What Happened So Far

On this page, you can see what we've done and achieved since our founding in 2010, based on milestones and articles that we or others have written about our work.

Above all, we did lots of public relations work within AFS Germany , on the one hand to get the necessary support for the work of QueerExchange and on the other hand, because we see it as one of our core tasks to create queer role models, to do queer storytelling and to create visibility in all areas of society, including volunteer work.

In May 2022, the book Queergestreift by Kathrin Köller and Irmela Schautz is published, for which they interviewed Bene from QueerExchange in detail about our work. The beautifully designed book covers people, stories, terminology and organizations from all parts of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum and is suitable for both people with little and a lot of prior knowledge. More information and a reading excerpt are available here on our website .

Titel Queergestreift

In 2021, after a period marked by the beginning of the corona pandemic and great concern about the future of the AFS programs, we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of QueerExchange and to mark the occasion we are publishing a lavish anniversary brochure with greetings, statistics, presentation of our milestones and praise from all corners of the AFS world and beyond.

In February 2020 QueerExchange wins the video contest Love Is Love of the Alliance against Homophobia and receives 1,000 euros to promote acceptance and diversity of queer people in society.

In 2019, we launched the Rainbow Scholarship, with which QueerExchange and AFS Germany provide three queer young people per year with part-funding of their exchange with up to 4,000 euros.

At the end of 2018, QueerExchange receives a grant from Start Social, with the help of which we can extensively evaluate and systematize our work processes and activities in the following months. The final report gives us suggestions for action and other helpful tips for future work.

StartSocial - Hilfe für Helfer

In January 2018, QueerExchange launches the social media campaign #youresafewithme. The aim is to make the network of contacts for queer people within the global AFS organizations public and visible. People in Germany, Brazil, Iceland, the USA, Italy, Austria and many other AFS countries are taking part. Photos can be found on Instagram and Facebook .

In Voluntaris - Magazine for voluntary services and civil society commitment the article "Because even loving is learned: The AFS QueerSwap Initiative" by QueerSwap members Tino and Bene is published. Voluntaris is a scientifically oriented information, discussion and documentation journal for the field of voluntary services. You can read the article here.

In the annual report of the international AFS Network , QueerExchange is recognized for its efforts to make AFS programs accessible to diverse groups.

In 2018, QueerExchange takes stock: In HORIZONTE , QueerExchange members Bene and Shuggi report on the milestones that QueerTausch has reached within AFS Germany, but also how QueerExchange has expanded its work beyond the borders of Germany and its own organization.

In 2013, QueerExchange member Andrea takes a trip into the past while on family vacation. She talks to Justus Eisfeld in New York about queer people at AFS. Justus was a volunteer at AFS in the 1990s. Today he is a trans* activist, works at Hivos in New York and co-founded GATE - Global Action for Trans Equality.

In 2013, an article about QueerExchange appears for the first time in the newsletter on intercultural education from AFS Intercultural Programs, the worldwide network of all AFS organizations. This was important for QueerExchange to also raise international awareness.

In 2012, the main topic in HORIZONTE was the German hosting program. Young people from all over the world have been coming to Germany and spending their time here with host families for over 60 years. The family structure in Germany has changed a lot during this time. Andrea and Shuggi have been enthusiastic host parents several times since 2007 and talk about their experiences.

At its delegates' meeting in 2011, our association AFS Germany decides to add sexual identity to the German version of the AFS Policy Statement .

In 2010, the first article about QueerExchange was published in AFS Germany's magazine HORIZONTE . The article explains who we are and what we do.