Laurie Clement, Executive Director Society for Educational Visits and Exchanges in Canada
Shaping Responsible Citizens and Future Leaders
The Society for Educational Visits and Exchanges in Canada (SEVEC) is a national charity funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage that for 70 years has been giving young Canadians between the ages of 12 to 17 the opportunity to gain respect for and understanding of Canadian diversity through language, cultural and special-interest exchanges, forums, youth projects and educational visits within Canada. Approximately 300,000 youth have participated in SEVEC programs.
Recently, we at SEVEC conducted research among our language exchange alumni to determine how the exchange experience affected their life choices and second language acquisition
Students told us that the exchange provided a hands-on opportunity to practise their second official language, learn about new cultures, and meet and make new friends. In addition, their parents were excited about the other positive influences the exchange had had on their children. These influences centred on life skills and were exemplified in students’ emerging self-confidence, self-awareness and self-determination evidenced in their planning and setting of life goals. In fact, parents provided many unsolicited and inspiring testimonials to the overwhelming and life-affirming effect the exchange experience had on their children. Following are just a few examples.
Exchanges Are Life-Affirming
For many students, the SEVEC exchange signalled a first-time experience in many areas, such as their first time away from home, their first time travelling without their family or parents, and the first time they had been to another part of Canada. Parents observed how new experiences sparked changes in their children, and they displayed great parental pride that their expectations were met and sometimes exceeded. According to the parents we spoke to, SEVEC’s exchange program is a multifaceted success story.
Negative experiences can adversely affect an adolescent in the short term or even for a lifetime, especially those at risk of not completing high school. It was just such a scenario of an adolescent disillusioned with school and on the verge of quitting school that one father faced. He described his daughter as being without direction and focus, moody and uncommunicative, and he was concerned about her future and unsure of how to help her without jeopardizing their relationship. Then she went on the SEVEC exchange. After she returned from her trip, he said it was as though a miracle had occurred; she arrived home ready to take action on her postsecondary education plans. She was focused, brimmed with energy, self-confidence and a sense of purpose, and showed a keen desire to help others. Her exchange experience also gave her the ability to speak both of Canada’s official languages, and she discovered a love of travel and discovery; she went on to complete an internship with Katimavik. Next on her travel list is Africa, but the first stop is university. "Amazing, isn’t it?" the father asked. He couldn’t emphasize enough the influence of the SEVEC exchange on his daughter. He ended by stating: "I am so thankful to SEVEC for ... what it has brought to life in my daughter!"
Other parents saw the exchange as helping their children become aware of the outside world and how people in other parts of the country live and work. Some parents noted that living away from home, even for a short time, was a huge awakening for their children. Things that their children had taken for granted, such as differences in income, culture, religion, education and food, now took on a new and separate reality. And the question of language became for many far more than just a subject in school. It was a revelation to some students that people in other parts of Canada actually (and quite naturally) speak the other official language in everyday life.
Another positive effect of the SEVEC exchange was an increase in students’ self-confidence. One mother observed that the exchange had not only taught her son confidence but also how to be a team member, both as a player and as a leader. She explained how her son’s teacher involved students in planning to host their exchange-student counterpart and preparing for their own visit away. Students were asked to discover something about their community and prepare a report for the class. The discoveries were compiled and the information used to welcome and entertain students who came from other parts of the country. "My son and his classmates became quite the historical experts of our town," said the mother proudly. "But even more than being well prepared to welcome and host their twin, they learned to think for themselves, to be resourceful and to work well together as a team. I saw my son’s growing confidence, his developing sense of commitment, sharing and responsibility as the project evolved. These are such invaluable and important life lessons, and they were taught in the spirit of fun and enjoyment and that, too, is important. I have such esteem for the SEVEC program because of this."
The exchange experience goes beyond learning another language, culture and geography. Such a life-altering experience reaches to the very core of students’ being and forces them to look deep inside themselves. It is a coming-of-age moment when the door to the world and all its possibilities opens; it is a pivotal moment that remains forever in their memories and is seemingly the starting point of the rest of their lives.
SEVEC’s vision and mission focus on developing in Canada’s youth strong values through educational exchange opportunities within Canada. The lasting positive effect of the exchange can be summarized as building a relationship between Canada and her youth. SEVEC’s 70-plus years of history confirm its success, as year after year, Canadian students travel Canada’s length and breadth, discovering the richness within our two official languages and cultures and finding how to use their talents to achieve their goals, and, therefore, to strengthen the fabric of our nation.
From the feedback received, Canada’s future is bright, strong and full of promise.
Full details of the Research Impact Study Report are available from SEVEC’s website, www.sevec.ca.
Laurie Clement is the executive director of the Society for Educational Visits and Exchanges in Canada/Société éducative de visites et d’échanges au Canada.
