Rotary Youth Exchange in Great Britain & Ireland

Short Term Exchange Programme

Family to Family Exchange

a programme for

Two Students Together

Age range 15 - 19 but best under 18

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.)

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).

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.

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.

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.

To split or not to splitIn 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

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)

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

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.

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 & Irelandemdeekay14@gmail.com