 Calgary West Rotary has a long standing tradition of supporting youth programs locally as well as internationally. Our students from district 5360 exchange with 16 different non-English speaking countries throughout Europe, SE Asia, and Latin America. The purpose is to promote peace and understanding.
Rotary District 5360 exchanges students with the following countries: Brazil, Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary, India, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, Norway, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden,
Switzerland, Taiwan, and Thailand.
- The first Rotary youth exchanges began between European countries only in 1927.
- Exchanges between California and some Latin American countries began in 1939.
- Exchanges with the eastern US clubs became popular in 1958.
- The Rotary International youth exchange program became an official program of RI in 1972.
- Currently, over 8000 students participate annually in over 60 countries, due to the efforts of tens of thousands of Rotarians and host families like the Cadmans.
- The youth exchange program is open to Rotarians and non-Rotarian families alike.
- The program is available to the 15 to 19-year-old age group with above-average academics.
- In their host country, students stay with two to three host families and must attend school.
- This is a three-year commitment for these youth. The first year is office training, the second year is the actual exchange, and the third year involves promotion and training of the new outgoing students.
District 5360 has its own official youth exchange website: www.YEX5360.org |
