Portland-Bologna Sister City Association (PBSCA) brings Portland and Bologna together every summer through our youth exchange program.

YOUTH EXCHANGE

PBSCA Youth Exchange is a small, reciprocal program, where in alternating years, for two weeks, 15-17 year-olds from each city travel one summer and host one summer. Each city provides an official itinerary to introduce the visitors to their sister city, and host families engage them in informal activities. Since the program’s inception in 2004, 180 teens have had the opportunity to connect through the PBSCA Youth Exchange, and many friendships have endured. As an all-volunteer effort, donations and foundation supporters allow us to offer a robust itinerary for our Bologna visitors when in Portland, and to create an affordable program.

Applications are currently open for our next exchange which begins in Summer 2025 with the arrival of Bologna teens in Portland, followed by Portland teens travelling to Bologna in Summer 2026.

Please email Catie DiGregorio at portlandbologna.youthexchange@gmail.com with any questions.

HOSTING A GUEST AND TRAVELING ABROAD

Our reciprocal exchange program means that Portland teens get the chance to host an Italian visitor one summer, and travel to Bologna the next summer to stay with their Italian counterpart's family. This program provides an authentic cultural experience designed to introduce teens to another way of living and a larger lens through which to view the world. Our hope is that this nurtures a desire to learn more and an acceptance of differences.

The following is an example of some of the places and activities that have taken place during the exchange:

As this program has grown, partnerships have formed. For the past several years Portland students and their families have benefited from our partnership with Scuola Italiana. Through this partnership Portland students and parents are encouraged, at a discount, to practice Italian before their Italian guest arrives.

SCHOLARSHIP AND GRANT FUNDING

We are currently working to improve our scholarship offerings. For many years we have offered scholarships to support students and families participating in the program. For this next exchange cycle we will be offering a full scholarship to a BIPOC youth in Portland. Grant funding will also be accessible to other students.

THE EXPERIENCE

At the conclusion of each exchange, students submit a final project summarizing their experiences. In 2017, submissions included collages, live presentations, videos, and even a set of original oil paintings! See Maddie Ott’s video below, which was the winner of the 2017 Mayor's Youth Ambassador Award. The 2019 Mayor’s Award was given to both Charlie Robertson and Olivia Gaddis. Other Youth Ambassadors from the 2019 exchange created videos of their experiences, which can be watched on our YouTube channel.