Rotary Youth Exchange supports students who want to learn a new language, discover another culture and truly become global citizens. The Rotary Clubs in more than 100 countries sponsor a variety of student exchange programs for students between 15 and 19 years of age. These student exchange programs in various countries help in unlocking the true potential of students. They not only develop lifelong leadership skills but also learn about a foreign culture. Students are able to build lasting friendships with young people from around the world.In a recently held personal interview, the owner of Rotary Youth Exchange asserted, “We sponsor long-term student exchanges that last a full academic year, and students attend local schools and live with multiple host families. Apart from that, we have short-term exchanges that last from several days to three months and are often structured as camps, tours, or homestays that take place when the school is not in session. We ensure that every student gets a room and board, as well as pay any school fees.”
Rotary Youth Exchange screens and trains the host families so that they can share their lives with exchange students, involving them in their family, community, and cultural activities. The Rotary Youth Exchange long-term travel program is their flagship study abroad program for young people aged 14 to 19. The experience for students begins a year before going to study abroad, as they go through the application, selection and preparation process. During their academic year abroad, they live with as many as three or four carefully selected and trained host families.
The owner of Rotary Youth Exchange also stated, “As part of our high school study abroad program, students attend a local high school and become proficient in a new language. This is an immersion program that helps them to become bicultural and bilingual, and forever change their perspective of the world we live in. Apart from that, we have short-term summer exchange programs that vary in length from several days to several weeks. Their four common types are homestays, tours, family-to-family, and international youth camps.”
Rotary Youth Exchange offers the best youth exchange program that is customizable. Although students generally would not attend school in a host country, they may be able to tailor the exchange to match their interests or to include the tours of specific places or regions. In addition to short-term summer programs for exchange students, Rotary Youth Exchange organizes the gap year programs abroad. There are a limited number of opportunities for students to participate in the program after graduation from a Canadian or US high school.
About Rotary Youth Exchange:
Rotary Youth Exchange is a leading sponsor of long-term student exchange programs, as well as short-term and summer travel programs for high school students. These programs help the young students in developing leadership skills and explore and connect to a foreign culture. Rotary Youth Exchange also offers study abroad scholarships to chosen students. The Rotary clubs in several countries host these scholarship programs, tailor-made for young students.