Young participants? report: ?In July 2014 two members from the youth council of Lappeenranta participated the Eye opener ?training course in Portugal to learn about Erasmus+ and youth exchanges. We met young people and workers from many different countries in Europe and gained international connections with many. There we met our future partners from Northern Ireland for the first time. Our youth exchange ?Affyoung? (Affective of the youngsters there and here) was hosted in Finland. We had planned different themes for different days such as Finnish & Irish sports, exploring the city of Lappeenranta, getting familiar with each other?s cultures. Youth participation and decision making in their own neighborhoods were also part of the program since we represented the youth council and were interested to know how things work in another country for the young people. Our groups were made of 17 young people from Finland and 24 from Northern Ireland. We were all different in our special, magnificent ways. There were youngsters who had been born in another country and immigrated to another. It has been said that opposites complement each other and it certainly was true in our case. It was amazing to see how different we all were (in a good way) and how no one needed to change themselves to be accepted. The project had a lot of nice results. We reached our objectives well and we are sure it has been a useful experience for all participants. Many impacts were gained, here are a few of them: - We have more courage to get to know new people - We have more self-confidence to try speaking a new language and use our skills and be interested in other cultures - We have learned to cooperate and also how important it is to receive help from others. - We have learned working ethics = work for receiving something one truly wants - The Finnish group has gained motivation for participating the youth council in the future as well Workers views: This project has been truly the work of the young participants. The Finnish group had motivation to learn how young people are heard and acknowledged in decision making processes in other countries and about the lives of the young people. For the young people in the partner group, some living in rural isolation, it was an important opportunity to visit outside their own neighborhoods and have a taste of another cultural environment. During the experience it was clear that many of the participants were very inexperienced working with culture strange to them. In the end any difficulties and obstacles seemed rather insignificant and were tackled with discussion and common decision making. The program of the camp was remarkably planned and implemented by the young people. They have therefore learned to take responsibilities and what it means being in charge of other people?s wellbeing. They have learned planning and organizational skills. The program took advantage of the wonderful surroundings of the camp, the Finnish nature and environment by the beautiful lake Saimaa. Youth participation and citizenship were addressed through human rights education exercises from books like Compass, Compasito and Have your say! To gain visibility outside the participating groups the project used social media. The local newspaper wrote an article of the public celebration day organized by the project and the local radio station visited us and broadcasted interviews of the young people. The public celebration day was the most entertaining (and perhaps most important) part of the dissemination of the project and it?s results. It was celebrated in the Sammonlahti area of the city, in the middle of the camp. Program and some traditional treats from the home countries of the participants were prepared by the participants. The project had a notable impact on the youth council through the duration of the project and even afterwards. The young participants have showed great devotion to the project but also to their membership in the youth council. Their willingness and competence for working together has grown through the process. They have learned skills for cooperation and learning more about each other?s personalities has taught the participants to both tolerate and respect each other?s differences. Friendships were made over cultural and language barriers and some young people have talked about meeting again next summer. Spending a week in the middle of a Finnish forest was an exotic experience for everyone. Surviving the experience has given confidence and courage to meet new situations. We are very thankful for Cimo and Erasmus+ for supporting our project and making these wonderful experiences possible.