2025 is the 50th anniversary of the Rotary Youth Exchange.
As members will know it has been increasingly difficult to host Rotary exchange students.
What you might not also know is that it has become very difficult to find NZ students who would like to be outbound students.
I am not sure of the reasons for that and reasons may include cost, perceived language barriers or the fact that NZ students dont tend to take a gap year post secondary school.
Certainly European students are more likely not to go directly to university or employment in their first year post school.
It has been reported that the upshot for our district is that we will not be involved in the Rotary Youth Exchange program in the immediate future.
Hopefully that does not become a long term or permanent change as members will remember fondly the great students we have hosted and the very positive and life changing experience of the outbound students we have sponsored.