UK-German youth exchange formats, topics, outcomes, and benefits
Encouraging UK-German Youth Exchanges
Method of travel used during youth exchanges The large majority of young survey participants in both countries were open to most forms of travel, with the exception of bicycle which still appealed to around half of young people (Graph 3.5). Amongst German participants, there was a preference for using sustainable modes of public transport during UK-German youth exchanges – train, bus and ship were favoured by over 4/5ths of young German survey participants. Young survey participants from the UK did not share the same preference, train, plane, and bus are the three most popular modes of transport, and car use is ranked fourth, still favoured by nearly three quarters (73.7%, n=143) of young people.
Graph 3.6 Youth workers – Transport considered suitable, by country group
Youth workers in the interviews and resonance group were primarily interested in the most cost effective and practical forms of travel, which took priority over sustainability considerations. Cost effectiveness meant taking into account the monetary costs of travel, and also staff time. This made slower sustainable travel methods like overnight trains less viable. In the survey, UK youth workers rated plane travel higher than their German counterparts (Graph 3.6). Plane travel from the UK is typically cheaper and faster than road or rail travel for most parts of the UK outside of the South of England and London.
100%
DE (n=46) UK (n=79)
91.3
82.6
80.4
77.2
80%
69.6
63.3
63.0 64.6
60%
32.6
20%
19.0
13.0 13.9
0
Train
Bus
Ship
Plane
Car
Bicycle
Graph 3.5 Young people – Transport types of interest, by country group
100%
96.8
DE (n=706) UK (n=197)
93.3
90.0
87.1
84.6
84.0
73.7
Accommodation during youth exchanges The majority of young participants in both countries were open to all possible forms of accommodation suggested in the survey. Within both countries, youth hostel, hotel, and stay with host family, appealed to close to three quarters or more of young people and camping appealed to around half (Graph 3.7). Through the open text box, a number of participants also suggested use of shared apartments with other exchange participants. Feedback from the consultation workshops indicated young people in weaker financial circumstances may be concerned about hosting exchange partners in their family home, as they did not have the means to do so. Within the survey 80.5% (n=70) of young participants in weaker financial circumstances expressed an interest in staying with a host family compared to 85.0% (n=645) of young participants in stronger financial circumstances , however this difference was not statistically significant.
80%
68.6
68.1
61.3
59.6
In the survey youth workers had differing attitudes from young people regarding accommodation type (Graph 3.8). There was a stronger preference towards the use of youth hostels and less interest in camping amongst youth workers than amongst young people. Comparing youth workers in between countries, preferences on accommodation were generally similar. Only attitudes to the use of hotels were notably different; just under two thirds of youth workers in the UK (60.9%, n=28) identified hotels as suitable, compared to just under one third (32.9%, n=26) in Germany.
46.9
60%
20%
0
Train
Bus
Ship
Plane
Car
Bicycle
26
27
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