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In the day and age of global village that we are living in the value systems ethics and cultures of various societies are increasingly gaining in popularity. Communication and transport facilities are only making the world a smaller place. No less popular is the rapidly increasing popularity of travel and what better way to travel than living abroad to barter away some form of service in exchange for better opportunities to travel and discover. Thus in the last decades of the 20th century budget travel and volunteering abroad became catch phrases for inexpensive means of living and working abroad.
There are a dime a dozen youth exchange programs broadly meant for people within the ages of 15 to 35 years of age, meant to offer opportunities for intercultural youth exchange. Volunteering services within the realms of environmental projects, even beach cleaning in Belize is a likely scenario, social service, health sector, war veterans rehabilitation centers, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, Youth Hostelling, AISEC UNESCO and UNEP Rotary International are some of the leading names in international youth exchange.
The main benchmarks of these volunteering programs/exchange programs are simple board and lodging facilities provided normally in host families, official transport is reimbursed, group insurance normally has wide coverage and one is expected to work in farms, estates, environmental projects, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, NGO projects etc.Some programs seek a participatory fee others require the participants to buy their own one year open flight tickets, insurance and visa fees gifts for host families, a few dollars for your initial bank balance are other expenditure heads. Since most such projects are normally funded and are based on non profit motives only nominal pocket money is offered to the candidates; but smart people find vistas to present cooking shows on local TV channels, and deliver lectures to earn the few extra dollars which will help you go to that cool summer destination in that country.
Having been an exchange student myself on two very popular youth exchange programs I can say with assurance that a keen observer will learn the value systems, culture, how the weather influences culture, language religion and religious influences, spirituality in that country, work ethics, professionalism, sports, cuisine, dress and dress codes, bureaucracy, political and social establishment, economy, ecology, materialism, international law, crime and anti criminal drives, health awareness and medical administration etc. It is exposure to these vistas that will lead you to the conclusion that human nature is so touchingly universal anywhere on planet earth. This is the essence of global village and what was called Vasudaivakutumbakam in the great Hindu epic the Mahabharatha: a seemingly semantic worldview in essence viewing the whole world as one great big family. That's what we experience on youth exchange programs. Not the least a one year stint abroad gives one the fresh perspective on one's own country and one also gets acquainted for instance on nuances like why is nationalism in Europe a bad word. In American supermarkets for instance one doesn't come across wine or any alcoholic beverages there are different stores for such goods. But wine is a part of European culture so even kids know brand names of alcoholic products!
Believe me at the end of the volunteering period one gets to know the host country better than one's own country! One also learns to deal with situations like having to call fire force or the police in case of emergencies which one would almost never have done in one's own country. That's when you learn the significance of each clause in your insurance coverage and the conditions stamped on your visa for example. You will probably learn by heart the train time table in that country and the city telecom codes and zipcodes of that country backwards! Seriously. Never mind if you are housed in a remote village which is not found even on that country's map!
Further searches on the internet can be sought with words such as "volunteering abroad", "international youth", or "cultural exchange programs", etc. Intercultural exchanges are also offered by Institutes like the Deutsche Akademische Austausch Dienst(DAAD) or the German Academic Exchange Service and a host of other professional bodies also have started organising exchange programs for professionals. The best possible one stop shop on the internet for information on youth exchange programs are Quaker Information Center and Transition Abroad, Vocational Study Scholarships, Experiment in International Living, Mobility International, ambassadorial scholarships of the Rotary International among their other Camp America, YHAI or youth hostelling,
- The American Field Study or AFS offers programs for youth aged 15 to 18; exchanges lasting from one semester to a year abroad are the hallmark of AFS. The corresponding address is :AFS Interculture Canada 1231 St. Catherine Street West, Suite 505, Montreal Quebec H3G 1P5
- Canada World Youth offers youth exchange programs in over 55 countries since 1971 and is meant for youth between the ages 21 to 29. CWY seeks to create greater awareness and intercultural understanding and to enable young people to experience and observe the underlying realities of development in Canada and abroad, and ofcourse to enable the youth to understand and accept interdependence of peoples and nations.
- Canadian Crossroads International, offers programs to enable cross cultural understanding and sustainable development through participation in their programs. Students Work Abroad Program (SWAP), International Cultural Youth Exchange and Voluntary Service, SCI, The English Speaking Union, the Deutsche Kultur International, International Youth Exchange, Youth Exchange Service, International Homestay etc are among the lesser known youth exchange programs.
The Goethe Institute's Foreign Area and Language Training Programs etc are all experienced in offering avant garde youth exchange programs and most are doing a fine job of exchanging untapped human resources for the global village.
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