When we think of peace and tranquillity, times were we can just relax and enjoy ourselves we will find that most people think of festive times, holidays and celebrations, all having food as the centre of the event. Since food is such a good medium to bring people together why not use food as a method to deal with conflict resolution.Our project is a training course that will look at conflict resolution from a unique perspective, trying to identify the core roots of conflict in different countries and then trying to find solutions for these conflicts by further researching the roots and origins of our foods and cultures so show that we have a common and shared history and that in some way or another we have influenced each other’s cultures and therefore have more in common than we think, we share something that we love, so why can’t we learn to love each other in the same way.We will look at the origins of the foods we call our own, identify each ingredient and its origins and see how history has allowed us to cross paths and how we can pace the future for a peace by building bridges of understanding and sharing. We will share stories from the past and build on cooperation for the future, identify weaknesses and find ways to strengthen and support each other, we will identify conflicts and find solutions to support peace and harmony.Our project will research the roots of our cultures and bring us together as people of the world to promote peace and cooperation in a unified world using food as the glue that bonds us, culture and the bridges that connect us and understanding as the road to future cooperation and prosperity. The people in this project will explore conflict resolution techniques as well as building bridges with EU countries and neighbouring countries.The outcomes of this project will help youth organisations to build on the knowledge gained during the project to develop activities in their countries to help resolve conflicts and bring people closer together.Workshops will be designed to maintain a European dimension as all groups will be made up of at least one person from each country allowing for cultural learning during the workshops. Workshops are designed around the various subjects allowing the different youth to discuss the issues and work together to solve problems and share experiences.Role playing will also be used to allow the participants to get another perspective of different problems. This has proven to be very successful as it allows for the youth to see common problems from the viewer’s point of view rather than the actor. This also allows for innovative ways showing problems.Simulations are also done during the project, allowing people to take on roles which are opposite to their real roles. During the simulations the participants will take on roles to re-enact a real situation based on events and problems in the real world. The participants will work together in their different roles to solve problems and to find solutions to these problems. Important here is that the participants take on random roles which add additional learning tools as they need to think and act as the person they are simulating. Using all the above tools and methodologies the youth learn through fun activities which are real, but are within a safe environment allowing them to learn from each other, make mistakes which can be corrected through discussions and not put themselves at risk. In real life when making these choices the results could be destructive but these activities simulate reality and allow for learning in a safe and secure environment.They will also be able to discuss and evaluate problems with their peers and help them by giving them guidance and support when it is needed. We hope that the information gained during this project is shared within all the communities and especially with the youth of these communities so that we can help put an end to human trafficking in the world.In addition to learning about the problems the youth will also exchange cultures and traditions and learn about the different cultures from the different countries allowing for better understanding of each other and therefore creating a more unified EU, fighting xenophobia and also discrimination.

When we think of tradition, family, our country, chances are we will reflect on family occasions like Sunday lunches, Christmas, Easter, birthdays to name but a few. When we look at all these events, the common factor is food. Food is the one element of life that has so many aspects, it brings us together, it makes up sympathise with those who don’t have it, it makes us feel like we have an identity, it makes us feel unique. But how unique is our food? If we took a traditional plate of food from every European country, how different would these plates be? How similar would they be? Food is an integral part of our culture but it’s not the only element, and just like food other aspects of our culture, art, customs, traditions and many more, are influenced by others over time. We see globalisation as a negative thing, but it is existed long before the word was conceived. So how unique are our cultures? Cultures, traditions and customs have often been the bases of stereotype being created and even conflicts. We often hear discriminating comments based on cultural differences or because of some customs or traditions we saw in another country. Our project will explore the roots of our different cultures, the cultures of our neighbours, and the cultures of Europe. We will learn from each other and we will share our culture with our friends in every form possible from food to art and through this sharing we will discover just how much we have in common and how understanding and sharing can result in a more unified EU. The project will look at the effects of globalisation on our cultures and how we as youth are influenced by different cultural aspects. How young people preserve their culture and we will question why our culture is important to us and why it is important for Europe to respect the individual cultures of its member states and its people. The objective of the project is to allow young people to identify their cultures and also to examine the roots of these cultural elements to discover who and how these elements affected our culture. We will look at food as the building block that will bring us together, looking at how our plates (traditional dishes) of Europe can bring us together and try to create a common European dish (cooperation and understanding) to allow us to live as one Europe. We will examine the true meaning of United in Diversity and see who our diversity can unite us as Europeans.We believe that by researching our cultures and the historical significance of our cultures we will learn how our cultures were influenced by each other and although we have differences, our similarities are much greater than our differences. As a result we will allow our youth to unite the people of Europe for a great, stronger Europe. We will use communication and cultural expression as the mediums of our project allowing the participants to explore the roots of each culture, find the elements that can unite us and help us bring Europe closer together. We will focus on youth work and youth participation in each of the partner countries and examine how youth participation fosters cooperation and enlargement of the EU. We will examine our roles as European citizens and explore our past to build stronger bridges for the future. We will examine the opportunities given to young people in our communities, in our countries and in the EU to help them learn more about cultures, diversity and the European Union, and more specifically their role in the EU.The project successfully allowed participants to explore the roots of our culture and the impact they have on us as people, as youth, and how we treat others. We saw the impact of globalisation and the EU on each of our countries and learned the importance of coexisting in the EU as one strong family with values, respect and the need to work closer together to create a better world for us and the future generations.We explored stereotypes and how we are victims of these, while learning to respect differences and embrace similarities in other cultures. We learned that although we are different, we are all human and that we, as youth, are the future and we can make the changes to make all our lives better.

