Mesa Youth Ambassadors Exchange

The exchange visit is not taking place in 2025 and 2026.

Over the past years, our annual Mesa Youth Ambassadors exchange has given two local Year 12 or Year 13 students and their families the opportunity to experience culture and diversity on an international scale.

The exchange provides a home-hosted student experience in our beautiful sister city Mesa, Arizona, USA.

Designed as an inclusive cultural exchange, it has invited rangatahi (teens) to broaden their understanding and increase their sense of identity by stepping out into our global community. 

Students' exchange visits have also played an important part in strengthening the international friendship between Mesa City and Upper Hutt City.

How did the exchange work in the past?

Council funding covered the cost of airfares and travel insurance for the selected local students.

Our selected rangatahi (teens) from Upper Hutt travelled to Mesa in April to be hosted by their American counterparts and their families. While there, they attended school for approximately one week before the summer break and took part in a range of organised activities.

Our Upper Hutt families then welcomed the Mesa students here in June. Our guests attended the colleges in Upper Hutt for some of the time, while spending the rest of their visit enjoying a programme of activities that promote the culture and history of Aotearoa New Zealand.   

Find out more about Mesa City, Arizona.

Read more about the Sister Cities Association of Mesa, Arizona.

Mesa Youth Ambassador Exchange 2023

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