The Bridging, Bonding and Linking Capitals project is borne out of a desire to create travel and learning opportunities for young people who have previously encountered obstacles and barriers in these areas. The project is a trilateral youth exchange with a strong inter-cultural European ethos between YMCA Ireland, George Williams Youth association in Kosovo, and YMCA England. Two key areas of learning focused on throughout the project are Cultural Awareness and Youth Work Practice. The objectives of the project are to give participants the opportunity to: Develop cultural awareness Develop their knowledge base and best practice of youth work Achieve a Youthpass Certificate Profile of Participants: Five participants from YMCA Ireland Six participants from George Williams Youth (GWY) association in Kosovo Four participants from YMCA England All participants are young people aged 18-29 Four project managers will oversee the implementation and evaluation of the project. One from YMCA Ireland, one from YMCA England and two from George Williams Youth association in Kosovo. Project managers are aged 18-30 and together have an impressive range of experience in international youth work and management of youth organisations. Three main activities make up the framework of the project Activity One - Six day Youth exchange in London, England. The theme of this activity is 'Past'. Participants will visit the place where the organisation they are part of, the YMCA, was birthed in 1844 by George Williams. They will learn about the groundbreaking work of the YMCA from it's humble beginnings as well as looking into the development of youth work practice over the years. Alongside this participants will learn and share some of the history of the countries represented as well as reflecting on their own past and key moments in their lives so far. Activity Two - Six day Youth Exchange in Newcastle, Northern Ireland. The theme of this activity is 'Present'. Participants will share their hopes and dreams for their own futures as well as the kind of future they want for their country. Learning will occur around the role of youth work in driving positive social change. Activity Three - Six day Youth Exchange in Pristina, Kosovo. The theme of this activity is 'Future''. Participants will learn and share about the present realities facing young people in their countries and some of the cultural traditions that continue today. Alongside this, participants will engage in discussion and debates about current youth work values and principles, issues facing young people in Europe today, and the kind of work YMCA Europe is engaged in as a response to the issues and challenges faced by young people. Project activities will be facilitated by both project managers and participants to ensure participant directed learning can take place and young people can develop communication and facilitation skills. Non-formal learning methods will be employed at every stage of the project with an emphasis on experiential learning including cultural excursions and visiting youth work projects in each country; informal conversational times to foster the development of positive relationships; group work and group discussions giving voice to participants and encouraging them to direct the course of learning; scenario based activities; personal reflection activities allowing space for reflection on learning; group presentations; and outdoor activities with an emphasis on team building and having fun. Envisaged results and impact The project will result in participants being more competent and confident youth work practitioners with enhanced cultural awareness and a desire to promote values of acceptance and understanding. Participants will have developed personal and interpersonal skills making them better equipped to access further and employment opportunities. The skills and attitudes developed by participants transferable to all areas of personal, social and professional life include; increased confidence and self-awareness; enhanced communication skills; renewed sense of achievement, thorough understanding of the principle 'learning to learn' and taking control of own learning; aspiration to be active citizens and work for positive social change. The impact at local level will be an improved quality of youth work being delivered with an ethos of acceptance and understanding promoted by more competent youth work volunteers supporting paid staff. The potential long term impacts include participants accessing leadership roles on local and national YMCA boards and all partner organisations establishing a structure to support ongoing youth exchanges to maximize mutual learning of youth.