News
HRH attends the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council's Annual Forum
26th June 2007
The Prince of Wales experienced the culture of nine different countries at the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council's (CYEC) Annual Forum in central London today.
School children and youth workers from across the UK, including Dundee, Glasgow, Birmingham, Rotherham and Gloucestershire, had all travelled to London for the forum to show off displays about their foreign exchanges at the Abbey Community Centre in Westminster.
The Prince was even given a special passport for his "voyage" from display to display, each of which represented a certain Commonwealth country.
Stephanie Headland, who visited Tuvalu with six others last year, presented His Royal Highness with a string of brown beads which she hung around his neck.
The 18-year-old from Quedgeley, Gloucestershire, said afterwards: "They are welcome beads and are also used by family and friends to wish people good luck or bring them wealth."
Her visit to Tuvalu last July was the first-ever exchange to the country, which is predicted to disappear within 10 years because of climate change.
As Stephanie said: "The trip made me appreciate my family much more because of what we saw out there and being on the other side of the world for three weeks."
Dom Smith, 23, a youth worker who also went on the exchange said: "It is like we have a second family now. They welcomed us like we were their own."
The Prince also chatted to Bethany Watson, 16, and Leah Pyott, 15, who took part in a trip to Tanzania organised by the Rotherham Young People's Service.
Both nearly missed out on meeting The Prince because they were evacuated due to the flooding in Yorkshire. The Prince of Wales will visit flood victims in the North of England on Friday 29th July..
Bethany said The Prince had asked after her parents and about where they were having to stay - and added that it was "pretty exciting" to meet him after the stress of the last couple of days.
The Rotherham exchange went to Moshi in Tanzania earlier this year and school children from the secondary school out there were also at today's forum because it has fallen during their two-week return visit.
Asked what children get out of the exchanges, youth worker Bethan Shaw said: "It is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It can really change what they think and what they want to be when they are older."
Other groups had visited the Bahamas, Swaziland, India, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa. Each trip has its own activities and schemes such as sustainable development, health, citizenship and the arts.
The CYEC is an educational charity which aims to develop young people and their communities and promote international understanding about the Commonwealth.
It was founded in 1970 and is unique in promoting and supporting youth development through two-way exchange visits for groups of young people in the UK and the Commonwealth.