COVID 19 turned the world “upside-down” and conflicts “spinning out of control” amidst a worsening climate emergency and deepening inequality and poverty. Rotary can tackle these issues by working in solidarity for a lasting, sustainable peace and environment every day. We need to make peace with nature, build a green economy and achieve our net-zero targets, and we need the youth for this. RYE helps Rotary to develop the next generation of leaders. The program helps youth to build leadership skills, to expand education and to learn the values of service to promote a culture of peace and sustainability. Rotary puts youth at the center of building and sustaining a culture of peace and sustainability.

1. 2022 YEO Preconvention
Cultural Exchanges and
Sustainability Practices
Cinzia Donalisio D2041
David Wolfe D7980
youth
exchange
officers

2. 2022 YEO Preconvention
• The RYE changed scenario
• How to build back better
• D2041 practices
• How to keep youth engaged with RYE
• Conclusion
INDEX

3. 2022 YEO Preconvention
THE RYE
CHANGED SCENARIO

4. 2022 YEO Preconvention
THE RYE
CHANGED SCENARIO
R
Covid 19
Conflicts
Safety
Environment
Digitalization
R Y E
DEI

5. 2022 YEO Preconvention
HOW TO BUILD
BACK BETTER

6. 2022 YEO Preconvention
HOW TO BUILD
BACK BETTER
• To review our practices and selection process leveraging on the key basic objectives of the program
 to build peace one young person at a time;
 to promote global solidarity, social justice, gender equality, peace and environmental
sustainability;
 to help youth to become truly global citizen embracing Rotary values.
• A new sustainable model of doing RYE focused on:
 Digitalization (smart usage of Virtual and Physical exchange);
 DEI values;
 Environment respect – green culture;
 Safety.
We need
to innovate
our approach

7. 2022 YEO Preconvention
DIGITALIZATION
HOW TO BUILD BACK BETTER
• Digitalization is key both for
 managing exchanging programs without barriers;
 managing documentation process complying with privacy and confidentiality criteria.
• RYE & NGSE Virtual Exchanges represents a resilient way to:
 facilitated people-to-people intercultural dialogue and soft skills development sustained over time;
 strengthen Inclusion and Diversity;
 boost “internationalisation at home”;
 provide a greener and eco-friendlier mobility option;
 to spread RYE values;
 to prepare, deepen and extend physical exchanges, as well as fuel new demand for them.
Mobility doesn’t
require necessarily
movement

8. 2022 YEO Preconvention
DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION (DEI)
HOW TO BUILD BACK BETTER
• How to deal with this issue?
 ethnicity, race, color, abilities, religion, socioeconomic status, culture, sex, sexual
orientation, and gender identity;
• Creating a safe and welcoming environment for all students, designing programs that
include youth of all backgrounds
 will the student be placed in a school that is accepting?
 is their host family accepting and open to supporting them?
 will they be assigned a counselor who understands or who is willing to understand the
unique challenges our students might face?

9. 2022 YEO Preconvention
ENVIRONMENT
HOW TO BUILD BACK BETTER
• Supporting the environment is new Rotary's area of focus and a strong priority for young
generation;
• Young people are playing an active role in addressing the climate crisis
 96% of young people, those aged 15 to 25, agree that climate change is a “serious
problem;
• Rotary youth exchange programs can play an important role to foster a new sustainability
culture.

10. 2022 YEO Preconvention
SAFETY
HOW TO BUILD BACK BETTER
• The safety and well-being of exchange students is RYE highest priority
 the dynamic is complicated by the international context and cultural sensitivities.
• It is fundamental to provide a set of best practices to ensure the continued safety:
 to maintain close supervision of all exchange students and host families (role of tutors & reporting);
 to ensure that each student has a local coordinator for regular contact and close support and advice;
 to prepare students prior to departure and providing them with high quality advice and information
about their exchange experience (orientation meetings);
 ensuring that host families are personally interviewed in their homes and that selection procedures
and criteria meet with RYE requirements (psycologist interview);
 being available to parents throughout the exchange for any questions or concerns;
 to train RYE staff and coordinators on a regular basis;
 to provide an emergency phone service which students or families can call if have an emergency.

