Hear from past Rotary Friendship Exchange participants
about how the program has helped them attain greater
international empathy, make new friends around the
world, and develop inter-district service partnerships.
Gain ideas on successfully coordinating exchanges and
maintaining contacts long after you’ve returned home.
You may even meet an exchange partner for the coming
year!
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Rotary Friendship Exchanges
1. 2014 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
Rotary Friendship
Exchange: enhancing the
Rotary experience through
international exchanges
2. WELCOME!
Bo Hennby , District 2390, Sweden - Moderator
Lesley Dare, District 9830, Tasmania, Australia - Panelist
Irene Hickey, District 5890, Texas, USA – Panelist
3. • Rotary Friendship Exchange overview
• Organizing and planning exchanges
• Rotary Friendship Exchanges: expanding
your global perspective
• Knowledge sharing, question and answer
period
Agenda
5. • Started in 1988
• More than 267
districts participate
in the program
today
Overview
Golf game in the midnight sun
6. • International reciprocal
exchanges
• Primarily organized at
the district level
• Open to Rotary members,
couples, or teams
• Exchange leaders
coordinate and plan all
components of exchanges
(location, duration,
itinerary, etc.)
Overview
7. Exchange Types:
Overview
• Individual
• Team
• Couple/Family
• Leisure
• Service
• Vocational/Hobbies
Exchange Options:
• Teams: 10-12 couples or singles
• Visit period decided upon by exchange participants (typically 10-
14 days)
• Payment and itinerary agreed upon in advance
• Teams travel together during exchange (from start to finish)
• Participants are hosted overnight in Rotarian homes
8. Unique way to experience a new country and culture
Redefining travel through exchanges
9. Exchange profiles/CVs
Mikael and Ann Halling
Bygatan XX
XXX XX Helsingborg
Phone: +46 XX XXX XXXX
Mobile: +46 XX XXX XXXX
Email: email.address@email.com
Ann (61) and Mikael (59) are living in Helsingborg where Sweden is closest to
Denmark, on the east side of the water in between.
Mikael is member of Helsingborg-Landborgen RC since 199zi6, President 2002-03
and DG D-2390 2007-08. He was RI President, Ray Klinginsmith´s representative at
D-2350 District Conference 2010 and representing RI President Kalyan Banerjee at
District 2330 District Conference 2011. Mikael graduated from school of economics,
now vice president in the public company Brinova AB.
Ann has been working with media and advertizing, until 1995 where she become the
business woman of the year in Sweden. In her own company she brought the Spanish
franchising concept La Chemiserie Traditionnelle to Sweden, producing measure made
shirts. Ann has now sold her company.
Their favourite activities are golf, sailing, tennis, travelling, concerts, cooking, skiing
and swimming, and for Mikael also hunting.
We have been to New Zealand, South Africa, Peru/Bolivia and Alaska with RFE, a great
and wonderful experience.
Our family have four children, Cecilia 36, having our grandson, Cedric 9 years and
little Chloé 9 months old. Christian 33, Mia 28 and Björn 25. And our hunting dog, an
Hungarian Viszla, Micha. Ann is allergic to mould. Speaking; English and German.
11. Overview
Members on team exchanges visit as a group:
• Always stick with the team and follow the same itinerary
• Arrive as a team
• Travel independently afterwards
Hosts prepare a program for YOU! Don’t disappoint them!
13. After this hour, we hope you find exciting
RFE friends for establishing an exchange
Visit the Billabong House of Friendship
to continue talking about exchange
opportunities!
