Presentation given by Rotarian Klaus Meyer from District 1810, Germany, Rotarian Di King from District 1130, England and Rotarian Serdar Kelahmet from District 2430, Turkey.

1. Rotary Youth Exchange in Great Britain & Ireland

2. Short Term Exchange
Programme
Family to Family Exchange
a programme for
Two Students Together
Age range 15 - 19 but best under 18

3. Structure of Exchange
•Three weeks (at least*) together in each other’s home in turn.
•Ideally over a continuous six week period.
•Most likely to be between countries in same hemisphere.
•Distance is no obstacle however short the time.
(*Much less and it is more like a holiday than an exchange.)

4. Students
‘Matched’ by partner DYEOs according to:
• Countries of Choice.
• Gender – normally the same as they may need to share a
bedroom.
• Disposition – and possibly a common interest.
• Similarity of age (and not one over and the other under the
age of majority in either country).

5. Setting Up the Exchange
• Home interview - student & family
• Assessment of suitability of student, home and parents for
hosting.
• If Assessment is positive, DYEO sends AF to partner DYEO (or
MD specialist coordinator) in student’s country of choice.
• The ‘receiving’ DYEO finds a suitable ‘match’ among
applicants and sends the relevant AF back in exchange.

6. Introduction and Acceptance
• Each family receives the other’s AF – reports back approval
( or not) to their DYEO.
• If approval is mutual the students are allowed to
communicate and decide if they will ‘get on’.
• Families make mutual decision as to who hosts first and when
and inform their DYEO.
• Each Sponsoring Club arranges a Counsellor for the inbound
and screening for Counsellor and Host family.

7. Timing of Exchange
•Mostly in the mutual long summer holiday.
•Can be split by different holiday patterns – northern v southern
hemisphere.
•Can be spit over two summers.

8. To split or not to split
In favour of a split:
•The exchanges can then be longer than three weeks.
•Students can exchange into a different hemisphere.
•Good if a student cannot fit in enough time into one summer.
Against a split:
•Both students need to be free together - having an unoccupied inbound is
undesirable and unfair. Going to school is not an option.
•The students could grow away from each other in intervening period.
•The students could lose interest in the exchange and not complete it.
THE DEFAULT IS NOT A SHORT INDIVIDUAL EXCHANGE

9. What does it cost –Club and Student?
Cost to the Club – club hospitality:
•Before exchange - introduction of outbound and parents to
Club
•During exchange – presentation to club by Inbound
•After Exchange - Outbound student is Speaker and gives
his/her report.
Cost to the Student & Family
•Reciprocal hospitality, including cost of events/activities
•Return travel - Insurance - visa* - inoculations*
(* If necessary)

10. The Upside
• The inbound will have a like minded companion
• Could make friends for life
• Total immersion in the culture
• Very good introduction to a country with different alphabet
• Fewer communications problems for the inbound
• The ‘home’ student sees own home in a new light

11. The Downside
•The ‘match’ just does not work out.
•Inbound Student feels loss of personal freedom.
•Culture shock - yes, even within three weeks
•Not the tourist opportunity that the student might be
expecting.

12. Who are our F2F Exchange Partners?
Those already working with Great Britain & Ireland on
this programme include:
France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan,
S Korea, Taiwan, USA , Canada,
Finland, Turkey…..
Why not you too?
Di King, MD Chair, RYE in Great Britain & Ireland
emdeekay14@gmail.com