International Youth Exchange
In an International Youth Exchange, groups of young people from two or more countries plan and organise a joint project and meet on site. The activities take place in their free time and are organised by actors in the field of youth. Non-formal learning methods are used.
Overview
For whom
- Teenagers and young adults (13-30 years) from Switzerland and abroad
Duration
- 3 days to 3 weeks
Where
- In Switzerland with youth groups from Switzerland and one or more countries worldwide
- Worldwide abroad with youth groups from Switzerland and the host country (bilateral only)
What we fund
- Financial support for organisation, travel and accommodation
- Effective costs are covered for participants with special needs
What to do
- Swiss organisations look for one or more partner organisations, plan the project together and submit a funding application
Deadlines
- Application deadlines: 5 March, 14 May and 1 October 2025
- Project start: 1 June, 1 August and 1 December 2025
In detail
During an International Youth Exchange within the field of youth, youth groups realise a joint project. Young people learn how young people live in other countries and gain new perspectives.
This activity is funded by the Swiss Programme for Erasmus+. This programme allows Swiss institutions to organise activities similar to the ones funded by the European education programme Erasmus+.
Requirements
For participants:
- The participants are teenagers and young adults aged between 13 and 30.
- A maximum of one group leader / accompanying persons (no age limit) per 4 young people may take part in the project. At least one adult group leader / accompanying persons from each country must take part in the project.
- Participants must be resident in the country of one of the participating organisations.
- Participants can be young people who are already taking part in your activities or you can also involve new young people in your programme using your usual channels.
- The young participants take part in the project voluntarily outside of their school or work commitments.
For applicant organisations and institutions:
- Organisations or institutions in the field of youth based in Switzerland are eligible to apply.
- They work according to the principles of youth work: participatory, inclusive and accessible.
To the project:
- At least 16 young people must take part in a Youth Exchange (not including group leaders).
- The exchange must offer a programme of at least 3 days and a maximum of 3 weeks, not including arrival and departure days.
- In addition to the programme days, an arrival and departure day can be financed. If more than one day of travel is required for environmentally friendly trips, this can be authorised in exceptional cases with justification.
- The participating young people must be involved in all project phases: Planning, realisation, processing.
- The project includes activities of non-formal and informal learning.
- The applicant organisation must present at least one foreign partner organisation in the project application.
- Activities involving organisations and participants from multiple countries can only take place in Switzerland (multilateral). Activities taking place abroad can only be funded for Swiss partner organisations and participants, as well as for organisations and participants from the host country (bilateral).
Funding amounts
- Organisational lump sum for the institution: 125 CHF per person
- For the trip: international 400 CHF to 1'000 CHF per person (depending on the destination country), national 50 CHF per person for national trips
- For the stay: 41 CHF to 59 CHF per day and person (including group leaders / accompanying persons, depending on the destination country)
- For the specific needs of individuals with disabilities or those suffering from physical, mental, or chronic illnesses: Max. 12,000 CHF (actual costs based on the note of requirements).
A maximum of 65'000 CHF in funding can be paid out per activity within a project. You can find all contributions and calculations in detail in our grant table:
Evaluation criteria
The detailed evaluation criteria for the offers in the field of youth:
Procedure
For teenagers and young adults:
Young people and young adults who are interested in an International Youth Exchange and have an idea for a project should contact the youth organisation whose activities they already regularly attend. This organisation can apply for funding from us.
For institutions and organisations in the field of youth:
International Youth Exchanges are funded by the Swiss Programme for Erasmus+.
Follow these steps to carry out your project:
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1. Develop a project idea
- Think about a project idea. It should be based on our Requirements / Preconditions and evaluation criteria.
- We will be happy to provide you with individual counselling to clarify questions about planning, submission and implementation. The consultation can take place over the phone, online or on site.
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2. Find a project partner
- Find at least one suitable project partner in the field of youth based abroad.
- Activate your personal or professional environment for this purpose. You can find partner organisations, for example, via your umbrella organisations, organisations known to you through collaborators or volunteers, via the OTLAS platform or the Eurodesk information and networking portal.
- Get more information on the topic Finding an exchange partner.
- International Youth Exchanges are generally possible worldwide, with a few exceptions. Make sure that the desired partner organisation(s) are located in eligible programme countries.
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3. optional Arrange a preparatory visit
Would you like to meet potential project partners on site to get to know each other or jointly develop a project? Get financial support for a preparatory visit.
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4. Planning the project
- Determine a thematic focus together with the project partner, for example nature and sustainability, youth participation, inclusion, art or peace education.
- You plan the meeting and decide on one of the non-formal and informal learning methods.
- Our tips on project planning will help you with your planning.
- Good cooperation and a regular exchange with the partner organisations are key requirements / preconditions for the success of your project. To avoid misunderstandings, it is important to clearly allocate tasks and roles. You should discuss this at the beginning of the project planning and ideally also record it in writing.
- Actively involve the teenagers and young adults in the organisation and consider which subtasks they can take on. This includes, for example, letting the young people make decisions about content and methods and giving them (partial) responsibility for various tasks.
