For nearly three years, in Poland, Lithuania, and Greece, the topic of "civil defense" has emerged as one of the most important topics discussed in public spaces. This trend is growing with each passing year. In Poland and Lithuania, this topic is raised in the context of the war taking place in our immediate neighborhood in Ukraine and the floods, while in Greece, it is raised in the context of the fires that have been devastating the country for several years, as well as the specter of a potential armed conflict with Turkey. On the one hand, issues related to civil defense are of great concern to us (as they are inextricably linked to tragic events such as war and natural disasters). On the other hand, we feel "under the skin" that it is time to take responsibility for ourselves, our families, our friends, and our local communities, and not to shirk our own safety and the safety of others around us. Considering the above-mentioned premises, it's not surprising that in the project preference survey in which we (members of our 39-person project group) participated in the first quarter of 2025 (our organizations form a network of 42 organizations that periodically survey their members' project preferences to organize them into project groups implementing joint activities), the topic of civil defense was at the top of the list of topics we would like to explore during a youth exchange program implemented under the Erasmus+ program. This project stems from the fact that, unfortunately, our schools, local authorities, and state authorities (in none of our three countries) have so far provided us with the opportunity to adequately prepare for involvement in civil defense should such a need arise (they have not provided us with the space/opportunity to acquire knowledge and practical skills in the field of civil defense). Therefore, we decided to take matters into our own hands. Participating in the project will allow us to: learn about the realities of civil defense (based on official legal regulations and guidelines in force in our countries), increase awareness of the opportunities and threats arising from participation in civil defense, learn how to prepare for civil defense operations (theory), and test ourselves in situations requiring us to participate in civil defense operations (practice). The goal of our project is to ensure that, upon its completion, we are prepared to participate in civil defense (both psychologically/mentally and organizationally/substantively), knowing how to react in the event of a crisis. We intend to approach the topic of civil defense during the youth exchange comprehensively. Initially, our task will be to acquire theoretical knowledge of civil defense, then we will strive to apply this knowledge during specific activities. Finally, we will share the knowledge and experiences acquired during the youth exchange with our peers and all those we reach with information about the results of our project (during follow-up activities, disseminating the results and successes of our project, and promoting it). During the youth exchange, we will have a unique opportunity to: 1) confront three different "approaches" to the subject of civil defense (Polish, Lithuanian and Greek), 2) develop mechanisms of cooperation within a large international group, which in the future we will also be able to use in activities in the field of civil defense, 3) learn from each other in terms of approaches, knowledge and experiences relating to issues related to civil defense. By participating in the project, we also intend to: 1) develop attitudes of helpfulness, tolerance, openness to other people, self-confidence, determination, courage, 2) develop linguistic competences (especially in the field of communicating in English) and digital competences (using computer programs, social media, using AI), 3) experience cultural knowledge and get rid of stereotypical ways of thinking about other nations, worldviews, customs, traditions, 4) acquire competences in the field of implementing projects under the Erasmus+ program (communication, co-creating a large international group, budget management, conducting evaluation activities, implementing activities within the framework of non-formal education, disseminating and promoting project results, etc.), 5) based on the knowledge and experience gained from participation in this project, climb the hierarchy of our organizations to play even more important roles in them, 6) prepare to act as local leaders acting for the benefit of the local communities in which we live every day, 7) overcome our own limitations, strengthen your strengths.