about_youthexchange

Rotary Youth Exchange

Imagine waking up in a new room, with new siblings and parents, in a new country, most likely speaking a new language! What if you could experience life as a teenager across the globe for just one year knowing that you were supported by the world’s largest service organization and the world’s oldest and most reputable student exchange program?

 

One of Rotary’s primary objectives is world peace and understanding. For over 75 years, students and host families have learned first hand the differences that make us interesting and the common things that bind us all through Rotary Youth Exchange. 

 

Each year, more than 80 countries and over 8,000 students (ages 15 to 18) participate in this Rotary International program. 

 

Rotary Youth Exchange is administered at the local level by Rotary Clubs and at the regional level by Rotary districts.

 

The application and orientation process usually begins 9-12 months before a student travels abroad for a full academic year. Students ages 14 to 17 must first contact and apply to be sponsored by a local club in August. 

 

FMPM Rotary typically will sponsor one student to go abroad, called an “outbound,” and will host one incoming student, called an “inbound” coming to our community each year. Students from the Fargo-Moorhead area are eligible to apply to our club. If we have more than one qualified applicant, we will work with other local Rotary Clubs to sponsor more than one student.

 

We also take applications for local host families here in Fargo-Moorhead and work with families throughout the entire process, from the first questions before applying, through the year after the exchange has taken place and beyond after students have become Rotary program alumni, called “rebounds.”

 

Our club is part of the CSRYE which joins hundreds of clubs together to administer the exchange and handle orientation. You can learn more about the program and application process by visiting the website at www.CSRYE.org.