Berlin is a city where people from many nations are at home. That is why intercultural competence is an important factor for democratic coexistence.
International youth work makes an important contribution here. It contributes to an understanding with other countries and to promoting tolerance and understanding towards other cultures and towards strangers. By participating in international youth exchanges, children and young people can gain experience with their contemporaries in other countries and with foreign guests at home.
They will learn to better reflect on their social and personal situation in life and to reduce their own prejudices. Exchanges between young people from different countries and cultures convey knowledge about language, history, social conditions and cultural customs, so that the everyday life of people living in foreign countries can be experienced.
International youth exchanges have a long tradition in extracurricular youth education. They are a suitable instrument to take into account the expectations of mobility and international experience with which young people are confronted. Disadvantaged young people should in particular have the same opportunities to take part in international youth exchanges.
