family. Switching families during the student's stay also helps the student's ability to adapt to new environments and improve communication skills.
 

Can the student go on vacation with our family?
Most Rotary clubs and districts have strict rules about where and when a student may travel. Students are not necessarily prohibited from accompanying your family on vacation, but usually require written permission from their natural parents and the hosting Rotary club and district.

In addition, if you are planning to leave the country on your vacation, it is advisable that you check the status of your student's visa. Some students are permitted entry into only one country entry during their stay.

Didn't find the answer to your question? Contact the Youth Exchange Program staff at Rotary International for additional assistance.