SDGS Change Makers

The Youth Exchange “SGDs: Change Makers” wants to introduce the subject of Sustainable Development to young people and make them think and act about SDG's, in order to make them happen. The project will involve 6 countries. Each group will be composed by 6 people, 5 youngsters (between 18 to 22 years old) and 1 leader. The Portuguese group will have 2 leaders. In total there will be 37 participants in the youth exchange that will take place from 4 to 17 August 2026.

During this time, the young people will take part in several activities of non-formal learning linked to the Sustainable Development Goals, in which we want to explore each of the 17 goals and the question of sustainability in all its areas. There will be activities like work groups, ateliers, sport activities, cultural visits, volunteering actions and a street action, regarding the Goals (eg. Poverty, Health, Education, Equality and Inclusion, Environment, etc).

The young people will have the chance to know the local community and to have contact with the Portuguese culture and habits and share at the same time their own culture with the other members of the group.

In the end of the youth exchange we hope that the young people become more aware of their role in the society and about the importance of Intercultural Dialogue to reach one more sustainable World from all to all. We also hope that this can be the beginning of several individual and group projects in each participant home town in order to contribute to the achievements of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Participants:
Each Group: 5 youngsters + 1 leader

5 youngsters (3 boys + 2 girls/2 boys + 3 girls) between 18-22 years old

1 leader from each country, 2 from Portugal (the leader of the group doesn’t have an age limit but must be the same in the Advance Planning Visit (APV) and in the youth Exchange and must have experience in participation in previous youth exchanges) and good level of English.

Each group must include at least 5 participants with fewer opportunities (cultural differences, economic obstacles, educational difficulties, geographical obstacles, refugees, social obstacles.). The group leader must provide this info to ProAtlântico before the APV.

The participants in the youth exchange are supposed to have between18 and 22 years old. In case some partner wants to include some participant with a different age, it must ask in advance and present a justification because ProAtlântico needs to ask to the Portuguese National Agency for their agreement. In case the participant is less than 18 years old and we get the agreement from the Portuguese National Agency, the leader of the group will be responsible for the minor and must bring a declaration signed by their legal representatives that assure that they agree they take part in the youth exchange and that the person responsible for the participant is the leader of the group.