The project ‘Set Course for a United Europe’, brings 58 youngsters from 7 European countries (France, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Ireland and The United Kingdom) and different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, together for an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to embark on a journey towards self-development, intercultural learning and international friendship. The exchange will take place on board of sea going sailing vessel the Gulden Leeuw, sailing from Lisbon (Portugal)to A Coruna (Spain) and will finish in Cherbourg (France). The focus will be on the following topics:-EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy-Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning-Inclusion/equity By learning to sail the vessel together and being responsible for each other’s safety and wellbeing on board, the participants will not only talk about cultural differences, but also experience them 24/7. This takes the intercultural learning to another level and learning to sail the vessel is as such, merely a means to that end. The topic of inclusion is covered by the fact that more than half of the participants is facing obstacles in their daily lives, financially, medically or geographically. On board everybody is equally important: we simply need everyone to sail the vessel. This means we have to make sure everybody finds a way to contribute, which will also teach participants to respect each other.EU awareness , citizenship and democracy is found in everyday life on board, where participants are part of a mini society where informal rules will be created and adjusted. A day-to-day program of intercultural activities adds an extra component to this and consists of diverse activities, varying from discussions about Europe and the challenges it faces (like racism, refugees etc.), country presentations and interaction with local people. The Gulden Leeuw works with the Sail Training Program, which requires participants to confront many demanding challenges, physical and emotional. It inspires self-confidence and the acceptance of personal responsibility. It promotes an acceptance of others whatever their social or cultural backgrounds, and develops a willingness to take controlled risks. It uses the experience of being at sea principally as a means to help people learn about themselves, discover hidden strengths and talents and understand the value of working as a team. Each participant experiences a leaderships role, having to create teamwork and taking initiative. A participant may, for example, after a few days, be put in charge of hoisting a single sail, and by the end of the program, be in charge of a section of the deck when making a complicated manoeuvre. The participants will end up sailing the vessel themselves, the crew only guarding the safety at all times. All ingredients for an excellent lifelong learning experience! The program of intercultural learning activities will be run by the participants themselves. Mentors are there for help and advice, and will, for example, appoint small groups of participants to be in charge of an activity. This way, and by letting the participants be actively involved in the preparations leading up to the Exchange, the participants will get ownership of their own learning experience. Generally speaking is our working method strongly based on the principles of experiential learning. We feel like that to really learn and understand things, from sailing the ship to getting insight in other cultures, we need to experience something, reflect on it, come up with an idea, try something else/new and experience it again. Participants will improve their team working skills and become more aware of their abilities, strengths and weaknesses, both physically, mentally and linguistically. Their self-confidence will increase and their socials skills improve. Due to the culturally diverse environment on board, participants will grow awareness for cultural differences and similarities, and understanding for differences in values and norms. This effect together with the impact the participants will have back home on their sending organization, school and family, makes this project not only a life-changing experience for the partaking youngsters, but means it also has the potential to have a very long lasting effect. The participants their experience is will not only influence their own lives, but will also inspire others to look beyond their everyday world into the rest of the world. The partners have extended their cooperation due to the Erasmus + Exchanges. Three of the partners have started an EVS project, to enhance the dissemination of the projects’ results. These will not only be presented to members of the partner organizations, but also in a network of Youth Work related online databases, forums and so on. With this we hope to inspire many other organizations, to have them learn from our methods and start projects themselves as well.