DFJW

In 1978, the German-French Youth Office (DFJW) published the hair-raising results of a survey in which more than 11,000 school students aged eight and above, from different regions of both France and Germany, had been asked to describe briefly what they knew about the 'other' country.

The DFJW study also found that people's motivation for participating in exchanges varied considerably according to age: for the older generation, reconciliation with the former enemy and educating the young in the spirit of peace are the most important factors to this day; younger participants tend to be looking for a more enlightened form of tourism which allows them to meet the locals, absorb the culture, improve their existing knowledge of the language and come back as more universally educated human beings.