Networking
14. Lesley Dare | Organizing and Planning Exchanges
TAKE ACTION, EXCHANGE IDEAS, JOIN LEADERS
15. So you want to become involved…
Becoming Involved
16. Getting Started
• District Governor
appoints District
Rotary Friendship
Exchange Chair
(contact your
Governor if your
district doesn’t have
a chair)
• Chair establishes an
RFE committee
17. Locating Exchange Partners
• Online Rotary
Friendship
Exchange Matching
Board
• International
projects/programs
• International
meetings
18. Establishing Guidelines
• Date and length of visit
• Team size and
composition
• Transportation during
exchange
• Nightly
accommodations
• Language skills
21. Preparing Exchange Participants
• Hold a meeting to
discuss:
– Exact exchange
dates
– Travel
arrangements
– Accommodations
– Transportation
– Costs
22. Preparing Team for Exchange
• Complete questionnaire
• Prepare brochure
• Host family gifts
23. Preparing for Inbound Exchange
• Draft itinerary
• Transportation
• Exchange dates
• Club visits and
activities
24. Exchange Organisation
• Communicate arrival
and departure times
• Organise host
families
• Collect information
to match families
• Schedule free time
25. Host Planning Checklist
• One contact person
• Establish payment
responsibilities in
advance
• Health and allergy
concerns
• Baggage allowance
26. After the Exchange
• Evaluate the
exchange
• Share the experience
• Maintain exchange
relationships
• PLAN FOR THE
NEXT
EXCHANGE!!
27. Irene Hickey | RFEs, more than leisurely travel
TAKE ACTION, EXCHANGE IDEAS, JOIN LEADERS
28. At Rotary events we sing “Let there be Peace on
Earth and let it begin with me…”
Rotary Friendship Exchanges give us the
opportunity to be part of the global peace initiative.
Peace on Earth…
It DOES begin with “me”
Rotary Friendship Exchanges: expanding your global perspective
29. Through RFEs, our global
perspectives change.
Rotary Friendship Exchanges: expanding your global perspective
Through RFEs we:
• lose our prejudices,
• grow friendships,
• expand our understand of
other cultures and beliefs.
31. “It has been said that something as small as the
flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a
typhoon halfway around the world.” – Chaos
Theory
Through RFE’s WE can, individual-to-individual,
be the “butterflies” that, through the collective
beating of our wings, ultimately cause the typhoon
of peace and understanding.
Rotary Friendship Exchanges: more than just leisurely travel
33. Discover the wondrous world of Rotary
Friendship Exchanges!
TAKE ACTION, EXCHANGE IDEAS, JOIN LEADERS
Hinweis der Redaktion
BO: introduces himself and the session
BO: Welcome all! I am Bo Hennby from D-2390 Sweden and I’m here to help present this FUN program for Rotarians with the help of our panelists, Lesley Dare, D-9830, Tasmania, Australia, and Irene Hickey, D-5890, Texas, USA.
BO: Our session agenda includes:
An overview of the Rotary Friendship Exchange program. Our first panelists, Lesley, will discuss details and best practices for organizing and planning exchanges. Then Irene will explain how the program helps participants make lifelong friends while expanding global perspectives and experiences. We will end with a knowledge sharing and questions and answer period.
BO
BO: This program was first started in 1988 and today 267 district participate in RFEs.
Those of you who wants to know what RFE is
Those of you who already are ”experts”
How many have never been on RFE?
How many have been on one trip?
How many have been on several?
BO: The Rotary Friendship Exchange program is one of the most beloved, exciting activities undertaken by Rotarians. Exchanges consist of Rotary members, either individuals, couples, or teams, traveling internationally to stay with fellow Rotarians in other parts of the world. Exchanges are primarily organized between districts. To help coordinate and lead exchanges, each district governor has the option to appoint a District Rotary Friendship Exchange Chair. The exchange leaders work together on behalf of the Rotarian(s) interested in participating in the exchange to organize exchange location, length, itinerary, activities, housing, and more. The teams take turns visiting each other’s districts while experiencing new cultures, traditions, food, customs, and building lifelong friendships.
So for RFE - Let´s talk about the basics:
Team of 10-12 coupels and singels
Visit period 10 -14 days
Agree beforehand who pays what
Team arrives together
Team stays in Rotarian homes
BO
BO: Exchanges can also have a vocational focus where groups of specific professions visit an international district to experience how that profession is practices across borders. Exchanges are truly a unique way to experience a new country and a new culture, and to build life-long friends.
Many times exchange partners end up working together on Rotary grants, sending youth exchange students to each other’s districts, and working together on service projects.
