Global Xchange is a six-month exchange program which gives young people from different countries a unique opportunity to live and volunteer together, to develop and share valuable skills and to make a practical contribution where it is needed in each local community.

In 2010, the first-ever multilateral Global Xchange connected youth and community activists from six countries: USA, France, UK, South Africa, Sierra Leone and Rwanda. The multilateral exchange was broken in two phases for the two age groups, focused on shorter-term professional development exchanges and longer volunteer placements.

First, community leaders from the six countries went to Durban, South Africa, January 17 to February 6, followed by an exchange in Belfast, Northern Ireland from March 7 to 27. Members of the adult exchange will be placed at local organizations to job shadow, exchange best practices, and explore cross-cultural approaches to serving at-risk youth. The US participants were selected from five Los Angeles nonprofits: Street Poets, Create Now, Reach LA, Homeboy Industries, and LA's BEST. Stay tuned for videos and blog posts from the LA participants.

In the second phase, groups of 18-24 year-olds from each country will volunteer for three months in Durban and then for three months in Belfast between June and December. Learn more about the types of volunteer work done on past Global Xchanges and how participants become completely immersed in their host communities – watch this video documenting an exchange between Scotland and Malawi.