Rotary District 5360 Youth Exchange

 
Well another Rotary Youth Exchange year begins! I’ve always said the Youth Exchange Program is one of Rotary International’s somewhat below the radar “hidden jewels”. To find out why I feel this way please read on …
 
Each year some 6,000 Rotary sponsored students between the ages of 15 and 18 travel to a country with a different culture and a different language and they get to live in that country for a year.  These students become ambassadors not only for their home country Canada, but also for their host country. During their year away their world becomes a little smaller, but their view of the world becomes much bigger. They become more tolerant of cultural differences and more respectful of diversity. As a result of this, Rotary’s youth exchange program helps to build goodwill and world peace – one student at a time.
 
Our Students
In our District we have 20 outbound students this year and by the time you read this article 16 of those students have already departed for their year-long exchange experience.  On the Inbound side we have 20 students, most of whom have already arrived and even some who have travelled with their host family or club counselor to destinations outside of our District. Past experience tells us that the year away from home for both our inbound and outbound students will happen all too fast, so we always encourage them to dream big, set goals and live each day to the fullest.
 
Our Program
This year we tried something new – we separated the Inbound Orientation weekend from the Rotex debrief session in order to increase our focus on both events. For our returning students, commonly referred to as “Rotex”, it is a chance for them to download about their recent exchange experience and to talk about how they’re managing a common phenomenon known as “reverse culture shock”. We also invited the parents of the Rotex students to a special Friday night session with their sons and daughters to allow them to share their re-integration experiences to date and to reach out if they wanted support from the YEX Committee. By the turn out, we’re confident that we made the right decision in making these changes and that we are on the right track for the future.
 
Our Committee
We say goodbye to Nadia Deenen (Rotary Club of Medicine Hat) after many years as one of our Student Placement Coordinators on the District’s Youth Exchange Committee. Nadia was responsible for helping facilitate many exchanges with our partner Districts in the Scandinavian countries.
We welcome to the YEX Committee Jeffrey Dawson (Rotary Club of Red Deer Sunrise) as Nadia’s replacement and Matt Knox (U of C Roteract Club) as our new Outbound Student Orientation and Events Coordinator. We’re still looking for additional Student Placement Coordinators to join the committee, so if you’re a Rotarian and want to experience the power of our youth, please get in touch.
 
How is our District doing with the youth exchange program?
I leave you with an excerpt of an email I received from one of our District Youth Exchange partners, “Last Sunday, August 3rd, I attended the welcome-home party held by D3490 for its outbound students, where I met Lulu Liu, hosted by your district in Calgary and was just back to Taiwan.  She told all the audience there the wonderful experience she had during the year.  After her formal presentation, I had a privilege for one more hour to have in-depth discussion with her, as I'm the correspondent of North America, when she again reaffirmed to me the wonderful hosting work done by your district.  She said that she had 4 host families, well trained and organized by the district, a wonderful counselor taking good care of her.  She was taken to her host club very regularly, and had good interaction with the Rotarians in the host club.  She had excellent experience with the fund raising, which your district organized, and witnessed how generous the Rotarians and community there in the city.  We want to thank you for the exceptional work you've done to our outbound to your district.”
 
Club Reminder
For clubs wishing to participate in the 2015-2016 District 5360 Youth Exchange program you are reminded to get your club commitment form is as soon as possible. Again, thanks to those clubs that have already forwarded their forms to the Youth Exchange office.
Upcoming Schedule of Events
  • September 5  – 7 – Inbound Student Orientation #1 Weekend (mandatory)
  • September 17-19 – Southern Alberta Attractions hosted by Pincher Creek Rotary Club (optional)
  • September 19th – 21st – Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Assembly (optional)
  • September 27th – Inbound Student Orientation #2 (mandatory)
  • October 24 – 26 – Screamfest (optional)
Got Questions?
  • If at any time you have questions about District 5360’s Youth Exchange program, the web site www.yex5360.org is always a good place to start or please call or email anyone on the Committee who I know will be more than willing to help out.
Rick Istead
Chair, District 5360 Youth Exchange Committee