BISYOC EXCHANGE NORWAY 2015 was an Intercultural Youth Music Exchange. Building on a proven and unique formula that has evolved and developed during the BISYOC charity?s 15-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 2015 exchange included young people from 9 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. Over 70 participants, from a range of socio-economic, educational and cultural backgrounds, but united by their high level of skill in music, lived and worked together for 11 days and nights in Hurdal, Norway, 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 studied challenging orchestral repertoire and prepared public performances which they presented at the end in Hurdal, Drammen and lillestrom. At the same time, daily intercultural activities combined with the musical activity to create an environment where cultural interaction became the norm and any pre-existing barriers or prejudices were broken down. In line with the objectives of Erasmus Plus, BISYOC?s ultimate objectives in 2015 were 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. Participants were stimulated to think at a deeper level, by helping them to recognise the transferable skills and competences they were developing by taking part, and to recognise the ways that their attitudes and viewpoints were broadening. This was with the aim 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. BISYOC also made its impact strongly felt on the local community of Hurdal. Local people were involved in both the musical and inter-cultural activities. No project of this nature or anything similar had ever taken place in the area before. BISYOC was made as visible as possible in the region as an exemplary result of pan-European collaboration and European Union support.