Short Term Exchange Programs for young people have been around for years - catering for individuals and groups. But some age brackets have not been covered, which is why New Generation Exchange (NGE) has been introduced, to close the gap between classic Youth Exchange (LTE and STE) and Group Study Exchange (GSE).
NGE therefore caters for a new age group and is open to young adults between the ages of 18 and 25.
The objective of this program - as with the others - is to create goodwill and international understanding through cultural immersion and vocational training.
The program is open for students or young professionals between the ages of 18 and 25. Youngsters who have just completed their secondary education and started further education, or who want a taste of a vocation which interests them before applying to university or college.
In other words, they want to know what vocational education may hold in store for them.
Other applicants are youngsters who want to develop their skills and experience within a given vocation (unpaid), engage in social work, etc.
NGE involves a commercial aspect in accordance with the applicant's career plans and aspirations, and of course aspects of cultural understanding and tourism during their stay.
New Generation Exchange can vary in length, usually 2-3 weeks and maximum is 3 months. Candidates can depart any time of year depending on agreement with host club.
For the time being we have chosen to concentrate only on individual exchanges, in Denmark and we consider NGE as a program which must contain vocational training or education plus cultural understanding. If you are purely interested in the latter (the cultural element), NGE is not for you. We recommend you apply for Short Term Camp instead! Neither is NGE a holiday or a chance to brush up foreign language.
NGE is a serious, well-planned stay in a foreign country, quartered with one or more screened and approved host families, during which you will receive vocational training (i.e. work-related) during the daytime. Evenings and weekends are yours to experience and explore the country you are in.
In Denmark we will therefore select our Danish outbound applicants on the criteria that vocational training is a genuine desire, and a major part of the exchange since the daytime during the exchange will be dedicated to such activities. We hope and expect that the overseas partners we enter into exchange agreements with will take the same attitude when selecting and screening NGE applicants.
NGE can take place any time of year, but must of course avoid the target country's holiday and religious highpoints. For example, Danish Rotary clubs will generally not be able to host inbound NGE visitors in July and last two weeks in December. The same can apply in other countries (although at different times of year of course).