“Sound of Music” (SOM) is a Youth Exchange organized by a consortium of 5 youth organizations from Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Romania and Italy, operating in rural and disadvantaged urban areas with a view to boosting disadvantaged underage youths’ active participation. Despite the km that separate them, the project promoters have met with common youth-related problems in these areas among which: increasing poverty, low literacy levels, low professional training, difficulty in entering the labour market and high rates of unemployment, low motivation and political participation to decision-making local or otherwise processes, social inequality. Falling into the trap of deviance or social alienation is extremely easy, especially for youths because thee’re few opportunities to empower themselves, few resources, scarce formative or recreational activities that enable them to grow and keep them off the streets. SOM was thought out specifically to offer its participants the opportunity to live an international experience, capable of boosting the participants’ active citizenship and intercultural dialogue. This particular project involves 31 youths assimilated in social inclusion associative paths, who shall undertake a common path during the 8 months of the project and the 12 days of activities in November, close to Bologna. The participants will be aged 18 to 30 years old, will be at risk of social exclusion as a result of the increasingly serious economic crisis (due to its reduced employment opportunities) and of the unfavourable social contest in which they’ve been brought up (rural or disadvantaged urban areas with limited training and recreational opportunities). Starting from their common passion for music, the project aims to help empower its participants by introducing them to a non-formal training path thought out to favour their personal and professional development. The participants are indeed, in dire need of improving their skills that would enable them to become more competitive on the labour market. Unfortunately this does not occur in most rural areas and they do not always manage to satisfy their training and educational needs. This is how a youth exchange, thought as an experience where the sharing of skills of individuals with a common passion is law, manages to fill the gap in their education and training. Since all participants have musical and ICT skills applicable to music, they’ll develop other skills by learning from one another, in a peer context that encourages solidarity and mutual help. In the first part of the exchange, the activities shall lead to a reflection on life in rural and disadvantaged urban areas, facilitating debate and personal expression in relation to the difficulties and worries of youths with the same background. This will equally constitute an occasion to reflect on the strong points of these areas by promoting a positive approach, and to present best practices and youth experiences of success in similar contexts. Afterwards, each national group will share their musical traditions through workshops that will help participants discover other cultures starting from a common passion. Since the participants will be disadvantaged youths, the exchange will constitute one of the few opportunities they have to approach cultural diversity in a deeper and positive manner. In order to benefit from a stronger intercultural impact, we have chosen non-EU countries, decision which constitutes an opportunity to develop international solidarity and an increased awareness of the significance of European citizenship. Successively, the participants will share their more technical skills and knowledge in the musical field, by organizing workshops focused on creating, writing and distributing music by using non-formal methodologies and ICT tools – an opportunity to grow professionally. Finally, they will create a new song with the objective of raising youths’ awareness concerning intercultural dialogue and of promoting the empowerment of youths coming from rural or disadvantaged urban areas. The final event, as well as the dissemination of the results will enable them to share the learning process they had underwent and the materials they have produced, thus granting an increased visibility to the Erasmus+ programme. Throughout the project, the activities will be organized through non-formal methodologies, thought of and developed by the participants, who will be the true protagonists of the project. In order to enhance their active participation, not solely non-formal, but also informal activities shall be created and managed by the youngsters, thus promoting a pro-active approach not only during the exchange but also within society. In conclusion, SOM will allow the participants to develop new competencies, new skills and attitudes, vital for both their personal and professional growth. All these skills shall be certified in the European certificate “Youthpass”