In contemporary societies, youth is forced to focus on the development of cognitive skills and materialistic & individualistic success, which leads to difficulties with human interactions, emotional intelligence, and social communication. Under the social pressure, young people’s identities, beliefs, perceptions, relationships and lifestyles can become challenged, and they can feel lost and disconnected from their true selves.
Thus, as modern world developments lead to globalisation, there can be a lack of intercultural peaceful communication and dialogue for better understanding, and integration into multicultural environments.
Because of this, young people often need empowerment from more experienced peers who can provide insights on the topics of mindfulness, emotional intelligence, healthy lifestyle, intercultural learning and non-formal education.
It is therefore of essential importance to inspire the youngsters, integrate their emotional and mental state into a healthy educational environment, and navigate them in overcoming the challenges of modern society in personal, social and intercultural context with non-formal education methods.

Feedback from participants:
“It was an incredible trip of 10 days in a wonderful place, full of emotions and fantastic people! I loved being in Berlin. The people are very attentive and friendly, including the facilitators and organizers of this project. The Youth Exchange theme was “YOUth CONNECTs CULTUREs”. I loved the theme and all the activities carried out. I improved so many skills and gained new knowledge. It was an enriching experience. We met people from different countries, their culture, their cuisine, we shared knowledge and made new great friends! An experience to repeat without a doubt.“ – Érica Rubina Brito Camacho.
“A Russian team of six people took part in the 1st phase of the youth exchange “YOUth CONNECTs CULTURES” in Berlin, Germany. We made friends from Armenia, Portugal and Germany. All participants worked together on their identity and self-understanding, on how to increase concentration and regulate emotions. Also, young people conducted activities and discussions on mindfulness, healthy lifestyles and intercultural learning through non-formal education. And during the project, we focused on healthy eating and vegetarianism. We are very grateful to CHANCE International and Altera Lab for organising the exchange and look forward to the 2nd phase of the project in Armenia.“ – Dmitrii Platonov.
“It was a wonderful project that helped me calm down and focus on myself. There were wonderful people on the project, each was unique. It is easy to trust such a team, it is easy to make contact. Most of all, I enjoyed working in pairs on trust, also meditation. Laura and Ivan are wonderful coaches. Ira cooked a chic vegetarian dish. These days definitely affected the state of many people. Thank you very much)) “ – Sofia Ilina.

For further information download the INFOPACK.