Together with our partners from Croatia, Serbia, Spain, Estonia, and North Macedonia, we came together around a common concern: the rising levels of stress and pressure among young people across Europe. In our daily work, we see how these pressures from school, family, society and digital life are harming well-being, leading to anxiety, burnout and disengagement. Young people are rarely taught how to manage stress or build resilience, leaving them without coping strategies when life becomes overwhelming. Our organisations hear the same stories again and again: expectations are relentless, fueling the sense of never being “good enough.” Many of the young people we support say they lack safe spaces or mentors to share emotions, while digital overuse often replaces real connection, increasing isolation and stress. The consequences are visible in every partner country: growing anxiety and burnout, unhealthy coping strategies such as withdrawal or substance use, declining motivation and school performance, and reduced confidence. Most concerning, communities lose active citizens as youth retreat instead of engaging. What we see in our daily work is supported by the data from our partner countries: in Croatia, one in four young people reports severe depressive symptoms (Kuterovac Jagodić et al., 2025); in Serbia, 20% of adolescents are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, with nearly 9% reporting suicidal thoughts (Institute of Mental Health, 2025); In Estonia, national mental-health surveys show that young adults (18–29) report very high levels of stress, anxiety, and emotional strain, making them one of the most affected age groups in the country (Estonian National Mental Health Study, 2022) ; in Spain, over 60% of youth report high stress and almost 70% depressive symptoms (Tamarit et al., 2022); and in North Macedonia, nearly a third of adolescents show symptoms of depression (Bajraktarov et al., 2023). The project Together Beyond Pressure tackles these challenges through interactive and creative methods tailored to our participants’ needs. Many are first-time Erasmus+ participants, rural youth, or young people from minority backgrounds who often struggle to express emotions openly. Through artistic expression such as painting, theatre and dance, they will find accessible and inclusive ways to explore feelings and reflect on social pressures constructively. Research shows that arts based interventions can significantly reduce anxiety and improve emotional regulation and self-esteem among young people (Golden et al., 2024). Experiential learning, including outdoor challenges and peer-led workshops, will give them practical opportunities to build empathy, strengthen cooperation and practice resilience in real contexts, making the methods both engaging and directly relevant to their realities. As a result, participants will leave the exchange with practical tools to cope with stress in their everyday lives, whether in school, at home, or in their communities. They will feel more confident in handling pressure, more aware of their own emotions, and more capable of expressing themselves without fear of judgment. Many will experience their first success in leading activities, speaking in front of others, or managing group work, boosting their self-esteem. They will also build meaningful friendships across cultures, finding encouragement in knowing that others share similar struggles. This combination of resilience, confidence, and connection will not only improve their well-being but also inspire them to take initiative and create positive change back home. We aim to achieve the following objectives: O1: To equip 35 young people from Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Estonia and Spain with practical mental-health literacy related to stress and social pressure, enabling them to recognise personal stress triggers and understand how peer pressure in their daily environments affects their well-being and behaviour. O2: To strengthen participants’ ability to manage stress constructively and express emotions and personal needs in a safe and respectful way, by practising concrete coping and resilience strategies through non-formal, creative, and peer-based learning methods. O3: To increase inclusion and learning awareness among participants—especially young people with fewer opportunities—by strengthening their confidence to participate in intercultural teamwork and supporting them to recognise, reflect on, and document their personal learning process through Youthpass. O4: To extend the impact of the Youth Exchange into local communities by empowering participants to translate their learning on stress, resilience, and peer support into youth-friendly outputs (Mental Resilience Toolkit, Awareness Video, and campaign messages) and to implement youth-led follow-up actions after the exchange.