What is a STE?

Short-term exchanges are available to qualified students and vary in length from several days to several weeks.

Although participants in short-term exchanges generally don’t attend school in their host country, they may be able to tailor their exchange to match their interests or to include tours of specific places or regions.  These are the most common types of short-term exchanges:

• Homestays can be arranged for individual students or groups of students to stay with host families in another country for a few weeks. Most homestays are reciprocal; for example, a Brazil-Germany exchange may start with a Brazilian youth spending a few weeks in Germany, followed by a visit from a German student to Brazil. Some of these may even be family-to-family exchanges.
  
• Tours of one or more foreign countries are arranged for some short-term exchanges. These tours can involve groups of youth from the same country or several countries.
  
• International Youth Camps bring students from several countries together. Some camps provide leadership training and address international concerns. Others focus more on promoting cultural tolerance and international understanding. Camps involving both able-bodied and disabled youth have become popular in many countries.