The first Franco-German youth sports exchanges were organised shortly after the Second World War and were used to bring the young people of the two countries closer together. Therefore, the Franco-German exchange partnership has a longer tradition than any of the other bilateral collaborations in the field of youth sport. A number of town twinning agreements arose as a result of the early youth sports exchanges, and the two governments finally signed the Treaty on Franco-German Cooperation (Elysée Treaty) in 1963, which also provided for the establishment of the Franco-German Youth Office (FGYO).
As a central office of the FGYO, dsj is responsible for funding Franco-German youth sports exchanges. Every year, more than 200 Franco-German exchanges are organised between sports clubs and associations. dsj represents the interests of youth sport on the FGYO advisory board. Further information about the German-French youth exchange programme can be found under Funding - FGYO: France.