BISYOC EXCHANGE 2014 is an Intercultural Youth Music Exchange. Building on a proven and unique formula that has evolved and developed during the BISYOC charity’s 14-year history, the concept combines cultural exchange with the medium of participating in a large symphony orchestra to bring about a wide range of benefits to participants. The 2014 exchange includes young people from 10 countries throughout the length and breadth of Europe; from Norway in the north to Malta in the south; from Portugal in the west to Romania in the east. 70 participants, from a range of socio-economic, educational and cultural backgrounds, but united by their high level of skill in music, will live and work together for 11 days and nights in Ludlow, England, interacting with the local community as well as with one another. The medium of the working symphony orchestra has proved itself as a special tool for individual and collective development, representing as it does a model of cooperation towards achieving a common goal. Guided by highly-qualified experts, participants will intensively study challenging orchestral repertoire and prepare public performances. At the same time, daily inter-cultural activities will combine with the musical activity to create an environment where cultural interaction quickly becomes the norm and any pre-existing barriers or prejudices are broken down. The added dimension in 2014 will be to participate in cultural events commemorating the centenary of World War One, bringing historical relevance to the project. A pan-European symphony orchestra is arguably symbolic of the diverse but cohesive and peaceful Europe in which we all now live – showing just how far Europe has progressed in a century. In line with the objectives of Erasmus Plus, BISYOC’s ultimate objectives in 2014 are to deepen the impact of the exchange to reach beyond the immediately obvious musical and social transformations that usually take place during the 11-day period of activity. We will aim to stimulate the participants to think at a deeper level, by helping them to recognise the transferable skills and competences they are developing by taking part, and to recognise the ways that their attitudes and viewpoints are broadening. This is in the hope that they become better citizens of the world, equipped with better tools to find employment, with better tools to interact with their foreign counterparts, and with an increased motivation to engage in future learning. We also aim to strengthen the impact of BISYOC on the local community in which the exchange is hosted in a tangible way, by involving a local choir in both the musical and inter-cultural activities. As always, we aim through our publicity to make BISYOC as visible as possible in the region as an exemplary result of pan-European collaboration and European Union support.