ICYE (International Cultural Youth Exchange) is a non-profit organization that aims to promote the understanding between people coming from different cultural backgrounds.

ICYE organizes intercultural voluntary exchange programmes for six or twelve months all over the world. In addition, ICYE offers short term exchange programmes for one to three months in Costa Rica, Togo or China as well as a professional programme for teachers and nurses.

Sharing their everyday life with people having a different cultural background, the exchangees get a distinguished insight into their host culture. They get to know another country with its social, cultural, religious, linguistic, emotional and economic aspects. This experience gives them the possibility to question profoundly their own person as well as their own culture.

ICYE came into being shortly after World War II out of a bilateral exchange programme between the US and Germany. The basic idea was to contribute to the reconciliation between war enemies. In 1987, ICYE received the official recognition by the United Nations of being an organisation promoting peace worldwide.

In the meantime, the exchange programme has been extended to over thirty countries. In all of them exists an independent committee that is responsible for taking care of the exchangees and their own country’s exchange programme. They are all members of the international parent organization of the „Federation of ICYE“ and carry out their exchange with a view to reach the commun objectives.

ICYE’s exchange is mutual. This means that every country of ICYE receives as much exchangees as it sends people abroad.