Ministers' Deputies
Notes on the Agenda
13 March 1998
Restricted
No. 98/194
Reference documents
- GR-C(98)9
624/7.1
(A level, 24-25 March 1998)
YOUTH EXCHANGE PROGRAMME
In the light of the report by the Chair of their Rapporteur Group on Education, Culture and Sport (GR-C), the Deputies are invited to take appropriate decisions concerning the implementation of the youth exchange programme provided for in the Action Plan of the Second Summit.
1. In the framework of the initiative for education for democratic citizenship referred to in part IV of the Action Plan of the Second Summit, the Heads of State and Government, at Norway’s initiative, included a youth exchange programme.
2. Approving the guidelines drawn up by the GT-SUIVI for the implementation of the Action Plan (see decision 614/1.4), the Deputies placed the GR-C in charge of supervising the implementation of the youth exchange programme.
3. The GR-C examined the matter at its meeting on 5 March, the synopsis of which is available under reference GR-C(98)9. It agreed to propose including this question on the agenda of the current meeting of the Deputies, inviting them to take the decisions contained in the following draft decision.
DRAFT DECISION
Item 7.1
YOUTH EXCHANGE PROGRAMME
Decisions
The Deputies:
1. took note with approval of the arrangements for the implementation of the youth exchange programme provided for in the Action Plan of the Second Summit <see Appendix to these notes>;
2. instructed the Secretariat to proceed with the implementation of this programme, under the supervision of their Rapporteur Group on Education, Culture and Sport (GR-C).
APPENDIX
Council of Europe
School Based European Exchange Programme
This programme was adopted by the Second Summit of Heads of State and Government (10-11 October 1997), as a contribution to young people’s education for democratic citizenship. It is financed through voluntary contributions within the framework of a special account opened in the Cultural Fund in December 1997. Norway has pledged to contribute, over a five-year period, FF 1,000,000 annually to the programme and has already paid FF 2,000,000. For the moment, no other voluntary financial contributions have been received.
Aim: to contribute to European integration by offering bursaries for three to nine months of study in another European country for upper secondary school students. The programme is based on the concept of cultural exchange. Participants will therefore stay with host families and go to school in the same way as their peers in the host country.
Duration of the programme: 1998-2002
Dissemination of the information: through national Ministries of Education, the Council of Europe’s Network for School Links and Exchanges, CDCC activity "Europe at School", National Youth Councils and other non-governmental youth organisations, as well as the Council of Europe’s web-site.
Target group: secondary school students from CDCC member States who fulfil the criteria mentioned below. Geographical and gender balance is to be sought. Participation of young people in professional, technical and agricultural schools is to be encouraged.
Criteria: candidates have to fulfil the following criteria:
16-19 years of age;
parental agreement;
successful school record;
active involvement in school life (school participation mechanisms, voluntary activities, etc.);
fluency in English, French or another suitable vehicular language;
involvement in extra-curricular activities (voluntary work, NGO work, cultural activities).
They have to submit:
a Curriculum Vitae and a two-page explanation in English or French on WHY they want to live and study abroad;
support letter by a teacher.
Selection of bursary holders: in order to keep administrative procedures to a minimum, a limited number of member States will be invited to participate in the programme each year on a rotation basis. Exchanges will be organised in a direct reciprocal way. The Director of Education, Culture and Sport will carry out the final selection of bursary holders.
Technical organisation of the programme: the Directorate of Education, Culture and Sport, in co-operation with other Directorates of the Council of Europe, in particular the Youth Directorate, is responsible for the organisation of the programme. It will be implemented in co-operation with non-governmental youth exchange organisations which are active in the member States, such as the European Federation for Intercultural Learning - affiliated member of the American Field Service, AFS -, "European Educational Exchanges – Youth for Understanding", "the Experiment in International Living", and others as appropriate. They have to have the necessary network and experience to be trusted with the practical aspects of the programme, including an orientation seminar at the beginning of the stay.
In countries where none of these organisations are active, co-operation with other agencies and/or education authorities will have to be sought.
Member States are invited to nominate a national co-ordinator/liaison person for the duration of their direct participation in the programme.
Evaluation: while there is general agreement that this type of exchanges contributes to young people’s tolerance, open-mindedness and respect for other cultures, there is little hard data to prove this hypothesis. A study will therefore be carried out in the first two years of the programme, which will look into participating students’ attitudes, and the effect the exchange experience has on them. The publication of this study may encourage member States to make voluntary contributions to the programme from 1999 onwards to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Council of Europe.
Seminar on school based exchanges: in order to make all member States, especially those where exchange organisations are not currently active, familiar with the programme, an introduction seminar for representatives of the member States will be held from 25-28 June 1998 in the European Youth Centre in Budapest. This activity will be planned and implemented in close co-operation with the Youth Directorate.
Time scale: taking into account the necessary preparation, especially with regard to dissemination of information, and the rhythm of the school year, the full-scale programme starts with the beginning of the school year 1998/99.
Provisional budget for 1998:
FF
Secretariat, administrative work, translations, missions 250,000
Evaluation Study 50,000
Introduction seminar 250,000
80 individual exchanges (98/99) 750,000
1,300,000