"...I would have also liked to live abroad for a year..."

The ICYE long-term exchange programme would not be possible without the hundreds of families and voluntary service organisations which every year continue to welcome in their homes and work places young foreign volunteers and students.

When thinking of the excitement of an exchange experience one thinks immediately of the adventure of travelling, living in a foreign country, meeting new people and making new friendships. Seldom is considered that such excitement and intercultural learning opportunity can equally be experienced through hosting a young person from Brazil or India, Lithuania or Ghana, South Korea or Kenya.

The idea of hosting "someone" from abroad for six months or a whole year is a rather unusual one. However, the experience of many ICYE host families and voluntary service organisations has shown that the main difficulty is to accept that being a host does not demand major efforts or changes.

On the contrary, hosting a young person from another country can become a very personal and enriching way to better understand existing social and economic differences and the interdependence between nations and peoples. As reported by many host families and organisations: a real eye-opening experience!

In today's globalised world, in which the knowledge of other cultures, customs and social situations is becoming indispensable, the ICYE programme endeavours to bring about open encounters between persons with different values and beliefs. Everybody subscribing to this philosophy is welcome to participate in our programmes!!

Any family, regardless of its status and composition, can become a host family. It only needs to be open and eager to learn about another culture, willing to provide a home environment, a bed, and a space to live and study, and share their meals with a "new member" of the family.

Voluntary service placements are together with volunteers and hosting families the main actors of ICYE's exchange programmes.

In recognition of the invaluable learning and growth opportunities that voluntary service organisations offer to young volunteers, ICYE wishes to further increase the number and types of voluntary placements offered within its worldwide network of 500 hosting organisations.

Organisations which believe in the importance of promoting international understanding and solidarity between peoples and nations, and are willing to offer young volunteers a place to live, work and learn together with local volunteers and professionals, are most welcome to contact ICYE.

In case voluntary service organisations are not able to provide accommodation, ICYE will provide a host family. Where voluntary service placements function as hosts, a weekend family will be identified to give the volunteer the opportunity to experience family life. This provides a chance for involvement in ICYE to families which otherwise might not be able to host for longer periods.

Experienced ICYE co-workers will be happy to provide detailed information about aims and procedures of our hosting programme. The contact details of ICYE National Committees can be found in the our National Committees' section.