<< Objectives >>The project “Intercultural Learning through Immersion in Icelandic Mythology” was a youth exchange that ran as a role-playing game with participants from 8 countries in the setting of Icelandic Mythology. The experience focused on intercultural values and bringing people together in international cooperation. Icelandic mythology and history is fascinating for young people and is a great way to get them interested in a game in which they play the hero and influence the action. It is also a great learning topic which has an impact on today's culture and values in European society. At the same time this provides a great basis for intercultural learning between the participants.The project further develops the role-playing immersion approach which was started in summer 2014 in the scope of the project 2014-1-DE04-KA105-000509. This game-based approach met with an overwhelming response so that we have held this type of event ever since, improving the approach every time and widening the network. The method of game-based learning we are using in the event is called ERA (European Roleplay Approach). ERA can best be described this way:The role-playing approach offers an environment in which a stronger European identity can evolve among young people. However, unlike other approaches, our method uses the approach of thrusting teams of young people into situations in which they can immerse themselves and in which they experience value judgements as a fictional character that needs to make difficult choices (such as the balance between individual freedom and the good of the community). The role-playing experience will work on several levels. Participants play together in mixed international teams in which they make the experience of working together and facing challenges together. The challenges were created in such a way that players needed to challenge their own beliefs and values in order to succeed. In this event we played in the rich and sweeping Icelandic mythology with a focus on society building, elements of democracy, honor and humanity. When a group has to come up with solutions for problems in game situations most of the time the resulting discussions are very open and free of any cultural or political baggage that would be present in discussions between representatives of different countries. Through the game participants are able to freely explore each other’s point of view and become interested in the situation of the other team members which usually results in participants wanting to explore more about each other after the game. This was exactly what happened during this event as well.Daily reflection rounds were held with the intention of helping the participants understand the different European values and the shared values. Going through this experience was a much stronger and longer lasting impression than simply discussing European values in a workshop and, as expected, it led to deep bonds between participants that will probably hold for years to come.A primary objective of the project was creating a strong group of young people who get actively involved in contributing to a better Europe with the perspective of supporting each other across borders in the sense of a true community. We wanted these people to serve as multipliers and become active in youth work, especially in supporting young people with disadvantages and those who need support.Other important objectives were the expansion of the participants' minds and their awareness of other European cultures with the corresponding understanding of cultural values. Further objectives were strengthening the participants' competences, their positive outlook, their active support of democratic values, as well as international friendship and cooperation.Apart from the focus of intercultural learning the ERA approach is very suitable for training a number of soft skills such as communication skills, improvisation skills, tactical skills, empathy, as well as creativity, language skills and historical knowledge. In this project we saw this working very well again. Most of all we wanted to grow the participants into a community of friends that will last far beyond the event and encourage them to cooperate internationally.<< Implementation >>In the project we implemented a youth exchange in Iceland which brought 50 people from 8 countries together. The event focused on learning through role-playing in a stealth learning approach. We spent the days playing in small groups and through the game we explored history and mythology and got youths involved in value discussions and becoming strong teams that overcame all the challenges thrown at them.Disadvantaged youths were involved in all activities of the project and since the role-playing approach is extremely inclusive it wasn't difficult at all to integrate them. Many of the disadvantaged youths we involved were socially disadvantaged and had a very difficult time connecting with society. We have made the experience that these people blossom in the open and welcoming atmosphere of the groups and usually don’t want the events to end any more. In previous events some of these participants told us that it was the best experience of their lives. We didn't get reactions that were this extreme this time but we still got very positive and encouraging results because we managed to provide the right environment and helped these people get inspired to try a “restart” in their normal environment.Youths with learning disadvantages are in a similar situation. In the event they experienced informal learning at a high and efficient level. We have experienced how this learning approach was especially well-suited for youths with learning disadvantages who often don’t do well in formal systems. One of the things the event did for them was inspire and motivate them and give them the experience that with some learning methods they can perform just like the others with no disadvantage.Another group we involved was youths with economical disadvantages. These people would not have been able to afford an experience abroad and in some cases had never left their own country before, so the event gave them an opportunity of personal growth.We also had youths that live in remote regions like Romania that are so far away from everything that they hardly ever get in contact with an international crowd. For these youths the event was also a great opportunity and a wonderful learning experience.<< Results >>As planned, the project had its biggest effect on the participants who experienced overcoming challenges in an international environment in which they shaped the society of the game world. We used this experience to discuss changes in our current societies and how young people can become more active. In general learning is deeper and much more sustainable if learners have made an experience instead of just talking about something. For this reason we are relying on the roleplaying method in most of our youth events.We prepared challenges in the game that were not easy to solve, such as clashes of values. The learning effect we were hoping for was that societies are extremely complex and while there are certain fundamental values we share there are also lots of values that vary slightly. Striving for a better society doesn’t always mean pushing your own values through but finding compromises that allow everyone to be happy. We wanted youths to experience this in the game but we also wanted them to be able to apply the experience to their real world societies. Bringing people together like this and learning how to understand and accommodate different values is a major step towards combatting extremism that threatens our societies.By being immersed in a world of Icelandic Mythology through a game world created by the players, the participants were in a position in which they could critically examine basic values and understand in reflection sessions how they have different effects on different cultures, especially since the stories were filled with value conflicts, confrontations of different societies and religions, and new ideas. The reflection phases also served as a way of discussing how these values are affecting current problems and current developments. Experiencing the values in a challenge that a mixed group has to overcome and discussing its importance for today's life with a larger mixed group broadened people's horizon, and it also made them more open to accepting different ideas and values. In addition participants were be able to benefit from many learning experiences in social competences and communication skills. A broader goal was turning participants into active citizens with the attitude of wanting to actively get involved in improving society in a cooperating Europe. The participants were able to draw on experience from the game, analyze the situations and come up with solutions for dealing with the real life situation. We were aiming to create a tight community of young people that feels connected despite strong current forces that try to break European societies apart.The participating groups from the eight countries benefited from their actions by expanding the competences of their members. We expect this to have an impact on their future work with youth centers. The idea is to enrich the local activities with an international dimension and by adding international approaches and attitudes. This should be especially helpful when working with young people who have a migration background.