We created “Participate in Peace” because we believed that active citizenship and democratic life play a significant role in young people’s mental well-being. We’ve seen in the results of our survey conducted when writing the application, that many young people feel disconnected and anxious regarding these topics. The data strongly showed that young people often feel stressed and anxious when discussing politics and believe that participation might be harmful to their mental health. However, some actions, like discussing issues with peers, might provide a sense of control to them. Besides the survey, our ideas were also based on insights from a previous youth exchange, “Mind and Motion,” where participants expressed frustration and anxiety about making their voices heard. We identified an important link between civic engagement and mental health. With this project we aimed to address the ‘chain of apathy’, which refers to the cycle where feeling lost or powerless in the political field might lead to frustration, and that might also weaken democratic participation. We tried to break this cycle. The survey and the previous project outcomes confirmed the previously assumed need for the “Participate in Peace” project, that focused on creating a connection between civic life and mental health. Based on these identified needs, the following objectives were set and reached during the youth exchange: The first objective was to help participants keep their mental well-being while being involved in civic life and politics. We provided participants several opportunities to engage with different democratic tools (e.g., EU-roleplay activity, visiting the Town Hall, structured debating). The participants had the space to reflect on their state of mind throughout these exercises. The second objective was to improve civic engagement and education: We supported participants in understanding the basic concepts of representative democracy, contrasting them with other political systems. This was achieved by trying out and discussing different practical ways participants can get involved effectively in democratic life within their local communities and at the European level. Participants learned and appreciated the importance of joining democratic processes and how it can be done mindfully. We’ve researched the key values of the European Union.