The topic of healthy lifestyle and lifestyle choices has been a common phrase in our lives and a lot of focus has been given on lifestyle choices. The project is a youth exchange which will focus on the impact and long term effects of our choices as young people today. Although we feel that there is a basic understanding of the importance of lifestyle choices, we also feel that as young people feel that they are very young and will live forever, they often overlook the outcomes of their incorrect choices thinking it’s a problem for someone else and not one that they will face in the future. The project will focus on active aging, looking at the choices we make today and how they will impact our lives in the future. We have seen that medical advances have increased the average lifespan of humans compared to previous decades but we also see an increase in diseases, especially at younger ages. We have seen from the World Health Organisation that more young people suffer from obesity, diabetes, liver and heart failure. We also see that heart disease is now a disease for people in their thirties. Is the solution to health problems using more medicine in order to achieve longevity or should we try to avoid these diseases by understanding the long-term effects of our choices? The project will focus on common concerns identified in young people in all of the partner countries, working together to find ways to combat misinformation and to promote healthy lifestyles and healthy longevity. The idea of the project is not to force young people to make choices but to give them the tools and the knowledge to find information for themselves. To research the truth about diet choices, to see how their lifestyle choices will impact their lives and to understand the choices they have and how these will impact their lives. We will look at diet choices, taking into account cultural elements, economic elements and geographic elements, seeing what access or limitations young have and how we can remedy any shortcomings in these areas. We will also address these issues from the perspective of young people with fewer opportunities, these including economic, social, cultural, geographic and health obstacles. The idea is to ensure that all young people should have equal access to information and healthy lifestyle choices, allowing young people to have the same choices regardless of their background and taking their needs into account. The youth exchange will bring young people from 12 different countries together to exchange and their ideas and learn from each other. By allowing these young people to work together on a common concern we will allow for cultural learning and for us to share the best practices as young people allowing us to share the outcomes with other young people who are the target group of this project. The profile of the participants is vital for this project and we will select the participants best for the project but at the same time giving priority to those who are disadvantages. In order to achieve these goals the activities foreseen for the project are important. As the topic is significant to all the participants we anticipate that all the participants will be extremely active in the project offering as much as they can but also taking back as much as possible. Discussions and debates will give the youth a different perspective of the problems and perhaps even new methods of addressing these problems. Workshops will be designed to maintain a European dimension as all groups will be made up of at least one person from each country allowing for cultural learning during the workshops. Workshops are designed around the various subjects allowing the different youth to discuss the issues and work together to solve problems and share experiences. Role playing will also be used to allow the participants to get another perspective of different problems. This has proven to be very successful as it allows for the youth to see common problems from the viewer’s point of view rather than the actor. This also allows for innovative ways showing problems. Simulations are also done during the project, allowing people to take on roles which are opposite to their real roles. During the simulations the participants will take on roles to re-enact a real situation based on events and problems in the real world. The participants will work together in their different roles to solve problems and to find solutions to these problems. Important here is that the participants take on random roles which add additional learning tools as they need to think and act as the person they are simulating. Using all the above tools and methodologies the youth learn through fun activities which are real, but are within a safe environment allowing them to learn from each other, make mistakes which can be corrected through discussions and not put themselves at risk.

