Youth Exchange

According to a recent study, very few adults actually meet the criteria for a healthy lifestyle. Overweight and obesity affect almost 60% of adults in the WHO European Region according to the report of 2022. Poor dietary choices, including high consumption of processed foods, sugary beverages, and low intake of fruits and vegetables, are prevalent in Europe.

In the European Union (EU), 45% of people say they never exercise or play sport, and every third person has insufficient levels of physical activity, according to the latest specific Eurobarometer survey published in 2023.

While tobacco use has been decreasing in Europe, it remains a significant public health issue. As well as excessive alcohol consumption in some European countries.

Mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety, are common in Europe. Stress, lack of work-life balance, and social isolation can contribute to poor mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic has also had a significant impact on mental well-being.

Additionally, as an important aspect of a healthy environment and lifestyle - personal and collective peace among youths coming from different parts of Europe is getting bigger and bigger meaning. Recent events in Europe, war in Ukraine and all the connected conflicts and hate speech on different levels revealed that personal and collective peace among youth is important not only for the well-being and harmonious coexistence of individuals but also for the broader goals of promoting tolerance, preventing conflicts, and building a more peaceful and inclusive Europe.

Being a complex issue, healthy lifestyle and peace influence youth and society on a variety of levels, from individual happiness to building safe and effective societies. It makes it essential to promote and deal with these issues with people of a youth age, creating habits, providing alternatives for destructive behavior and strengthening peace and healthy lifestyle as a trend for youth.

The project is designed to address this multifaceted set of issues and needs related to peace and health especially the following components, defined after the analysis of the issues in the society: lack of awareness on the importance of healthy lifestyle, limited exposure to healthy living practices, unexplored connection between peace and health, need for personal reflection on peace, lack of platforms for promoting peace and healthy lifestyle values, need for empowerment and leadership.

As an ideal method to tackle these aspects among European youth Youth exchange programs was chosen. It plays a significant role in nurturing values and skills, contributing to a more healthy, peaceful and interconnected world.

The youth exchange brings together 48 youngsters (ages 15 – 22) from 8 organizations and 16 leaders.

The main aim of the project is to develop participant's understanding of personal and collective peace and the role of healthy lifestyle in creating a peaceful environment and the opposite way, in order for them to educate their peers local youngsters of Cyprus as well as youngsters in their countries.

The YE specific objectives are:

• To enhance the awareness among the youth about valuing a healthy lifestyle and various aspects of health (including mental, physical, spiritual, and nutritional) as essential for individual peace.
• To encourage the adoption of healthy living practices in their daily routines by showcasing exemplary practices from young people from Cyprus as well as partners of the project.
• To give an opportunity to participants to understand the importance of peace and reflect on cases and consequences of conflict by sharing real life experiences with youth from conflict areas.
• To provide a platform for participants to engage in promoting personal and collective peace values and to peer educate youngsters living in Pissoiri and area.
• To inspire young individuals to serve as agents of change by planning and implementing follow-up actions upon returning to their communities.

Additionally, the project reveals the potential of each participant as an active citizen, as well as use as a dissemination of the project's results for local communities. Relevance of the project for Erasmus + :

• o Improving the key competencies and skills of young people;
• o Foster intercultural dialogue and learning and feeling of being European;
• o Promote participation and active citizenship;
• o Increasing learning mobility opportunities for young people active in youth work;
• o Enhanced cooperation;

Moreover, the project involved collaboration and communication with local youth, which fosters peer-to-peer education and motivates all the participants to promote the values of peace and healthy lifestyle and make the impact of the project sustainable.

Program of the Youth Exchange from 25 of May till 4 of July 2025