The Lord Mayor Councillor Mrs Maggie Rosher will welcome 33 visitors with special needs to Coventry on Friday.

The groups come from Portugal and Ireland and are aged between 15 and 25. They are on an exchange visit with Coventry’s Alice Stevens Youth Club which is for young people with learning difficulties. They are arriving in the city on Thursday 29 October for a 10 day stay which will include trips to attractions such as Jaguar Car Factory, Coombe Abbey, Sherwood Forest in Nottingham and Cadbury’s World in Birmingham.

The group will be welcomed to the city by the Lord Mayor on Friday Afternoon, before being given a tour of the Council House.

Councillor Mrs Rosher said:

"I am delighted to be able to meet this group of young people who are coming to experience what life is like in Coventry. I think an exchange trip such as this is a wonderful opportunity for both our visitors and the youngsters from the Alice Stevens Youth Club."

The youth exchange between the three countries began last year when Wynn Anderson, Community Education Worker in the south east area of the city, took part in a short study visit to Germany looking at how young people with disabilities travel through Europe.

A group from the Alice Stevens Youth Club joined a group from Ireland for a trip to Portugal in May this year. This month’s visit to Coventry is the second leg of the exchange. The third leg will take part when Coventry and Portugal visit Ireland next May.

Wynn said:

"On the first leg of the exchange the young people developed good relationships with each other and we all learnt lots about life in Portugal. We are very much looking forward to hosting the second leg and hope that the programme of events we have arranged will help to make it as successful as the first."

As part of the group’s visit they will also take part in a welcome dinner hosted by the Lord Mayor at St Mary’s Guildhall on Tuesday 3 November, starting at 7pm.