CONTEXT / BACKGROUND The issue that we have identified and that motivated us to conceive this project is the fact that youngsters aged 15-25 lack awareness about the importance of preserving and promoting traditions and crafts. The reasons we identified are the youngsters’ lack of access to people, places and events where these traditions are still kept alive, as well as lack of interest in these activities in the favour of more modern pursuits. OBJECTIVES Taking into consideration the issues mentioned above, we set the following objectives for the project: To expose 48 young people to the traditional handicrafts practiced in the Hartibaciu Valley area by having them participate in 7 themed workshops between the 3rd - 13th of August, with the purpose of increasing the awareness level about the importance of safeguarding traditions. 2. To enhance intercultural awareness among 48 young people by involving them in non-formal educational activities that will target their social and civic competencies, between the 3rd - 13th of August. By putting 48 young people in contact with craftsmen that earn a living by doing a creative endeavor, we want to boost their initiative to pursue their particular skills and talents as possible future lucrative activities. NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS The youth exchange “Discovering culture and crafts on Hartibaciu Valley 2015” will involve 48 youngsters aged between 15-25 years-old, having an equal distribution of boys and girls, coming from both urban and rural backgrounds. The participants will be coming from the following countries: Portugal, France, Malta, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Macedonia, Hungary, Iceland and Romania. With regard to their general profile and needs, we have identified the following: the need to get connected to the cultural heritage of the communities they are a part of. the need to experience doing a creative activity, in the form of a craft, in order to come to the realisation that these sorts of pursuits can become a source of income, as well as a source of pride because of the added value that they can bring to the community the need to better understand the multicultural environment that characterizes our society today in order to become better integrated global citizens. the need to get away from the urban life and to experience an alternative way of living which might not have been available to them previously DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES The project only involves one activity, the youth exchange that will happen in Hartibaciu Valley. During this activity, the participants will take part in a series of workshops based on traditional crafts: pottery, ironmongery, leather working, saxon folk dances, carpentry, restoration and gothic calligraphy. We will also host a wide variety of non-formal educational activities aiming to develop their key competencies and to make the most out of the multicultural environment that they will be a part of, such as a village quest that will introduce them to Nocrich and its locals, an exploration where they will test their resourcefulness and ability to work as a team and an international evening where they will get a chance to promote their own culture and customs, while experiencing the cultures represented by the other participants as well. METHODOLOGY We will use non-formal educational methods to enhance the participants’ knowledge, skills and attitudes and and we will also use the Youthpass certificate. There will be designated times for reflection and evaluation of the daily activities and the personal progress of each participant. RESULTS AND IMPACT ENVISAGED By the end of the project, we expect that the participants will have an increased awareness about the importance of protecting and promoting traditions, as well as an enhanced level of intercultural awareness. and they will be motivated to pursue their own particular skills and talents and turn them into activities that could potentially bring income and they will have developed their self-esteem and confidence in their own potential. Another important result will be their better understanding of the multicultural dimension of the European Union and its countries. POTENTIAL LONG TERM BENEFITS The successful planning and implementation of such a project will bring the organizations involved with it tremendous benefits in the area of their members’ expertise in writing more projects and bringing more positive change in the future. Moreover, the image boost that they will get will provide more opportunities for collaboration and will bring more support from the relevant stakeholders, such as the local communities, the local administration and other organizations. As for the participants themselves, through the skills and competencies that they will develop during the project, they will be able to go back to their own communities and bring changes through their actions and the power of example.