Posted by Beth Markley
Rotary District 5400 is a member of the North American Youth Exchange Network (NAYEN) which facilitates collaboration among and provides support to Rotary Districts in the USA, Canada, and Mexico to promote Rotary youth exchange around the world.
Rotary District 5400 is a member of the North American Youth Exchange Network (NAYEN) which facilitates collaboration among and provides support to Rotary Districts in the USA, Canada, and Mexico to promote Rotary youth exchange around the world. Each year representatives from Rotary Youth Exchange programs around the world gather for the NAYEN conference. This year’s conference was in Denver, and our district sent several representatives to learn from, commiserate, and network with our youth exchange partners from across the globe.
 
The NAYEN recognition program recognizes individual districts participating in a variety of activities which help create strong programs. Gold, Silver, and Bronze level awards are given out each year to districts which match the annual criteria.
 
This year, Rotary District 5400 was honored with a bronze award in honor of a number of our accomplishments including (among other things):
-       Our former Rotary Youth Exchange District chair (and current Short-Term Exchange Program chair) Tom Rosenthal currently heads up the annual conference
-       We’ve established a youth exchange “rebound” program within our district to support returning youth exchange students (and future Rotarians)
-       For our training and preparation of outbound students, and orientation of inbound students
-       For our communication with students via a variety of social media tools (in our case, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp)
-       For promoting our Rotary Youth Exchange program on our District 5400 website
-       For coverage of our program in the local press or broadcast media
-       And for efforts to make the program more relevant to clubs and students.
 
International exchange helps student gain a broader global perspective and bolsters their self-confidence and courage. It is a powerful tool in the education of a young person and Rotary’s program is recognized world-wide because of the dedication of our volunteers and commitment to excellence.
 
Our Rotary Youth Exchange program is currently recruiting outbound students for the 2020 – 2021 school year. Students will undergo interviews in the fall of 2019 and spend the next several months training with our Rotary Youth Exchange team. They must be under the age of 18.5 upon departure in the early fall of 2020. Interested applicants, host clubs, and host families can visit Rotary5400.org for a link to our youth exchange website.
 
(Pictured: outbound coordinator Beth Markley, NAYEN President Paul Reagan, Inbound coordinator Laura Spencer, and inbound coordinator Mike Dittenber, Not pictured: STEP Chair Tom Rosenthal)