The “Empowerment through Creative Arts and Participation for European Teens” (ECAPT) project, with its youth exchange was implemented was implanted to work on addressing the pressing issues of discrimination, intolerance, and violence affecting young people across Europe. During the original submission of the project, it was found that the main types of discrimination was based on origin at 24.5%, Disability (at 22.7%) and gender (at 12.7%). While the most common forms of discrimination faced by young people varied depending on context and location, including of course between the 5 countries represented in this project however, the most common forms of discrimination faced by young people include the following: 1. Bullying and harassment based on factors such as appearance, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. 2. Cyberbullying, where technology and online platforms are used to harass, intimidate or spread hate. 3. Discrimination in education, e.g. unequal treatment, exclusion or bias by teachers, peers or school policies. 4. Prejudice and discrimination in social interactions where young people may face exclusion, stereotyping or negative attitudes because of their identity or characteristics. 5. Discrimination in the world of work, where young people face barriers or unequal opportunities when looking for part-time jobs or internships because of their age, gender or other protected characteristics. As such, the project, with its youth exchange was designed to address these pressing issues through an innovative combination of non-formal education and creative methodologies. Taking place in Vienna, Austria, from 10 to 18 February 2026, the project brought together 25 young people and 5 youth leaders from 5 partner organizations. The program was built around dynamic workshops in theater, dance as well as visual arts, recognizing that creative expression enables participants to communicate beyond words and explore complex topics from new perspectives. This concept was even expanded upon by introducing the concept of food as a form of art and cultural expression, to the point where dinners, combined with cultural night presentations were organized by each cultural group led by the leader of each group. The original objectives of the project as submitted were as follows – ● Strengthen the European identity of the participants. ● Provide an understanding of the prevention of discrimination through art, dance and theater activities. ● Understand the differences between nations and unite them through encounters between different cultures ● To promote cultural awareness, solidarity and tolerance between the featured countries. ● To promote inclusion and active citizenship among the participants. By working on these objectives, the ECAPT project contributed not only to the personal development of the participants but also to the broader goal of building more inclusive, tolerant, and participatory European societies. By having preparatory activities with interviews in each of the countries, as well as follow-up physical activities with others within these 5 countries, the impact was not left at just the youth exchange, but extended into local communities, schools, and youth organizations across Europe, led entirely by the participants themselves.