Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) is a Rotary International student exchange program for students in secondary school. Since 1927, Rotary International has sent young people around the globe to experience new cultures. Currently, about 9,000 students from more than 82 countries are sponsored by Rotary clubs every year. The first documented exchange dates back to 1927, when the Rotary Club of Nice, Franc
e, initiated exchanges with European students. Exchanges between clubs in California, USA, and Latin American countries began in 1939, and exchange activities spread to the eastern United States in 1958. In 1972, the Rotary International Board of Directors agreed to recommend Youth Exchange to clubs worldwide as a worthwhile international activity promoting global peace and understanding. The most powerful force in the promotion of international understanding and peace is exposure to different cultures. The world becomes a smaller, friendlier place when we learn that all people — regardless of nationality — desire the same basic things: a safe, comfortable environment that allows for a rich and satisfying life for our children and ourselves. Youth Exchange provides thousands of young people with the opportunity to meet people from other lands and to experience their cultures. This plants the seeds for a lifetime of international understanding.
