Group Study
One of the most popular and rewarding programs of The Rotary Foundation is Group Study Exchange. Since the first 
exchange between districts in California and Japan in 1965, the program has provided educational experiences for about 35,000 business and professional men and women who have served on about 6,500 teams. The GSE program pairs Rotary districts to send and receive study teams. Since 1965, almost US$59 million has been allocated by The Rotary Foundation for Group Study Exchange grants.
One of the most attractive features of GSE is the opportunity for the visiting team members to meet, talk and live with Rotarians and their families in a warm spirit of friendship and hospitality. Although the original Group Study Exchanges were male only, in recent years teams have included both men and women.
In addition to learning about another country through visits to farms, schools, industrial plants, professional offices and governmental establishments, the GSE teams serve as ambassadors of goodwill. They interpret their home nation to host Rotarians and others in the communities they visit. In recent years, teams of a single vocation or cultural group have been exchanged. Some GSE teams help create humanitarian projects between their countries. Many of the personal contacts blossom into lasting friendships.
Truly, the Group Study Exchange program has provided Rotarians with one of the most enjoyable, practical and meaningful ways to promote world understanding.
Each year the program is offered the Rotary Club of Madison participates through Rotary District 6250. The district program pairs two districts for a cultural and vocational exchange of four non-Rotarian team members and their Rotarian team leader for a period of four to six weeks duration. The team members are ages 25 to 40 and are business and professional people who are neither Rotarians, nor family members of Rotarians, and are selected from nominees designated by the district’s clubs. The team leader is an experienced Rotarian with good leadership skills who has the time and strength to lead a team for a strenuous tour of slightly more than four weeks.
Information and applications on exchanges can be obtained from the Rotary Club of Madison.
