UK-German youth exchange formats, topics, outcomes, and benefits
Encouraging UK-German Youth Exchanges
accelerates probably twice as fast again. Just the experience of getting on a plane, and then young people I’ve taken, who didn’t have passports, just the process of getting a passport and being a UK citizen is powerful.” UK youth worker Learning was understood to come from the exchange itself but also from the preparation for the exchange and follow-on activities. Learning was said to occur through participatory group work; enabling two groups of young people from different countries to begin interacting and planning their exchange, gradually building relationships, and overcoming challenges together. At the follow-on stage young people’s learning occurs through reflecting upon what they had learnt from their experience overseas, and how this might enable them to think differently about their own lives and choices at home. Youth workers said this was particularly powerful when two groups of young people were brought together who have a common challenge or living reality (such as rural isolation, or poverty). The process of understanding how other young people dealt with a similar but different reality was said to stimulate and unlock new attitudes and approaches from young people that might have significant impact on their life direction.
The best thing about my youth exchange was ...
Graph 3.20 Youth workers – Outcomes for young people sought from exchanges, by country group
“... self-development of being a part of a team for performance activities, team building and travel as a group. Making new friends and reuniting with old ones, finding people who make you feel happy, safe, and comfortable without trying is a special and irreplaceable feeling. Learning about the cultural differences between the young people from the different countries!” Young survey participant “... the opportunity to challenge myself in a way that met my needs at the time as well as explore another culture and language. I gained a significant amount of confidence and independence which directly gave me the self-belief to make changes to my life upon my return home.” Young survey participant
3.6
3.7
Personal and social skills
3.6
3.3
Intercultural learning
3.4
3.2
3.2
Community cohesion
3.1
3.3
3.1
Inclusion and diversity
3.5
2.9
3.0 3.0 3.0
Peacebuilding and solidarity
3.0
Youth participation and volunteering
3.2
2.8
2.8
Health and wellbeing outcomes
3.3
2.6
2.7
Education and employment outcomes
3.0
2.5
2.6
Sustainability and environmental outcomes or learning
2.7
2.6
1.9
Technical skills related to the work of my organisation
2.1
1.8
All (n=122) UK (n=45) DE (n=77)
0
1
2
3
4
Mean rating
“I utterly appreciate and see the learning when we take young people on residential for the weekend to [a UK location]. You just see their development accelerate so much quicker in my experience. But when you take them out of the country and you remove them from their current context entirely, their development
The value of personal development outcomes achieved through intercultural learning was emphasised by youth workers within the interviews. It was thought that experiencing a new environment, as well as learning to interact with people from another culture provided a transformative opportunity for an individual’s growth and learning. Part of this was said to be achieved through a young person making connections between their own lived experience and the experience of other young people from different cultures who may be facing similar challenges in life.
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