Context & Background How can young people survive the daily jungle of opportunities, challenges and choices they have to make? On top of that they have parents, family and friends that have expectations. And let’s not forget about society that seems to change faster than light. At the same time young people have their own ideas of who they are, what their talents are and which dreams they want to realize. Our B¿g Quest¿ons of L¿fe program has challenged young people from 4 different countries to discuss the big questions of life. We have done this based on these 4 pillars: - Decision making: how do you deal with choice and how do you experience freedom of choice? - Direction: how can you make major life decisions based on what you find inspiring, purposeful & fulfilling? - Courage: how do you pursue those causes important for you despite your fears? - Connection: what is the impact of your choices on others & what is your role? Participants & Objectives All involved partners work with young people that in some way face exclusion by society. Most of our youngsters are socially and economically in disadvantaged situations. They attend a low level of education, a level that is not mirroring their abilities, capacities and talents. Young people that are already labeled by society and set back. With B¿g Quest¿ons we empowered these youngsters and increased their self-esteem so that they dare to take a stance to pursue those things important to them in life. We want them to be included! Undertaken Activities & Methods B¿g Quest¿ons of L¿fe consisted of a youth exchange, a training course & an evaluation meeting. The youth exchange took place in The Netherlands with 32 youngsters and their group leaders from 4 countries; Lithuania, Ireland, Italy & The Netherlands. This youth exchange was followed-up with a training course for about half of the original youngsters per partner organization, aged 18+, that choose to be trained to become a B¿g Quest¿ons (peer) facilitator. A total of 16 youngsters. The goal of this training course was that these peer facilitators will be able to run Big Questions sessions with youngsters in their own organization/school/community etc and they showed that splendidly by giving a workshop to Lithuanian high school students. The youth exchange and training course were followed by dissemination activities by the Italian and Lithuanian groups and a 2 day evaluation meeting in which the entire B¿g Quest¿ons of L¿fe method was evaluated regarding the applicability and effectiveness to young people that somehow face exclusion by society. The evaluation meeting was attended by 1 young peer educator and 1 group-leader of the partner organization. Results & Impact Attained 32 youngsters + their group leaders took part in the exchange and expanded their world and their fearlessness & courage to stand for those things important to them: • They are more aware of who they are, who they want to be and what they find important in life. • They feel more empowered to deal with the daily jungle of opportunities, challenges and choices they have to make, to deal with the expectations of people around them and the fast changing society. • They are better equipped to stay loyal to their own ideas of who they are, what their talents are and which dreams they want to realize. • They have developed and strengthened the following personal, interpersonal and intercultural competences: self-reflection, the ability to make choices and have courage and self-confidence, deal with change and uncertainty, establish meaningful connections with others and oneself, set priorities in life, and develop an open world view. 16 youngsters can work as peer facilitators of B¿g Quest¿ons workshops: • the participants of the peer-educator training have developed the right attitude to create an open space void of judgment. This has helped them in setting up and executing a workshop at a high-school in Panevėžys in a splendid way, which in turn empowers them to set up future workshops at their school or youth organization and in life in general too. • They understand the basics of group dynamics & know how to improvise. • They went home with the confidence to carry out BQ workshops and the vulnerability to ask for support. All stood in front of a group! • The Lithuanian and Italian groups have already created BQ workshops at home, the others are able to do so. 4 young peer educators and 4 group leaders have evaluated the impact of the BQ project and successful ways of supporting young peer educators in their organizations, the results of which you can find back in this report. We already see the potential long term effect of the B¿g Quest¿ons project for young people. Everyone wants to follow up with a new edition so more young people can expand their world and their courage to stand for those things important to them! In general we can conclude that our objectives were met and more, beyond our own expectations!