Remember that if you are participating as part of a team exchange:
- stick with the team - always
- no program of your own
- come as a team together
- travel of you own afterwards when your team program is over
The hosts have prepared a program for YOU! Do not disappoint them!
BO: sample exchange profile/CV for each participant
BO
BO
BO
BO
BO: Our first panelist, Lesley Dare, is a native of Australia and has been a Rotary member for 18 years both in Sydney, New South Wales, and Deloraine, Tasmania. She is currently a member of the Rotary Club of Deloraine, District 9830, Tasmania, Australia.
Lesley has been involved with sister club exchanges in Japan and the Philippines. She has also participated in visits to China, Vietnam, Nepal, and Turkey. Lesley has served as the District Rotary Friendship Exchange Chair for the past two years, organising exchanges between the south island of New Zealand and also Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. She is currently organising a Friendship Exchange with Sweden and a visit to India.
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BO: Our second panelist, Irene Hickey, has been a member of Rotary since 2009 and is incoming president of the Rotary Club of the University Area, District 5890, Texas, USA. At the district level, Irene serves as the Rotary Friendship Exchange and Fellowship Chair.
Over the years Irene has arranged and participated in exchanges (both inbound and outbound) with Germany, Sweden, and Israel, and she is currently coordinating exchanges with Nigeria and South Africa. Her first experiences with RFE occurred in 2009 when she was the co-chair of the District 5890 exchange with Leipzig, Germany. 2009 marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and Leipzig had a significant role in the events which lead to the fall of the wall. The Rotarians who participated in that exchange had the rare opportunity to be part of the reenactment of the peace march that ultimately led to the Wall coming down. From that point forward, Irene has been involved with RFEs.
Additionally, Irene is a facilitator for the District 5890 Gulf Coast Leadership Institute, a member of the Association of Contingency Planners Gulf Coast Chapter, the President Elect (2016) of the Houston-Leipzig Sister City Association, and a member of First Methodist Church. She is a native Houstonian and enjoys traveling with her significant other, Lindsey, who actually first introduced her to Rotary. He is past-president of the Rotary Club of Houston and together, they chaired the Friendship Exchange with Leipzig.
IRENE: My first “Rotary” moment was the first time I stood in a room filled with Rotarians and we held hands and sang this song. It gave me chills and it still does, every time I sing it.
In Lisbon, I had the opportunity to visit with Jane Goodall for a few minutes. It was a moving experience. She looked me straight in the eye and said to me: “Irene, together, we CAN change the world.” Now that was quite a statement, but I realized as I thought about it, that she was right.
Through RFEs, by giving ourselves permission to get out of our comfort zones and experience other cultures and lives, by opening our homes to complete strangers or to go to the home of a stranger and spend a few days there, we truly do live the meaning of the song. Peace on Earth… it DOES begin with me and RFE’s are the tools to get us started.
IRENE: Rotary Friendship Exchanges are so much more than just leisurely travel. They are an education unto themselves. Through participation, whether as a host for an inbound exchange or as a participant in an outbound exchange, you go through a learning experience. As humans, we have preconceived notions about other humans. It is our nature. Many times, though, we learn that those preconceptions are wrong or were biased or were based on experiences we heard about from others.
By participating in an exchange, we educate ourselves, and ultimately our families, our friends and our fellow Rotarians about the cultures to which we have been introduced. RFE’s are never what you expect and that is part of the FUN of an exchange. You learn to expect the unexpected!
RFE’s change who we are and they change our perspectives globally. RFEs move you from the “unknown” to the “known.” And you learn, that as Rotarians, we have one common bond, which is the bond of Rotary and everything that it stands for!
IRENE: There are the 3 basic “F’s” of an RFE: Friendships, FUN, and Food
Sharing food is part of learning about other cultures. And, by sitting at a table with other Rotarians, it is like sitting at a table with your family. You laugh, you eat, you talk, you eat, you debate, you eat, you enjoy! But first and foremost, you learn and you grow your understanding of those with whom you are sharing the meal.
Growing understanding is the first step to overcoming fears and prejudices.