- It is important to us to also enable persons with disabilities or with physical, mental, or chronic diseases to participate. Therefore, we provide additional funding for persons with special needs, for which you can apply in the funding application. You may also submit a request for funding for special needs at a later stage during the project duration. You can find more information under Inclusion and equal opportunities.
- Consider environmentally friendly means of transport in the planning of your project. Find out more about green mobility.
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5. Submit project application
- Submit the project application online. Keep to the Deadlines in March, May and October.
- Open the application as early as possible to familiarise yourself with the requirements. We open the application forms together with the Call, usually in December, June and August. You can save the application temporarily and continue working on it later. If you are submitting an application for the first time, you will need to register once. The project application must always be submitted by a Swiss organisation, even if the project takes place abroad. We will pay the funding contribution in full to the applicant organisation
- If a planning meeting is necessary at the beginning of the activity period before the actual Youth Exchange takes place, this can also be applied for. As a rule, a maximum of one person from each participating country may take part in planning meetings; in exceptional cases - if young people participating in the project are travelling to the planning meeting - these meetings can be funded for two people per country The same funding amounts apply as for the other Youth Exchange activities.
- The project application must be accompanied by the statutory documents of your organisation/institution, a declaration of honour by an authorised signatory and a provisional programme of the exchange.
- Allow sufficient time for the preparation and consultation with partners. After thorough preparation, you will need at least one working day to prepare the application; if there are unanswered questions, it may take longer to fill out the form and compile the materials.
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6. Contract and payout
- We review the project application with regard to fulfilment of the preconditions and the evaluation criteria and decide on the basis of this whether the project can be funded and with what funding amount.
- The evaluation lasts approx. 60 days. We will inform you by e-mail about the decision and further procedures.
- If the decision is favourable, a contract will be sent along.
- The project starts at the beginning of June, August or December.
- 80 % of the funding amount will be paid after the contract is signed; the final settlement will be made with the final report. In certain cases, Movetia reserves the right to apply a different payment procedure.
- Grants are paid out exclusively to institutions or organisations involved in the field of youth in Switzerland.
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7. Carry out the exchange
- You decide which participants take part in the Youth Exchange. These can be young people who are already taking part in your activities or you can involve new young people in your exchange project. Advertise the project in your network and via your communication channels or inform your network about the planned project. You can also advertise your project via Eurodesk Switzerland.
- Prepare the participants for the exchange so that they can benefit as much as possible from the experience.
- Implement the project in accordance with the application. Please refer to this information sheet.
- You can use the notification of requirements for people with special needs to apply for additional funding for participants with disabilities or physical, mental or chronic illnesses, if you have not already done so in the funding application.
- Please make sure to keep a correct and complete participation list.
- Ensure that the non-formal and informal learning outcomes of young people are recognised. Find out more about the recognition of competences.
- Please notify us of any changes to your project (e.g. duration, project partners) with a special application.
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8. Submit final report
- Submit the final report including the list of participants and declaration of honour to us 60 days after the end of the project period.
- Reserve around one working day for appropriate reporting.
- Depending on the number of mobilities carried out, we pay out any remaining amounts or make a reclaim.
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9. Report about the project
- Other organisations and institutions can benefit from your exchange experience. Therefore, report on the exchange project via your channels, e.g. newsletter, social media, blog, etc. Make sure you mention Movetia as a funding partner. We provide the logo and text modules for this purpose.
Q & A
Can I carry out an activity in Germany with partners from Brazil?
No, this is not possible. An activity abroad can only be funded for participants from Switzerland and participants from the host country. If you want to work with partners from several other countries, the activity must be carried out in Switzerland.
I don't have a partner organisation abroad, but I would still like to offer a programme for young people from Switzerland and abroad. Can I do that?
No, only young people in whose country an organisation or institution is involved in the project as a project partner may take part in the project. A Youth Exchange should not only support the young people taking part, but also strengthen the organisations involved and enable them to form new partnerships. That is why you must always work with partner organisations. You can find partner organisations, for example, through your umbrella organisations, organisations known to you through collaborators or volunteers, or through OTLAS.
Who is considered a group leader / accompanying persons?
Group leaders / accompanying persons are persons who accompany the young people during their exchange - this includes all persons who do not take part in the project as regular participants: Trainers, group leaders, cooks, content experts, specialists, etc. Group leaders / accompanying persons are usually over 18 years old and the upper limit of 30 years does not apply to them.
One group leader / accompanying person must participate in the project for each country group. A maximum of one group leader / accompanying person per 4 young people may be funded.
Can I send my application to Movetia for correction before the official evaluation?
No, we do not revise applications. However, we are happy to answer specific questions and provide support.
What is the difference between a planning meeting and a preparatory visit?
A Preparatory visit must take place before the application is submitted. The purpose of this visit is for the partners to discuss a possible project together and, if necessary, to take the first steps towards project development/application.
A planning meeting can be requested with the project application. This serves to ensure that the activity can be better prepared together as part of the project realisation. E.g. visit to the location (where the exchange will take place), agreement on the preparation of the participants, preparation of the information pack for the participants, etc.
