The young people from three countries, Finland, Portugal, and Slovenia, wanted to participate in an Erasmus+ youth exchange for several reasons. Generally speaking Marttinen youth centre in Finland has previously recognized the lack of international cooperation and opportunities for young people to take part in activities where they can gain international experiences. Therefore Marttinen sees this project to address these challenges by targeting their support for international youth work activities. ETAPPI Luontopolku, an organization working with unemployed young people in Tampere, Finland, had previous discussions and activities that revealed the potential benefits of internationality for their target group. The Finnish group, facing socio-economic challenges such as unemployment, independence, and mental and physical health issues, believed that the youth exchange could provide added value to their lives. The project originated from the connection between young people associated with ETAPPI, and their interest was sparked by a previous youth exchange to Ukraine in 2019. Despite having fewer opportunities for such projects, the group collaborated with Marttinen since spring 2020 to develop the exchange program, waiting for the COVID-19 pandemic to subside. During the preparation, Marttinen found partner organizations and groups from Portugal and Slovenia that shared similar interests and backgrounds. Through meetings, the groups from all three countries expressed their objectives for the youth exchange. The Finnish group wanted to meet new people, experience new things together, gain new perspectives on life, and establish contacts. They were particularly interested in learning about foreign cultures from locals and understanding how partner associations work. For them, the exchange was financially beneficial and provided a low-threshold opportunity to travel. The Portuguese group originally aimed to learn about different aspects of life in Slovenia and Finland, such as traditions, arts, and breaking stereotypes. They wanted to understand how hot topics were discussed and portrayed in the media, including issues like corruption and radicalization. They proposed guided conversations, movies/documentaries, debates, presentations, quizzes, dancing workshops, and guest invitations as methods of achieving their objectives. The Slovenian group wanted to get involved especially from the point of view of to explore the specifics of different cultures, including way of life, traditions, views on life, and language. They wanted to challenge stereotypes, experience various cultural activities, and try new food and drinks. They believed in learning through ice breaker activities, hands-on experiences, and observing how different groups approach knowledge and workshops. The concrete objectives of the youth exchange, formed through discussions with the groups, were as follows: - Learn to work together with people from different backgrounds, languages, and cultures. - Gain new experiences that contribute to self-discovery and group dynamics. - Break stereotypes about different cultures and understand how other groups perceive them. In addition, the program aimed to create a safe space for young people to discuss and exchange views on various topics, including social security, coping with the pandemic and mental health, the role of nature in different groups' lives, environmental issues, respect and inclusion, and personal interests, passions, and hobbies - coming from the personal interests of all the participants (especially the Finnish initiating the idea).