The programme aims to bring together young people within a sustainable framework of a (de facto) tri-lateral youth exchange programme and build up mutual trust. A prerequisite therefore is raising and developing awareness among the participants for cultural, social and political aspects and conflicts within and between their societies. The international context of the programme as well as a diverse range of activities like political workshops, meetings with different NGOs and politicians and various further activities help to achieve both, to build up networks on civil society level and personal relationships among the participants, especially between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. The German-Cypriot Youth Exchange Programme is an educational and dialogue-promoting measure on the grass-roots level. The Programme was initiated in 2007 and is organised every year in an alternating order in Germany and Cyprus, taking places in both parts of the island. This year's programme will be conducted in Cyprus from 13. - 24. August 2015, including 30 participants and four coordinators. The group encompasses participants aged from 16 to 30 years old and consists of pupils, students and employed persons. Accordingly, the participants have diverse social and political backgrounds and different standards of knowledge. The project is divided in three key stages: Preparatory meetings, the youth exchange and follow-up meetings and documentation. The programme provides competences in conflict resolution, democratic procedures, interculturality and didactic methods. Further more, workshops are conducted in different subject fields regarding Cyprus, the European Union and Germany. Some of the workshops are organised by the participants themselves. In total, the project aims to strengthen the European awareness of the participants and to generate a deeper theoretical and practical understanding of democracy and democratic procedures. The programme aims to encourage the participants to take an active role as citizens of the European Union.