One of the attempts by the Silver Monarch to prevent another civil war was to force teenagers to travel across the country in hopes of interacting with others outside of their political, religious, and other beliefs. This mandate, called the Young Journeys Mandate, was a requirement that all minors must travel across the country on a trip no less than two weeks and a hundred leagues.
The idea for the mandate came from two places. One is Mercedes Lackey's Last Herald-Mage series when talking about education is needed to avoid an ignorant populace. I loved those stories as a teenager and would re-read them over and over. The others in the world didn't quite touch me the same way as that trilogy, but the influence is still there.
The other is that I love talking to people who don't agree with me. I introduce myself to strangers, I listen to stories, and enjoy hearing about other lives. I adore TMI and just seeing how people tick and think and breath. So I had to put it into the world.