The International Air Cadet Exchange is an annual student exchange program designed to promote character, good-will, and cooperation among the world's civilian auxiliary aviation programs. Participants come from organizations such as the Air Training Corps, Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets, Australian Air Force Cadets, United States Civil Air Patrol, German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics, Royal Canadian Air Cadets, Turkish Aeronautical Association, Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps, Singapore National Cadet Corps, along with fifteen other equivalent groups in other nations. Cadets spend approximately two weeks every July/August with their foreign counterparts. The first exchange occurred in 1947, between the United Kingdom and Canada.