[Global] The Rotary Foundation's Group Study Exchange

The Group Study Exchange (GSE) program of The Rotary Foundation is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for young business and professional men and women between the ages of 25 and 40 and in the early years of their professional lives. The program provides travel grants for teams to exchange visits between paired areas in different countries. For four to six weeks, team members experience the host country's institutions and ways of life, observe their own vocations as practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas.

For each team member, The Rotary Foundation provides the most economical round-trip air ticket between the home and host countries. Local Rotarians in the host area provide for meals, lodging, and group travel within their district.


Application Process for Team Members

All interested applicants must first have their candidacy endorsed by a Rotary club in the district where the applicant works or lives. From there, endorsed applications are sent on for consideration at the district level. Club and district deadlines for applications vary, often six months before travel. Applications sent to the Foundation without club and district endorsement will be returned.

The application for team members is available here.

Eligibility Criteria

Team members must:

• be between the ages of 25-40;
• be employed full-time in a recognized profession;
• not be a Rotarian, honorary Rotarian, or employee of Rotary or the lineal descendant or spouse of a lineal descendant, a Rotarian, an honorary Rotarian, or an employee of Rotary;
• not be the spouse of another team member;
• not be an ex-Rotarian or the lineal descendant or spouse of a lineal descendant of an ex-Rotarian or ex-Rotary employee who resigned less than 36 months before the time of application.

Ideal Candidates

Ideal team members are:

• between the ages of 25 and 40;
• employed full-time in a recognized profession;
• a citizen of the country in which they reside;
• in good health;
• neat in appearance and able to express themselves clearly and logically;
• of a sound, general educational background;
• interested in and clearly enthusiastic about their chosen vocation and in possession of outstanding vocational skills;
• open-minded, tolerant, and flexible;
• proficient in the major language of the partner district;
• comfortable working as part of a team with a schedule that is physically and emotionally demanding.

Expenses

For team members, The Rotary Foundation covers:

• the least expensive transportation for each team's travel from a common point of departure within (or nearest to) the sending district to a point of entry within (or nearest to) the host district and return between the same two points;
• additional costs that may result from an unavoidable cancellation of tickets for team members or a team leader unable to accompany the team and subsequent reissuing of tickets for alternate team members or an alternate team leader;
• hotel accommodations and meals, generally up to US$100 or equivalent per person, for a forced overnight stay when a team travels en route for more than 24 hours, including layovers due to misconnecting flights, and back to the sending district if traveling immediately after the conclusion of the study tour. Payment must be approved by the Foundation in advance of the team's departure. Reimbursements are sent upon completion of the exchange, provided that receipts are included.

For districts, The Rotary Foundation covers:

• a language training grant, a district conference subsidy, and an internal travel subsidy;
• program enhancement subsidies based upon a district's eligibility and the allocation of District Designated Funds.

The Rotary Foundation does not cover:

• expenses connected with optional 24-hour stopover en route to the host district;
  personal travel expenses;
• penalties resulting from changes in personal travel arrangements, including optional stopovers or early departure from the host district;
• excess baggage charges, shipping charges, and flight-cancellation insurance;
• increases in airfare due to late or incomplete submission of documents and information or delay in finalizing any travel arrangements;
• transportation to and from airports within the sponsor district;
• visas, passports, or personal insurance.

Materials for download can be found here.

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