Youth Programs

New country. New language. New friends. While children and teens are amazingly resilient, living overseas requires major adjustments. IOR’s Intercultural Explorer Youth Programs are designed to help children and teens adapt quickly to an intercultural environment and perform effectively in their schools and personal lives in the new host country.

Youth Programs are interactive and utilize experiential learning methods that enable children and teens to mobilize their own skills and talents thus enhancing their international living experience. Although one-day programs are available, youth trainings are designed to be two days in length and are conducted in conjunction with and parallel to the parent’s expatriate training. There are joint family sessions organized to facilitate family discussion around issues such as culture shock, adaptation, and role changes.

IOR’s Intercultural Explorer Youth Programs:

• Increase awareness of personal and cultural values and their impact on the performance of social roles and functions.
• Coach participants on what it means to be an Intercultural Explorer and how their role in the family may change while abroad.
• Offer useful tools for managing the intercultural adaptation process.
• Supply practical information and tips on daily life in the destination culture.

IOR’s Youth Programs reduce anxiety about the move to a foreign country.  Children are then better able to manage expectations, avoid disappointment, thus softening the sometimes painful aspects of “culture shock”.