The type of activity is a long term EVS project, which will be hosted by Semper Avanti, Bakelit and Oberliht. . Platform Spartak is involved as Coordinating and Sending Organization from The Netherlands (The Hague). The project date starts on 01-05-2015 nd lasts until 01-11-2016 (18 months in total). The activity dates will last from 01-05-2015 until 01-05-2016. A range of non-formal and informal methods and will be used in order to address the differing needs of both the volunteer as well as the target group of young people in the project. The methods and activities will be interactive in nature so as to build a strong connection to the subject matter. This will in turn facilitate a healthy exchange of cultural beliefs stimulating active participation. The EVS Programme represents a priority for Platform Spartak and is one of the main pillars in our Community Programme. Platform Spartak's Community Programme focuses on creating and promoting an alternative [story] to current social and cultural trends by informing and involving local communities, partners and volunteers. Our European Voluntary Service projects are an important component of the Community Programme, and are built on previous project results, their local impact and the impact on the volunteers. It is our ambition to have continuous and valuable contributions, like EVS Sending projects, to our organization and its learning platform. With the development of this specific project "Linking Cultures" we envision to contribute to an alternative [voice] in Europe based on strong and sustainable local communities in which (young) citizens are socially involved and encouraged to express and develop themselves. With our EVS Sending projects, Platform Spartak has the ambition to promote active participation and mobilities of young people, to provide them with the tools to express and develop themselves, to offer them a platform for intercultural exchange, and to bring local youth work to a broader European or international level. "Linking Cultures” is a project building on the results of previous projects we implemented within the Youth in Action programme. This project reflects our commitment to supporting mobility and non-formal learning of young European citizens. As usual for our EVS projects, the project "Linking Cultures" was initiated by the volunteers who found that increased efforts to start an inter-cultural dialogue were required between citizens and young people in particular of EU countries to understand the multi-dimensionality of the recent social exclusion, migration, and tensions that are manifesting within the EU. Hence, this project application seeks not only to address the needs of our volunteers but also these broader issues and needs connected with the current rise of nationalism and populism in Europe as a response to the economic crisis and the increasing migration of workers. Creative ways to discusss these issues in order to start a fruitful debate has been already been underway through the efforts of Semper Avanti, Bakelit and Oberliht who have been active in the local communities since a number of years and have developed a strong presence at the regional level as well. Our EVS sending project, thus is aimed at understanding the needs and implementing corresponding activities on the one hand and informing and educating young EU citizens to promote cultural solidarity and harmony. EVS, being part of the Erasmus+ Programme, provides us with mobilities that fosters the intercultural dialogue between young people the most, as well as it promotes cultural diversity as an enriching element for European societies and Partner Regions. By supporting the integration of volunteers in the Hosting Organizations and communities, and by implementing activities which will put them in constant contact with the members of the local community, we will achieve the objective of exposing young people to a high level of cultural diversity, thus promoting mutual understanding between young people in different countries.