Rotary Youth Exchange has a mission to build peace, one young student at a time. For this purpose, it sponsors various student exchange programs internationally via the Rotary clubs based in more than 100 countries. Rotary Youth Exchange helps students in unlocking their true potential in many ways, such as by learning a new language and discovering another country’s culture. The focus of its short-term and long-term student exchange programs is on making students truly global citizens.While making a presentation at a recent media event, the spokesperson of Rotary Youth Exchange revealed, “We offer sponsorships for high school study abroad programs that involve long-term travel. These are our flagship programs for young people aged 14 to 19 years. The experience of students begins a year before they go to study abroad. They go through the application, selection and preparation process. During their academic year abroad, students live with as many as three or four carefully selected and trained host families. As they study at a local high school, they also gain proficiency in a new language.”
Rotary Youth Exchange is an immersion program that helps students to become bicultural and bilingual, and forever changes their perspective of the world they live in. Most of the exchanges take place for students who are between 15 and 19 years of age. Apart from the high school study abroad program, Rotary clubs sponsor the short-term summer foreign exchange program for students. The summer exchange programs vary in length from several days to several weeks. However, these programs do not involve attending school in a host country.
The spokesperson further informed, “Under our summer exchange programs, students may be able to tailor the exchange to match their interests or include the tours of specific places or regions. Some major types of these programs are family-to-family, tours, international youth camps, and homestays. The focus of these programs is on adventure and culture exploration. Most of our programs help in developing lifelong leadership skills and build lasting friendships with young people from around the world.”
Rotary Youth Exchange sponsors long-term foreign exchange student programs that last a full academic year, during which the students attend local schools and live with multiple host families. On the other hand, short-term programs usually last from several days to three months and are often structured as camps, tours or homestays taking place when the school is not in session. Rotary Youth Exchange not only provides a room and board to each student but also any school fees. Students are usually responsible for their airfare, travel insurance, and travel documents.
About Rotary Youth Exchange:
Rotary Youth Exchange, through Rotary clubs in various countries, sponsors several youth exchange programs globally. These programs include study abroad for high school students, gap year abroad and summer abroad programs. Rotary Youth Exchange also offers its study abroad scholarship program that includes hosting by a foreign Rotary Club, primary tuition and placement in a school approved by that Rotary Club, homestay accommodation, monthly stipend, airport transfers, 24-hour worldwide emergency assistance throughout the program, and more.