Long term effects on the participation in international youth exchange programmes on the participant’s personality development Prof. Dr. Alexander Thomas, Ms Heike Abt and Ms Celine Chang, Department for Social and Organisational Psychology, Regunsburg University, Germany. Summary by CCIVS

Research on impact on participants of: Exchange of secondary level students with homestay Mutual exchange of youth groups at the respective home town of the partner Project-oriented cultural exchange of young people with common accomodation Multinational workcamps

Some of the research questions What kind of long-term effects do international youth exchange programmes have on former participants after at least six years? What processes lead to long-term effects? How is the exchange experience integrated biographically?

remarks Importance of Stereotypes: You see what you are prepared to see Importance of Motives: you experience what you are prepared to experience You progress from where you start You need to listen in order to hear and you need to watch in order to see

Long term effects Self related Capacities and competences Openness, flexibility and tolerance Self image and self reflection Social competence Intercultural learning Cultural identity Relations to the host country / region Foreign language skills Further activities Training and profession contacts

Possible ways of integration of a voluntary service experience in the biography « Nice to have » experience Mosaic Domino Turning point

Programme Conception create « triggers »for developmental processes Facilitate contacts with the local population of the country or the region Allow enough space for non-organized leisure time activities (exploration of experiences)

Programme Conception comprehensive preparation Clarify roles (eg: delegation vs individual encounter) Prepare for situations of intercultural encounter (insist on image of self and other) Sensitize the hosts for their role both as learners and facilitators

Programme Conception provide moments for reflection Preparation: sensitize for possibilities of action and experience during the exchange (eg. Intercultural situations) Offers of reflection during the exchange (organized rather than informal) Evaluation seminars to allow the integration of experiences through common exchange with other participants: Learning through understanding

Participants Selection Include all types of young people without underestimating the learning potential of the calm, insecure ones Clarify motives of participants Check the compatibility of the motives and the experiences likely to be provided through the programme format

Co-ordinators Aspects of qualification Enhance their role as facilitators for learning and development Train them on issues related to youth development, intercultural learning and intercultural competence They need to know well the host culture in order to be able to provide a help in the interpretation of situations for the participants

General recommendations Avoid a quantitative dominance of one nationality Favour projects allowing for an intensive contact with locals and among participants New and unusual experiences open the mind for learning …. … …