Establish a Youth Exchange Group - Erasmus+ Youth in Action

A good exchange starts from the establishment of a youth group which is interested in participating in such a project. The project should be built around the needs and interests of the participating young people.

It may be that you have  already been working with a youth group for some time. You see that a youth exchange could be a new learning opportunity for them. So, talk to them, get to know their opinions and get started!

If you did want to establish a new youth group for a youth exchange, there are a number of areas to consider:

1. You could put up a notice announcing the exchange or hold a meeting inviting prospective participants and their parents/guardians to attend
2. In your invitation, you should clearly state the need for commitment to the project as well as the workload to be undertaken by the whole group
3. If there are more young people interested in the exchange than you have places for, you may need to carry out  a written/verbal application process
4. You may need to set out appropriate criteria e.g. the age range of the participants may be important, or participants might need to have a good record of attending your organisation’s activities
5. You should also consider which participants will benefit most from the experience
6. Another important consideration is whether the young people will need to make a financial contribution and how this may determine their participation. Bear in mind that a financial contribution should not be an obstacle for the young people to take part in a youth exchange.

Once you have identified the young people who are interested in a youth exchange, this is a good time to agree a broad outline ‘contract’ with the group, highlighting what they are buying into. Everything should be clearly stated so that participants and leaders have a chance to change their minds about being involved.

In order to ensure that everyone participates in all phases of the preparation and that individuals get the opportunity to develop new skills, many groups organise themselves into task groups. Task groups should be clear about what they are responsible for and about the completion date set for each task.

Throughout the planning stage, you should remember that there are times when a
youth exchange project will move quickly and other times when it will be particularly slow. Consider how often the group should get together – is this sufficient to carry out the planned preparation or will you need to meet more often?

Some exchange groups have chosen to write up a group contract or agreement. Such a document can make it very clear to the whole group what level of commitment is required. For example:

1. The number of meetings that will be held to prepare for the exchange
2. The type of activities that the group will undertake
3. The financial contribution required from individuals, if any
4. The commitment to fundraising
5. The ‘rules’ agreed by the group e.g. decisions on smoking, drinking, permissions to leave exchange place
6. Who makes decisions about the exchange and where the final authority lies
7. The role of the leaders

These agreements should be revisited on a regular basis and adjusted if necessary to make the group work more efficiently.