Xchange Scotland

General information

We are a registered charity and work with established partners with decades of experience.

We are a charitable organisation, who form part of a global network. Each partner organises local community projects which they invite international volunteers to help with and send local volunteers to the projects of other partners. Each year we organise local community projects in Scotland and send Scottish volunteers to projects around the world.

What We Do

Sends volunteers from Scotland on exciting and engaging international projects around the world, set up by local partner organisations - short term (2-4 weeks) and long-term (2-12 months). Go to our Volunteer Abroad page.

Enables Scottish organisations and groups to benefit from volunteers from overseas coming in to help with their work. Go to our Projects in Scotland page.

Delivers global education workshops and activities with organisations, schools and youth groups. Go to our Global Education page.

How We Work

Xchange Scotland does not set up projects overseas. We are part of international networks - CCIVS and the Alliance - that have a history going back over 60 years. Each organisation within this global network send volunteers to other countries and host projects in their own countries. As a result, the projects our volunteers participate in are led by the local community and sustainably ran. This way of working also means that our volunteers never shoulder the high costs it takes for an organisation to set up and run a project in another country.

Xchange Scotland also make use of the Youth in Action programme. This, effectively, is Europe's youth programme. It supports a range of actions, including Youth Exchanges, European Voluntary Service and Training Opportunities. It is a fantastic way of enabling young people from all backgrounds to engage in international and intercultural opportunities.

Crucially, Xchange Scotland is a voluntary organisation rather than a business. Whereas businesses are run by shareholders for profit, Xchange Scotland is run by an Executive Committee of volunteers working to achieve our goals.