By implementing the Academy project, we aim to address the identified needs and issues in Europe and respond to the challenges of our age. The 1st identified need that the Academy project addresses is social and educational differences. The project addresses a major problem of ignored and disregarded groups with the training of workers in the social, educational and artistic fields. We aim to educate and work towards an openness of the common mindset and to initiate Europe-wide social activities for the underprivileged.With our exchange of youth workers, we support two target groups at the same time: the participants of the exchange through the training and prospectively the groups they work with after the training, in their own fields. Our project broadens the mind of all involved groups coming from different social and educational backgrounds. The participants will experience the differences between different cultures and subcultures and learn from each other. The 2nd identified need is the coopeartion at an international level. Most of the socially engaged cultural activities are made on a national, or on an even lower, regional level. There is no exchange between cultural actors of this field on a transnational level. With this special program we aim to exchange and develop the best practices by knowledge transfer between European organisations sharing similar goals, but coming of different disciplines and backgrounds. The 3rd identified need is the benefit of arts. We aim to tackle societal challenges through the tools of art. Art challenges and supports the courage of personal expression and the commitment to show ourselves at the same time. If we succeed to awake these qualities in a group, a great place will arise where everyone will be noticed particularly and uniquely. The context of the Academy for Actors of Civil Change is professional but informal. We believe in the power of working in a cross-sectorial way and give all participants the chance to get involved and express their ideas. We find important to build a communtiy and sense of belonging within the participants. Therefore, just as last years, we will share collective moments of games and of reflexion each day. Besides starting and ending the days together, there will also be several occasions for formal and non-formal team-building activities. The workshops focus on the different aspects of performing arts practices. In order to satisfy the different needs of the participants and their future target groups, we provide: • professional development in different performing arts disciplines • leadership skills on how to implement a creation process based on the newly learned skills • an opportunity to become a creator, facilitator and moderator. Similar to previous years, the objectives of the Academy are ambitious and are in line with the Erasmus+ programme. The trainings are improving the capabilities of the youth workers and through it, as an indirect effect, improving competences of young people. All our partners are involved in the work with youngsters with fewer opportunities (such as ones living in economically underprivileged areas, minorities, with difficult social background etc.). As we develop the youth workers’ capabilities, we are also developing the impact they can have on their local level. We are developing the quality of youth work and youth workers. New approaches are shared and a network is established in order to help them reach each other. This will help and foster further cooperation between organisations having youth in their focus. With our closing event, we would like to make an impact on the localities as well, by presenting them to effective methods that can be used in youth work, by introducing them to organisations and youth workers with similar goals and by raising their awareness to the possibilities of international exhange opportunities in the field of youth work. Thus, the program gives a possibility and supports the further mobility and other international projects within the Erasmus+. We inform and promote the possibilities between the participants – and further – to continue our collaboration.