teams

Welcome to the homepage of District 5040's Group Study Exchange Website. This website is intended for the use of current and previous GSE teams as well as host countries. It has been also designed to allow a GSE Alumni to keep in contact with team members and share past experiences so that it will help future teams plan their tours.

What is GSE?

Group Study Exchange (GSE) is a vocational and cultural exchange program between two participating Rotary Districts sponsored by the Rotary Foundation.

Two Exchanges Planned for 2009

Two different GSE exchanges have been planned for 2009 and recruitment for both outbound teams will be starting soon.

The first exchange, which will not have a particular vocational focus, will be with District D1090 in England. Their area includes Oxford, Abingdon, Ascot, Henley, Windsor and Reading. The D5040 team will depart on March 12th and return on April 10th. The second exchange will be with District D5650 in Nebraska will be focused on “Fish and Wildlife", with an emphasis on habitat preservation and resource management. The outbound D5040 team to Nebraska will travel between April 1st to 30th.

Team Selection

As usual the two teams will comprise an experienced Rotarian leader and four non-Rotarian team members. Detailed criteria for the Team Leader and Team Members are provided in the material which can be downloaded from this site. Requirements for the four Team Members can be summarized as:

• Be currently employed for at least two years in any recognized business or profession on a full-time basis and be 25 to 40 years of age at the time of application • Work or live within District 5040 • Canadian citizens • Have good health, be neat in appearance and be able to express themselves clearly and logically • Have a sound educational background and solid cultural awareness • Be interested in and clearly enthusiastic about their chosen vocations, and possess outstanding vocational skills • Open-minded, tolerant, and flexible. Note that relatives of Rotarians are not eligible.

In order to ensure equitable participation opportunities throughout the District, and to limit overhead costs, the UK team will be recruited from the southern part of D5040 and the Nebraska team from the northern portion of the District. 100 Mile House and all clubs further north of will fall within the northern portion.

Participation Costs

The Rotary Foundation and the host District will provide almost all travel and accomodation for GSE teams and therefore costs for participants will generally be limited to incidental expenses.

Application Procedure

Neil McDonald will be responsible for organizing the District D1090 exchange and Phil Claxton the D5650 exchange. Applications must be submitted to the responsible team organizer, as indicated above, using the forms downloaded from this site. Applications endorsed by a D5040 Rotary club are preferred but are not essential for good candidates.

The deadlines for the receipt of applications are as follows:

Exchange with D5650 - Nebraska: Team Leader September 10th; Team Members September 30th.

Exchange with D1090 - England: Team Leader October 17th; Team Members November 7th.

Vancouver Harbour - Cruise Ship Terminal

Photo courtesy of Vancouver Tourist Bureau.

Sailing on English Bay

Vancouver looking from English Bay - Note Mount Baker in the background. It is in Washington State, USA some 90 kilometers away.

A Grizzly at Grouse Mountain - Don't worry it is in an enclosure reserve for captured Grizzlies before they are put back into the wild.