Donkey Man Walking is a youth exchange addressed to adolescents aged 14 to 17, born from listening to the needs of young people living in rural, mountain and peripheral contexts. Many of them experience communicative fragility, difficulties in relating to peers, and limited self-confidence, aggravated by geographical isolation, socio-economic disadvantages, and reduced access to intercultural and mobility experiences. These needs emerge with particular strength in marginal contexts, where opportunities for external comparison are rare and where the construction of self-esteem and social skills finds fewer opportunities for growth. The choice to involve the 14–17 age group responds to the awareness that this stage of growth is particularly delicate: the experiences lived can leave a deep mark, influencing the way of relating to others, the confidence in one’s own abilities, and the openness towards the future. For many participants, it will be their first international experience, often also their first time away from home, with a transformative impact destined to last over time. From the perspective of youth work practice, the main objectives are: - to develop inclusive communication skills, valuing non-verbal languages, empathy and active listening as tools to overcome linguistic and cultural barriers; - to promote social inclusion and active participation, creating a safe and accessible environment where each young person can feel recognized; - to strengthen self-confidence, autonomy and emotional resilience, through activities that require shared responsibility, emotional management and collaboration; - to encourage intercultural dialogue and the discovery of common values, stimulating openness towards new perspectives; - to support awareness of European citizenship, based on cooperation, solidarity and respect for diversity; - to bring young people with fewer opportunities closer to the possibilities offered by the Erasmus+ programme, encouraging their future participation; - to promote environmental awareness and sustainability as a daily attitude, encouraging responsible choices related to resources, mobility and care for the natural environment; - to strengthen language competences through a first practical and daily approach to English and the partners’ languages, reducing the educational gap between those starting from disadvantaged situations and those with greater resources. The planned activities are not conceived as isolated moments, but as part of a continuous educational process. The donkey trekking, which represents the core of the project, stimulates slowness, reflection and cooperation. Walking with a donkey means learning to take care of others, to collaborate, and to communicate even without sharing the same language. Alongside this experience, the Breaking Bread, Breaking Barriers & Building Voices sessions provide spaces where young people learn to cooperate, to share cultures and personal identities, and to discover the educational dimension of doing things together. The methodological approach is based on non-formal education, learning by doing and peer-to-peer, tools that help reduce inequalities and place all participants on the same level. Reflection support, through daily moments of individual and collective review, will ensure that each young person can recognize progress, difficulties overcome and competences acquired, thus consolidating a conscious growth process. The project will not only have an impact on direct participants. Educators and partner organisations will also be able to refine replicable tools and practices, experimenting with new ways of working with adolescents in multicultural contexts and with young people with fewer opportunities. In this sense, Donkey Man Walking is fully in line with Erasmus+ priorities and with the Inclusion and Diversity Strategy, with the aim of creating an inclusive and sustainable educational environment that fosters young people’s personal, social and civic growth, while strengthening in the long term the quality of youth work.