Venue: Kaunas, Lithuania Dates: 14th- 25th of May, 2015 Partner countries: Austria, Spain, Romania, Slovenia and Lithuania. All these countries are going to take part in the process of organization by dividing responsibilities. Participants: 18-30 year-old young people, including youngsters with fewer opportunities and special needs. Some of these people are going to take leading positions (physically handicapped people who will have personal assistance are going to be leaders of two country groups). Aims and objectives: Our main aim is to show, through different types of art (music, dance, photography and cinema), that every person can take an active part in the society, collaborating with other members of the community and improving oneself, while being independent from one’s physical, psychical, social, cultural or other kind issues. - To educate society and youngsters in terms of inclusion and equality through public presentation/ performance of the project implemented by the participants. - To foster self-reflection, self-consciousness, self-awareness, adherence to the aims of the participants through different arts, which is the main method used in the project. - To develop respect for oneself and people around, to edify collaboration/cooperation skills, through non formal activities, team work, carried out during the YE. - To raise self-esteem, creativity, initiative, sociability of youngsters within the process of project realization and presentation/performance. - To develop tolerance for cultural, physical, psychical, social or other kind of differences, through close relation and collaboration among the participants and the local community. Main activities The beginning of the youth exchange will be devoted to getting to know each other, team building, and interactive introduction to the idea of a youth exchange, its aims and objectives. Later, little by little, participants will be led to the main topic of the project – arts. Through non-formal activities participants will have a possibility to try different types of arts, to feel its impact, to meet representatives of cinema, music, photography and dance, who will be leading practical sessions, sharing their experiences. In the halfway of the youth exchange participants will be split in four groups of different types of arts, where the realization of their ideas will begin. Youngsters will organize a photo exhibition, create a dance, a song and will make a short film. Going to the end of the youth exchange, the results of the projects of arts will be presented in public, during the festival of the city. Furthermore, participants, including local youngsters (from 60 to 400 people) will prepare a „Giant words“ flash mob together. The process will be seen in public and filmed from above. During the whole time of the youth exchange country partners will lead cultural evenings, sightseeing tours, will organize interactive afternoons (using various methods: games, discussions, team work, reflection and etc.) on relevant topics. Envisaged results and impact Participants will have a possibility to know themselves better, to increase their self-esteem and trust in people around. They will learn the principles of team work, new creative ways of realizing their ideas (some of it will be realized during the project), increase their English language skills, and discover new cultures and people. Youngsters will widen their horizons, will learn to see themselves and people around them objectively and respectively (not depending on one’s physical, social or other kind issues). We are hoping that our project will be a good contribution to the development of a more conscious and open minded society. Through the project, using arts as the main tool of spreading the ideas mentioned above, we want to show that people with special needs and fewer opportunities can be an active part of the society, if accessible conditions are provided. We will seek to attract the attention of the local community, municipality and politicians, hoping for a fuller inclusion of people with special needs and fever opportunities into the society, and making public spaces accessible for them as a longer term plan. At the end of the youth exchange moving exhibitions will be organized in four biggest cities of Lithuania. To reach a bigger number of people visual instruments (photos and short film, made during the youth Exchange) will be used to show the real examples of talented and active young people with special needs and fever opportunities successfully included in the community. The results of the project will be presented through the events organized in each partner country. Media (press, television, radio and internet) will be involved too in order to increase the dissemination of project ideas on the local, national and international levels.