11. 2022 YEO Preconvention
D2041 PRACTICES

12. 2022 YEO Preconvention
D2041
PROFILE
• Rotary District 2041 extends across the entire metropolis and periphery of
Milan
 about 2.100 Rotarians (active), 51 Rotary Clubs, 18 Rotaract and 2
Interact;
 involved with RYE program since 1985;
 RYE committee made up of more than 30 Rotarians;
• Considered a "best practice" at worldwide level;
• RI fully certified;
• Management of about 150 students per year considering Long Term, Short
Term, Camp, Virtual Exchange and NGSE.
• 2 outstanding camps for foreign students:
 Camp Milano
 Camp Sustainability & Sail
Milano

13. 2022 YEO Preconvention
• Rotary YEAH (Youth
Exchange Administration
Hub)
• Platform for document
processing hosted by
Amazon Web Services
(AWS) in cloud
• Al Kalter: Creator &
Administrator (Florida)
Digitalization

14. 2022 YEO Preconvention
RYE Virtual Exchange
• D2041 & D4420
Nov. 2021 – Feb. 2022
• One-to-one match and
mentor assignment
• Language lesson 1 hr/week
• Group meeting 1 hr/week
• 6 LEARNING MODULES
Daily life, History,
Geography, Economy,
Arts/Culture/Music, Sports
• Final award & certification
Digitalization

15. 2022 YEO Preconvention
NGSE Virtual Exchange
D2041 & D4420
• Job shadow
• Architectural engineering
& Design
• Presentation of theoretical
concepts
• Discussion with industry
experts
• Ad-hoc pre-reading
material
• 3 months
Digitalization

16. 2022 YEO Preconvention
Sustainability & Sail Camp
• Learning and cultural
experience of
«sustainability at work»
• Visit of outstanding
companies that made
sustainability the key driver
of innovation and growth
• Practice of sustainability
and leadership through the
sail sport
Environment
Youth engagement
for building
a sustainable future

17. 2022 YEO Preconvention
HOW TO KEEP
YOUTH ENGAGED WITH RYE

18. 2022 YEO Preconvention
● Flexibility
● Quality & Values
● Safety
HOW TO KEEP
YOUTH ENGAGED WITH RYE

19. 2022 YEO Preconvention
FLEXIBILITY
HOW TO KEEP YOUTH ENGAGED WITH RYE
• RYE is not only long term exchanges;
• Re-start leveraging mainly on the RYE shorter program, like STEP and CAMPs with no link
with the school could be useful to reduce the possible risks; What do you think about?
• Virtual Exchange : use virtual not as a stand alone program but mainly as first step to go
phisically later on, already trained in local culture and language. A first step to allow students
to better exploit and enjoy their phisical exchange. Did you address VE? What your
experience?

20. 2022 YEO Preconvention
QUALITY & VALUES
HOW TO KEEP YOUTH ENGAGED WITH RYE
• Quality (versus quantity): dont’ care about numbers but quality, to make safe exchanges,
based on a careful selection of students and families, introducing back up plans and proper
insurance plans to face any unplannable problem emerging at the last minute. Have you
restarted? How did you restart?

21. 2022 YEO Preconvention
SAFETY
HOW TO KEEP YOUTH ENGAGED WITH RYE
• Vaccination/Safety: all participants must have received at least two doses of COVID
vaccination. Student must include an official COVID Vaccination Certificate in her/his
Application Form. Do you agree?

22. 2022 YEO Preconvention
CONCLUSION

23. 2022 YEO Preconvention
CONCLUSION
• The new worldwide scenario is calling for an agile response to the changed reality;
• Share experiences and best practices is a must as well as to have in place a new
sustainable model of doing RYE
 an innovative “safe and sound” youth exchange program to engage young
people with Rotary.

24. 2022 YEO Preconvention