The SEKEM-Austria Association organised the first ERASMUS+ youth exchange project ORIENT-OKZIDENT with the motto "Greening the Desert - TOGETHER! Acting against climate change". The partner was the Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development in Cairo, which emerged from the SEKEM Egypt Initiative and was founded in 2012. The main activity of the youth exchange took place in Egypt; the participants were young adults from Austria and young students from Heliopolis University. SEKEM Egypt has been working for more than 40 years to establish desert areas through sustainable, biodynamic agriculture, thereby creating a livelihood for the local people. At the same time, educational and training opportunities as well as cultural programmes are created for employees and the local population. The project focussed on the topics of the environment, climate change, ecology and agriculture. The participants were to deal with these core topics in a variety of theoretical and practical ways, thereby expanding their knowledge, competences, skills and abilities. In an intercultural context, the participants were to work together as a team to raise their awareness of the aforementioned core issues and learn about possible courses of action. This was done on the one hand by imparting knowledge and on the other hand through practical activities such as planting trees in the desert. The intercultural skills of the participants were to be strengthened through joint learning, practical work, artistic activities and everyday life together. The promotion of tolerance, acceptance, the reduction of prejudices and an understanding of cultural similarities and differences were key objectives. The aim of the project was to show the young people concrete opportunities to become active, to question their own behaviour and to make a long-term commitment to environmental and climate protection. The focus was on developing a personal sense of responsibility. Getting to know the urban and rural areas of Egypt and the living conditions of Egyptian young people was intended to contribute to a deeper cultural understanding and broaden the personal horizons of all participants. The young people were actively involved in the preparation, planning, realisation and follow-up of the project. They were encouraged to train their critical thinking, expand their communicative and artistic skills and evaluate and reflect on project activities and results. The dialogue with the culture, way of life and way of thinking of the group members was an essential contribution to the personal development of the participants. Language skills in the common language of English were to be expanded and improved. A certain understanding of the native language of the respective group was also to be achieved.