For some young adults international experience is limited to following trends in fashion and music, others are expanding their world through volunteer initiatives. Eighteen of these, from Ghana and the UK, recently left the comfort of their own homes to join this year’s Global Xchange initiative.

Global Xchange came as a result of collaboration between the British Council and the Voluntary Service Organisation (VSO), an international charity organisation that works through volunteers.

It is a six-month initiative which gives young people from different countries the opportunity to volunteer in communities, thereby developing themselves, sharing valuable skills, interacting and exchanging ideas.

The volunteers live and work in cross-cultural counterpart pairs, one from the UK, and one from the exchange country. According to the Global Xchange website for participants, knowledge, learning and experience is derived from direct personal engagement.

‘The power of the programme extends to the families who host them, the community projects with which they work and the wider communities in which they live’.

Global Xchange has facilitated exchanges between the UK and over 29 countries.

The British Council and VSO hosted a pre-departure briefing workshop for these volunteers at the in Ghana to prepare volunteers for the trip to the southern town of Bolgatanga, Ghana

Ghanaian volunteers had previously joined their UK colleagues in Plymouth (UK) for training sessions as part of this year’s exchange initiative.

Volunteers spend three months in the United Kingdom and three months in the other country. The initiative works with 18-25 year olds. They are placed in host homes for the duration of the three months that they are in a country.

They are counter paired, one from Africa and one from the UK to work on community projects; this is done so that there can be an exchange of skills among the two volunteers.

According to the press release marking the event, one of the issues tackled at the workshop was deforestation and climate change.

Participants discussed what they were doing in their respective communities to raise awareness about the two issues.

The British Council’s communication manager in Ghana, Diana Yanney, says Global Xchange is at the heart of what the British Council does.

‘. With this initiative we are able to tell a phenomenal story within a short space of time. The results are so vivid,’ says Yanney.

Yanney says the British Council expects to see more dialogue between UK and Ghana counterparts this year.

‘We want to see young people having greater respect, trust and understanding of people who aren’t from their country.’

Asked about the choice of location for the volunteers to work in, Yanney says the British Council chose a remote part of Ghana which isn’t as developed as Accra.

Apart from the skills, the initiative will raise funds for an association of women suffering from drug addiction and other incurable medical conditions.

They also decided to host a Ghana Link Day each year in Ghana. This will showcase the everyday life of Ghanaians, how they live, where they go, what they eat, their markets, cultures, as well as their educational system. Bolgatanga s very rich in culture and history and we are hoping that the participants will learn a lot from the way people in those communities live.’

As in previous years, participants are excited about the communities that they are going into, says Yanney.

‘Participants are keen to learn a lot from their UK counterparts. The UK volunteers came prepped about the culture of Ghana and what is expected from them.’

According to Yanney the British Council would like to see initiatives like Global Xchange happening everywhere in the country irrespective of the British Council and VSO partnership.

‘Global Xchange has the power to incite communal spirit. We want young people to participate and carry the initiative forward.’

The participants have already left for Bolgatanga to start their three-month stay.

Find more information about how to join Global Xchange and read success stories on their website. If you would like more information about the British Council and projects that are currently running, please visit their global page. If you are interested in learning more about upcoming and past events, please visit the events calendar.