Equal Voices, Equal Futures was developed to respond to persistent gender inequalities across Europe and neighbouring regions, where young people still face stereotypes, unequal participation in leadership and decision-making, and limited opportunities to address discrimination through formal education. This project aims to create a safe and participatory learning space where young people from different cultural backgrounds learn together, exchange experiences, and co-create solutions. Through experiential methods such as simulations, role plays, discussions, intercultural activities, and project-based learning, participants will develop both personal and civic competences while strengthening their sense of responsibility and active citizenship. The 7-day Youth Exchange in Ayia Napa, Cyprus will gather 35 young participants aged 18–30 and 5 group leaders from Armenia, Cyprus, Romania, Greece, and North Macedonia. During the exchange, participants will explore gender equality topics, build teamwork and leadership skills, collaborate in international teams, and design follow-up initiatives to be implemented locally after the project. The project pursues the following specific objectives: - To increase young people’s awareness of gender equality, human rights, discrimination, and inclusion. - To challenge stereotypes through intercultural dialogue and safe peer-learning spaces. - To develop key competences for active citizenship, including leadership, communication, teamwork, and critical thinking, through non-formal education. - To equip participants with practical tools to design and implement youth-led local initiatives promoting equality. - To strengthen intercultural understanding and sustainable cooperation among partner organisations. The partnership has identified the following concrete and measurable needs among young people and youth organisations: - Insufficient knowledge of gender equality, rights, and discrimination mechanisms. - Persistent stereotypes limiting girls’ leadership and boys’ social participation. - Limited access to safe spaces for dialogue on sensitive social issues. - Gaps in leadership, communication, teamwork, and civic engagement competences. - Lack of practical experience in designing and implementing youth-led actions. - Weak transnational cooperation and limited exchange of good practices among youth organisations. As a result - Awareness of gender equality, human rights, discrimination, and inclusion will be increased through interactive sessions such as The Gender Box, SDG 5 workshops, guest expert talks, global campaign analysis, and national reality exchanges (Days 2–4), supported by reflection groups and pre/post assessments to measure knowledge growth. - Reduction of stereotypes and stronger intercultural understanding will be achieved through mixed-country teamwork, theatre role-play, equality simulations, intercultural nights, group games, and safe peer-learning spaces (Days 1–5), fostering empathy, dialogue, and mutual respect among participants from different backgrounds. - Key competences for active citizenship, including leadership, communication, teamwork, and critical thinking, will be developed through collaborative workshops, decision-making simulations, peer feedback sessions, presentations, and daily reflection activities integrated into the programme, and documented through the Youthpass process. - Practical capacity to design and implement youth-led equality initiatives will be strengthened through structured follow-up project design workshops, mentoring, action planning tools, and final project presentations (Days 2–6), resulting in concrete local initiatives ready to be implemented after the exchange. - Sustainable intercultural cooperation and organisational partnerships will be reinforced through joint planning, partner-led sessions, shared living and learning experiences, dissemination activities, and post-project collaboration, ensuring continued networking and future youth projects beyond the exchange.