From 24th to 31st of August 2014 KLJB Germany will coordinate a 8-days youth exchange, taking place in Passau (Germany) for 42 young people living in rural areas and coming from 6 different countries in Europe (Belgium, Germany, Poland, Malta, Bulgaria and Romania). The topic of the event is "Better together - we care about rural areas". Through non-formal education methods (working groups, icebreakers, energizers, pedagogical games, field visits, debates, brainstorming, plenary sessions with experts, sharing of knowledge and best practices, movies) and informal moments (thematic evenings), participants will learn more about rural areas in Europe and rural development. This Youth exchange "Better together - we care about rural areas" aims to: - analyse and exchange the realities in our communities and best practices on the topic; - raise awareness about realities in rural areas in Europe and rural development; - empower young people to take active role in the development of rural areas; - raise awareness about differences and similarities in rural areas in Europe; - increase the involvement of young people in the social life in local communities and develop projects, based on an intercultural approach; - promotes young people’s active citizenship in general and their European citizenship in particular; - develops solidarity and promote tolerance among young people; - cultivate mutual understanding and respect for cultural differences in Europe and show the need of youth cooperation at European level; - develop creative and critical thinking, active participation and initiative by motivating them to engage in projects developed at all levels. This youth exchange will gather young people from 6 European countries with different cultural and social backgrounds but with common values. Through various forms of non formal and informal education it will raise awareness about rural areas in Europe and build a sense of tolerance and mutual understanding of the problems of youngsters leaving in rural areas. We believe that by this project we can empower young people to take an active role in the development of their ome countries. The project is focusing on the development of rural areas, and its clearly connected with European awareness, Environment and Rural Development.