Intercambio - History of Study Abroad Intercambio

Intercambio is one of the major Study Abroad Programs for students from Brazil, Portugal, Spain, and Mexico. Here you can learn more on how Intercambio was created and all its benefits from knowing new cultures and its people, as well as learning a second language.

Intercambio is also known by The Cultural Exchange Programme, an educational initiative that came at the beginning of the 20th century in the United States with the aim of promoting world peace through the interaction of people with different cultures and customs. All persons were welcome, students or non-students alike. And they continue to be very welcome.

After the devastating World War II, young people who had worked as volunteers helping the injured on the zones of conflict realized that the fears, anxieties and aspirations of citizens from different countries were indeed quite the same.

Those travelers also realized that the cultural immersion experienced by them during the war in a different country allowed to learn about life and customs and cultures of other nations, thus establishing emotional ties with these different people. These youngsters, mostly, then created the "new concept" of "cultural exchange" as a mechanism for international exchange of knowledge of the other and of itself and, especially, peace.

At the end of the decade of 1940 the first Intercambistas, also known by Cultural Exchangers, started to leave their parents home for a quite pleasant international experience in their lives. Through the interaction with different beliefs and values it is possible to better understand and respect one another culture, this being the basisf this unforgetable experience, the Intercambio Cultural Study Abroad.

One of the world's oldest student travel agencies, for which Intercambio is known in Latin countries -- Brazil, Portugal, Spain, and Mexico, for example -- is AFS (American Field Service), a non-profit organization with more than 60 years of operation, which provides Intercambio experiences.

Learning a new language, meeting different cultures, lives, participate and interact with people... are just some of the benefits of this unique and enriching studying abroad experience that will remain for a lifetime in the memory of all new Intercambistas, the student travelers. And often the people that also welcomed those youngsters.

To enrich your knowledge and express your experiences and thoughts you may also visit IntercambioCultural.com.br

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