<< Objectives >>In developing this project, we have identified that young people have a great need for information and knowledge about lifestyle choices, we have seen that many young people feel there are many reasons they can’t make healthier lifestyle choices, these include that it is expensive, that a healthy life means eating only plant-based foods, not indulging in the foods we have grown to enjoy, and many other limitations. Yet the reality is that there is no unhealthy food, there is only food which is prepared in an unhealthy way. There are many reasons not to live a healthy life, but there are many more reasons to make better lifestyle choices and this is the objective of this project. We want to get information to youth, we want to make the process of finding information easier for youth and to ensure that the information they have is correct and useful to them. We want to help influence the lives of young people for the better but giving them the knowledge and information, empowering them to discover the facts and make the right choices, to understand the real risks of the wrong choices, and to give them options which are achievable, realistic and suited to their individual lives.<< Activities >>This project will be on Youth Exchange which will take place in London. The activities foreseen for the youth exchange will include proven non-formal methodologies and will be run by the young participants of the project and managed by the partner organisations.We will have 5 participants from each of 12 countries, including the leader who will implement the project. The profile of the participants are young people from the partner countries who either are susceptible to diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart disease and similar ailments, those interested in making more informed and educated choices about lifestyle choices, those who want to learn more about lifestyle choices and some who have some experience in the field. Most of the participants of this project fall under the category of NEETS, and some are in the process of studying. The idea is to get participants that represent their sending countries to allow us to work on solutions that can be implemented on a national and European level. << Impact >>The greatest result of this project will be awareness, access to information and knowledge on the choices available to youth, and adults, regarding lifestyle choices. We will examine preventable diseases, analyse just how serious they are, and how we can take simple measures to prevent and avoid these in our later years. We will explore the current lifestyle choices and habits of youth in our communities and identify mistakes and find ways to correct these mistakes. We will exchange knowledge and experience, and gain knowledge from professionals and explore resources and information, statistics from the European Commission, the World Health Organisation and others, so that we are aware of the facts, and we will then act on these to deliver solutions for youth by youth.We wish that we could make every person on this planet understand the importance of lifestyle choices, the impact of these choices on our lives today and in the future. To do this we will start by understanding the problems and working together on solutions which are realistic and achievable. We will share this knowledge with others, share and encourage other youth to find information on the subject and be more informed.If we achieve this goal, the impact on young people will be healthier people in the future, a reduction in obesity, diabetes, heart disease and many other illnesses which arise from bad lifestyle choices.

<< Objectives >>The idea of the project was developed from outcomes of other youth exchanges and national initiatives undertaken by the partners. The basic ideas of the project cover the following concerns:•Education about lifestyle choices•Active Aging•Choices available to youth in each community•Healthy Lifestyle choices•Understanding life threatening illnesses and how to prevent themThe partners have varied levels of experience with the theme of the project thus allowing for great exchange of knowledge and good practice among the partnership and along for greater international experience for the partners to allow them to work in the issues on a more European level. It was vital to understand the obstacles youth face in dealing with these problems and to work with youth to find solutions that are achievable, taking into consideration their backgrounds, the availability of resources in their community and their personal willingness to make changes based on their understanding of the problems and issues.<< Implementation >>The project was a youth exchanging bringing together 52 young people, including their leaders from 10 different countries. The youth exchange was developed with youth and youth organisations (the partners) to identify the common concerns with youth regarding healthy lifestyle choices and active ageing. To learn from youth about the obstacles they face and to work together with them to find solutions for these problems.The youth involved in this project were mainly NEETs and young people from disadvantages backgrounds, those who faces the most difficulties in being able to achieve healthy lifestyle choices either due to their geographic location, their economic abilities or their education on the subject. Full details of the participants and their profile is explained later in this report.<< Results >>The project identified many issues that young people faced in their communities from lack of information and education on the subjects to difficulties in gaining access either to information of facilities that could help them achieve their lifestyle goals and objectives. We identified that young people were often confused between healthy diet choices and eating on a very restrictive diet. We also identified a big gap in sexual education, where most youth felt they did not have somewhere to ask questions about sex and healthy sexual habits, even at an older age with them resorting to using the internet which often led to confusing and incorrect information. Both the partners and the participants of this project realised the need to offer more informative activities to youth, from a younger age, about lifestyle choices from diet to sexual health. The participants were eager to be involved in building and hosting these workshops and activities at their organisation youth centres to help other youth learn and understand what they had learned at the project. The biggest impact was seen on the participants of this project, and we believe that an even greater impact will be seen in the partner organisations and communities in the months that follow the project.Results, impact and dissemination activities are detailed later on in this report.