A youth exchange is an international meeting of youth groups, planned by the young people themselves with the support of their mentors. It involves young people exploring and better understanding a topic of interest to them in an action-oriented way.

Youth Exchanges bring groups of young people together with groups from other countries. They work together and broaden their understanding of the world by comparing cultures and learning about a topic of their choice. Youth Exchanges are for young people aged between 13 and 30.

young people plan their exchanges

In a Youth Exchange, young people plan an exchange programme with young people from other countries, which they carry out in the home country of one group. Adults support them in the planning and implementation whenever necessary. It is essential for youth exchanges that

• young people cannot apply for support individually but are always part of a group.
• during the planning phase, young people make decisions together
• young people come up with a common theme for the project
• young people build an activity programme through which they learn about their chosen topic
• young people also carry out the programme themselves, according to their own abilities
• young people compare perspectives on the topic through their own cultures
• young people gain new ideas and learn from each other

Interns in Finnish in Finland are Finnish language students from foreign universities who have been placed in Finnish workplaces through the Finnish in Finland programme.

The European Solidarity Corps is an EU project that offers young people opportunities to help communities and individuals through volunteering or paid work in their own country or abroad.