Families who remain engaged with AFS after their initial hosting experience report higher levels of personal growth and development. Continued involvement with AFS, whether through volunteering or hosting multiple times, enhances the long-term benefits of the hosting experience.
Host Family Program
Top 4 reasons to host
Hosting an Exchange Student Brings Numerous Benefits to Families. Survey states that host families play a crucial role in fostering active global citizenship for exchange students and themselves. By participating in international youth exchange experiences that provide them with the necessary resources and support, host families can have more impactful experiences and be better equipped to contribute to a more just, equitable, and sustainable world.
Your Family Will Benefit
You’ll Experience a World of Culture in Your Home
Hosting Transforms Lives through Cultural Exchange and New Family Bonds. The survey revealed that host families consider the primary benefits of hosting to be cultural learning and exchange (76%), cultural sharing (60%), and the expansion of the family (58%).
You’ll Build Relationships That Last a Lifetime
59% reported forming lifelong bonds
You’ll Grow Together as Global Citizens
Host families reported improved adaptability, open-mindedness, valuing differences, and empathy. Host siblings gain significantly from the hosting experience, with 62% of respondents noting increased curiosity and opportunity to learn about different cultures and languages, and 48% of respondents noting Host Siblings Thrive with Enhanced Socio-Emotional Learning as a Result of Hosting an Exchange Student
Discover Our Global Research on Host Families
AFS host families experience world culture at home, see their kids thrive, and grow together as global citizens.
Explore the key findings of our new, global research report, “Global Families, Global Impact: The Experience of Host Families in International Youth Exchange”, which focused on the impact of hosting on families. Over 3,000 families from 76 countries participated in this first major research of host families.
Program Info
Host an exchange student for 3/5/10 months, introduce a foreign member to your family, learn about foreign cultures even when staying at home, enhance English proficiency and ability to get along with others, even learn a new foreign language.
Program application opens year-round
- Exchange students are 15-17 years old
- Usually arrive at the end of August and depart at the end of June next year
- From different European, American and Asian countries
- If you are not able to commit for one year, short-term (3 months / 5 months) hosting opportunities are also available.
Host family only need to
- Provide daily meals
- Provide a bed
- Have unconditional love and acceptance of cultural difference
About AFS
- Non-profit organization with education as objective
- International organization with 60 offices around the world
- Focus on operating exchange programs since 1914
- AFS Hong Kong hosted 900+ exchange students
- 130+ secondary schools in Hong Kong joined the program
- Only organization that offers full-year hosting program in Hong Kong
- Strong volunteer network that provides support and orientation activities to host families
Learn More
Become a Host Family
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