Our project emerged from a clearly documented and urgent need. According to the 2024 Global Peace Index, average global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.56% — marking the fifth consecutive year of decline. The 2025 GPI even finds that peace is at its lowest level since the inception of the Index. Against this backdrop, give & grow, as part of the Youth Peace Ambassadors Network (YPAN), identified a concrete gap: youth workers and young people engaged in peacebuilding lacked structured spaces in which to develop and exchange competences in conflict transformation, dialogue and storytelling. This was confirmed through direct consultation with YPAN's 150 members prior to submitting the application. Our own experience as youth workers and peacebuilders also confirmed this: young people are motivated to engage in conflict transformation and eager to make their voices heard, yet they consistently report a lack of empowerment and practical tools. The voices of marginalised communities in particular remain underrepresented in peacebuilding processes — a concern that is directly aligned with the 2012 UN report Peacebuilding in the Aftermath of Conflict and the Inter-Agency Working Group's guiding principles on youth participation in peacebuilding. The overarching aim of the project was: To empower 20 youth workers and young people to become storytellers for peace by creating spaces to expand their perspectives and foster meaningful connections across diverse communities through developing competences for connection to self (mindfulness), others (dialogue) and the world (storytelling) and ultimately contributing to more inclusive, peaceful, and understanding local communities. To achieve this aim, the project pursued the following objectives: -to build a common ground among participants’ by developing their understanding of concepts of peace, conflict, violence, human rights, and community; -to explore the peace-building processes at personal, community, and societal levels and reflect over the role of mindfulness, dialogue, and storytelling in conflict resolution; -to enhance participants' self-awareness and emotional intelligence through mindfulness practices, promoting a stronger connection to oneself and one's values; -to encourage participants to reflect on their own identities and biases and how these relate to broader European and global contexts, as well as challenges to human rights; -to equip participants with practical dialogue skills, including active listening and nonviolent communication, enabling them to engage effectively with diverse perspectives; -to form 5 working groups with guided interactions and discussions on challenging topics related to diversity, climate change, and social migration in Europe aiming for constant development and practice of participants competences during and after the project; -to deepen participants' understanding of human rights principles, their protection and violations as well as their relevance at the interpersonal, regional, planetary, and institutional levels; -to understand the concept of discrimination and mechanisms of its elimination; -to explore the concept of "bubbles" in social, cultural, and digital contexts, and their impact on personal growth, civic engagement and peace-building; -to develop participants' critical thinking abilities in relation to social media, narrative construction and perceptions of self, others, and society at large in Europe. -to practise the method of storytelling as a peacebuilding tool; -to facilitate the planning of at least 5 follow-up actions by participants, aimed at practising newly acquired skills by bursting bubbles and boosting peaceful connections in their local communities. These objectives were pursued through two complementary training activities. The first focused on connection with oneself and others, covering topics such as mindfulness, identity and dialogue skills. The second focused on connection with the world, covering topics such as storytelling, human rights and anti-discrimination. A structured practice phase between the two activities ensured that learning was applied and consolidated before building upon it in the second training. This design was intentional, being grounded in a progressive, competence-based learning logic that moves from the inner to the outer and from self-awareness to civic action.