Mission and Principles
Our Mission
Federation EIL members strive to offer educational opportunities to people of different cultures, ages, and backgrounds. We are deeply committed to maintaining and assuring the highest principles and standards in all our activities meeting the needs of a constantly changing world.
The mission of the Federation EIL is to facilitate its member organizations in the lifelong involvement of individuals in intercultural learning experiences. This process helps develop understanding of and respect for people throughout the world.
FEIL member programs are designed to provide tools to learn and thrive in another culture or in a different language; to foster personal development; to build communication and leadership skills; and to be active citizens in an interdependent world. The purpose of such an experience is to develop awareness that cultural differences should be sources of personal enrichment rather than causes of conflict.
Federation EIL member organizations commit to high quality standards and best practices in the delivery and design of their exchange programs. Membership requirements are based on the following criteria:
Mission And Organizational Objectives
Legal, Financial, And Organizational Structure
Partnerships And Affiliations
Quality Of Programs
Our Principles
Member organizations follow the core values and guiding principles of Federation EIL, including a commitment to program quality, the safety and well-being of participants, and the embodiment of equality, inclusiveness, sustainability, and diversity. Programs are designed to develop participant intercultural, communication and leadership skills.
Educational Principles
The Federation of Experiment in International Living considers the following educational assumptions as fundamental to the accomplishment of its stated mission:
An intercultural experience enhances opportunities for learning, self-awareness, and global education
In a world of increasing interdependence, it is essential that as many qualified individuals as possible are given the opportunity to participate in a carefully planned intercultural experience
The purpose of such an experience is to develop the awareness that cultural differences should be sources of personal enrichment rather than causes of conflict
The most effective intercultural experience is a homestay or any other experience in which the participant is fully immersed in the host cultural environment
As an organization that offers a wide variety of intercultural programs, FEIL seeks to ensure that its participants are carefully selected and well-prepared and are offered competent support during programs as well as an opportunity to effectively evaluate the experience. To the greatest extent possible, this should also apply to those involved as hosts in the receiving countries
Experiment programs should be designed to benefit from the participants’ differences in age, motivation, cultural background, relevant past experience, and time available for the intercultural experience
The participant must make every possible effort to adjust to the customs and habits of the host culture