Rotary's International Youth Exchange

Currently Port Townsend Rotary is hosting a student from Japan and will be sending two students abroad next year to Norway and Poland. 
 
The Rotary Youth Exchange Program offers numerous benefits to both the students who participate and the communities they serve. Through cultural immersion, language acquisition, independence and adaptability, lifelong friendships, and cultural exchange, Rotary Youth Exchange promotes peace, understanding, and friendship among young people from different countries.
 

One of the most significant benefits of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program is the opportunity to experience new cultures and ways of life. By living with host families and attending school in a foreign country, students gain a deep understanding of their host country's customs, traditions, and values. This experience helps students develop an appreciation for diversity and promotes tolerance and acceptance of other cultures.

By interacting with native speakers on a daily basis, students can practice their language skills and learn new vocabulary, expressions, and idioms. This skill is highly valued in today's global economy, where cross-cultural communication is essential.

Participating in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program helps students develop independence, self-confidence, and adaptability. By navigating new social, cultural, and linguistic contexts, students become more resilient and adaptable, traits that are highly valued in today's fast-paced and globalized world.

Another benefit of Rotary Youth Exchange is the opportunity it provides for students to make lifelong friendships. By living with host families and attending school with local students, exchange students form deep and lasting connections with people from different backgrounds and cultures. These relationships often last long after the exchange program is over, and can provide students with valuable connections and resources as they navigate their future careers and personal lives.

Finally, the Rotary Youth Exchange Program offers benefits to the communities that host the exchange students. By hosting students from different countries, local communities gain a broader understanding of the world and promote cultural exchange at the grassroots level. Exchange students often become ambassadors for their home countries, sharing their customs, traditions, and values with their host communities. This exchange of ideas and perspectives helps promote mutual understanding and respect among different cultures and can lead to stronger relationships between countries.