Following demands from AFS organisations in Europe, EFIL is glad to launch the EFIL Class exchanges initiative!
Through this initiative, EFIL is providing a common framework for AFS partners in Europe to run class exchanges. 12 organisations have now joined the pilot, and the initiative will be kick-started with a webinar in April.
Class exchanges are 1-2 week intercultural exchange programmes between groups of 10-20 students and 1 or 2 teacher(s) from two schools from different countries. Class exchanges are done between students of the same age, in the age range of 11 to 18 years old. AFS helps build international partnerships between schools and assist with our global 70+ years of experience in running successful intercultural learning programmes. Through the class exchange and by living with a family abroad during the programme, both the students and the teachers have the opportunity to live an enriching international experience that encourages intercultural understanding and enhances the awareness of sharing common values, while creating a stronger feeling of global citizenship. Teachers are also given the opportunity to learn from the school system of their host country, to exchange ideas with colleagues and to grow professionally.
The EFIL Class Exchange initiative is made possible thanks to a motivated prep team! The team met in Brussels in January to set up the initiative, as well as to start the preparation of an ESR seminar to take place in Belgium on 19-23 September 2019. This seminar is an in-person training for AFS staff and volunteers in charge of Educator and School Relations (ESR). More information will be made available in the coming weeks.