One of the founding principles of the European Union is respect for its diversity. The upheavals of European history show the importance of protecting national minorities and allowing different religious, cultural, linguistic and ethnic identities to flourish.Racism and xenophobia are attitudes and behaviour largely driven by fear and ignorance. We are living in an increasingly diverse environment, which is a result of migration as well as freedom to move from country to country. Moreover, because of the rising number of refugees in European countries, there is a need for increasing tolerance of other cultures to prevent discrimination, which often leads to social exclusion accompanied by increased violence, resulting in wars and conflicts.This is the issue we want to address during the project by providing space for young people to come in contact with youngsters from other countries and cultures, which will enable them to develop a better understanding and acceptance for diversity. The main activity of the Youth Exchange is to host one youth mobility event near Bratislava, Slovakia which will gather 36 young people from 7 partner countries (Slovakia, Italy, Portugal, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Turkey) from diverse backgrounds. The event will take place from 4 to 11 February 2017 and will enable the participants to increase their tolerance of diversity through non-formal working methods connected to art expression. Participants will have the opportunity to get to know people from other cultures, to explore new ways of expression through art and to get to know Slovakia.The aim of the project is to increase mutual understanding and tolerance between young people from different cultures and fight agains prejudices.Objectives of the project are: - To raise awareness among young people on the potential of art and cultural traditions as a means for inclusion and self-expression- To facilitate opportunities for networking and partnerships between young people, youth workers and organizations in partner countries.- To promote mutual understanding, solidarity and tolerance between young people from different cultural contexts and backgrounds through working in a multicultural environment and create the atmosphere to share cultures and artistic expressions- To promote active citizenship of young people in their society - To promote opportunities for young people in Erasmus+ programe and non-formal education and hence motivate young people to take part in the projects in futureThe activities of the Youth Exchange are based on the non-formal education (learning by doing), through which the participants will have the opportunity to understand different cultures and fight against prejudices. Since art is a thing that is common for all the countries and it can be considered a universal language (preventing the communication barrier), young people will express themselves through artistic activities. Moreover, the participants will prepare a cultural event for local community, which will enable sharing the idea of tolerance of cultural diversity on a local level with wider community. The outcomes of the projects (videos, articles, works of art) are going to be spread through internet in order to have impact on international level.