Lukion vaihto-ohjelma "Mistral Boréal"

What is the exchange program MistralBoréal ?

MistralBoréal is a school exchange program between the academic region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (France) and Finland. It allows French and Finnish high school students to experience linguistic, cultural and academic immersion. Each student goes to school with the paired-student and live in their family.

This individual exchange programme is therefore based on reciprocity between families and makes it possible to establish privileged relationship with a student who has the same age. Each Finnish student participating in the program is paired with a French student studying at the same level and they shall spend their time together.

This program is three weeks long: the French students spend three weeks in Finland and reciprocally, Finnish students spend three weeks in France.

Why going?

To discover France and its culture or to deepen the knowledge on French culture.
To improve their French and discover France’s educational system.
To discover how young French people live.
To make French friends.

Who can participate?

To participate, the students must:

Be in class 10, 11 or 12 at the period of the exchange (16, 17 or 18 years old).
Have a B1 level in English and a A2 level in French minimum.
Be open-minded, independent and responsible.
Have the parents’ and the school’s authorisation to go
Have given the required documents in time.

When and how long?

For three weeks, from the 30/09/2023 to 21/10/2023: The Finnish student goes to Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
For three weeks, from 12/11/2023 to 03/12/2023: The French student goes to Finland.

How much does it cost?

As it is an exchange between families, the students will be accommodated and fed by the host family, on the principle of reciprocity.

The costs and organization of transportation for the departing student are the responsibility of their own family.

We advise the family to give their child some pocket money so that they can do activities with the host family. For information, a cinema ticket in France costs between 8 and 10 euros and a coffee around 1.70 euros.

How to apply?

The students have to fill in the online form, on which the matching will be based, through confidential link to request by the teacher from stephane.alati@france.fi ).

February 07, 2023: deadline for the form intended for the referent teacher
February 10, 2023: deadline for the form intended for families
March 2023: Matchings of French and Finnish students (by the Institut français and PACA region)
End March 2023: Message to the teachers with the results of the matching
May 2023 : Online meeting with teachers in order to prepare the students’ mobility
Between end of May and beginning of September 2023: Both French and Finnish school sign the “hosting attestations” between the institutions. The hosting certificate will be available on the online platform and to be returned to the host school’s referent teacher.

At the end of the mobility, the French and Finnish schools are invited to give the students an experience attestation.

The Institut français communicates only with the referent teachers and head of schools, and not with students or families, except in case of serious problem or force majeure. The students and families are invited to interact with their school and their referent teacher.

What does the student and his family agree to?

The student agrees to:

Be assiduous in school in France and attend all the courses with their paired student.
Adapt to the way of life of the host family.
Take care of their French paired student during their stay in Finland.

The host family agrees to:

Host the student at home and provide for them during the stay.
Be responsible for the hosted student.

Health and insurance

In all French high schools, there is a school nurse to whom any student who is unwell can go. The school doctor intervenes if the student’s state of health requires it. In case of minor students’ hospitalization, parental authorization for a surgical intervention will be required.

Before going to France, students must provide the Institut français de Finlande with a copy of the travel insurance contract that must include the following guarantees:

emergency medical and hospital expenses
sanitary repatriation
accident and death
Liability insurance

This insurance must cover the entire period of the exchange.

Students can, if they wish, underwrite an additional insurance (for example for luggage or personal effects).

Students will also need to ask for a European Health Insurance Card.

And how does it work concretely?

After being paired with his correspondent, the student must:

Contact their host family to organize their arrival.
Book their plane ticket (The student’s family is responsible for purchasing the ticket. In the context of the health crisis, we recommend the purchase of exchangeable tickets.)
Make sure you have an insurance and to have given to the host family all the necessary and relevant personal information regarding your health.
Pack their bags and study French 😉

For more information, contact stephane.alati@france.fi

If you are in France, please contact: ce.mistralboreal@region-academique-paca.fr