Since the economic crisis in 2008/2009 racism and nationalism has been on the rise all over Europe. Especially immigrants are blamed for issues like unemployment and face discrimination and racism every day. We took these recent development and the coinciding 50-year anniversary of the Turkish-Austrian guest-worker-agreement as inducement for this exchange program. The agreement will be used as one of many examples for migration. Since many of the participants from both countries will come from a migration background we will also look at their personal history to ensure that the topic of migration will get more tangible for them. The Project Partners: The project is organized by the Austrian youth center Between and the Turkish youth center Beyoglu Municipality. Both organizations offer educational workshops of various types to disadvantaged teenagers and young adults, and have several years of experience in organizing and conducting exchange programs. The Participants: There will be 20 participants from each youth center between the ages of 15 and 25, who will be accompanied by 3 staff members of their youth center (= 46 participants in total). The majority of participants come from economically, educationally and socially challenged backgrounds. Being disadvantaged on several levels, they have limited access to exchange programs and intercultural learning opportunities. Preparation and Activities: To prepare the participants for the exchange program, each partner will meet 3 times with their group. During these preparation meetings the youth will research the history of the guest worker agreement in their home country and the migration history of their own family. They will then prepare a presentation for the other group. In addition, Beyoglu will offer English classes to their participants prior to the program. The daily routine includes: - reflection time at 6:00pm - preparation time for the open house night after dinner (to work in their marketing groups) On the day of arrival, there will be an opening ceremony and an introductory workshop. During this time the coordinators will give an overview of the program, assign the aforementioned “marketing groups” and give the participants time to get to know each other. The methods used for this will include icebreaker activities. The second day will focus on getting familiar with the participants and their surroundings. In the morning there will be participants’ presentations on their research during the preparation meetings before the exchange program. Through a scavenger hunt with questions focused on intercultural topics and the guest-worker-agreement history the participants will discover Bregenz. The third day will focus on team building using group dynamic methods. The framework will be a skiing day. The next four days will focus on exploring the implications of the guest-worker-agreement as an example of migration policies. The participants will investigate and reflect on the positive and negative sides of the agreement and answer questions like: How did the agreement/the migration within my family’s history influence my life? What were the reasons for people to move? What are my values? What role does religion play for immigrants? What does religion mean to me? How are Turkey and Austria interconnected? Day 6 will be focused on the dissemination of the project. It will give the participants a chance to show what they have learned and to promote the Erasmus+ Youth in Action program. After a meeting with the mayor of Bregenz the group will prepare an intercultural buffet for the open house night. During this night, the marketing groups will also present their exhibition objects to show what they have learned. The last day will be used to discuss the learning outcomes and evaluate the program. It will give the participants the time to reflect on the last days and their own development. Impact & Learning Outcomes: Through role-plays, simulations, discussions, and short lectures on intercultural communication, the program will raise cultural awareness and improve intercultural skills. Exploring culture, also means exploring yourself and your own values. This will help the participants to understand themselves better and be more open to other beliefs and behavior. Discussions in informal and formal environments will not only improve the participants’ discussion behavior but also their critical thinking. Additionally, they will become more comfortable to use a foreign language. Being familiar with various communication styles and able to code switch will also aid them in communicating and working more effectively in other social environments. By taking a closer look at the history and implications of the guest-worker-agreement, the participants will see the interconnectedness of countries. They will learn about the positives of difference. Together with their new communication and intercultural skills, this will help counteract racism.