The youth councils in Alavus and Affligem applied in 2015 for a grant for two youth exchanges for the following year. Alavus and Affligem are going to be co-operative towns sometime in the near future, so the youth council of Alavus thought it would be useful to get to know the Affligem youth council so that the future co-operation bond between the towns would enforce. The youth workers in both towns were in charge of the groups' logistical matters. They took responsibility over their own groups, that responsibility covered the travelling and checking the participants' insurances. The youth themselves organised everything else, including all of the program and this application/report. Both councils suggested their ideas and further planning (dates, places, leaders, rules) was made by the youth. All of the ideas were checked by the leaders who made sure that every activity was well planned before the exchange and that they were connected to the main purpose of the entire project. We have had a preparatory meeting with the Affligem youth council back in 2014. Two of Alavus' youth council members, who were mostly in charge of the grant application, traveled to Affligem and met with the belgian youth council members about one year before the exchanges were started. The first exchange was the Alavus youth council exchange from Finland to Affligem in Belgium during the 4.-10.5.2016. During this time the Affligem youth council organised different types of free-time activities for the Alavus youth council and taught them the Belgian way of life from a youngster's point of view. The activities included for example visits to popular youth hang-out places. The group leaving from Finland consisted of 16 youth council member aged 14-19 and two leading adults. The other exchange was the Affligem youth council to Alavus during the 31.7.-7.8.2016. During that time it was the Alavus youth council's turn to organise the activities of the Belgian youth council members. The activities were similar but from the finnish youth's point of view. From Belgium there were 17 youth council members aged 17-24 and one leading adult. Nowadays globalization has made it possible to touch the outer corners of Europe and the world. Large amounts of information are to be used but especially for the youth it's quite difficult to go any further than what the internet brings them. They either don't have the resources, time or possibilities to travel in different countries. During the exchange project we created long lasting friendships between youth who have different outlooks in life. We learnt their culture, their way of life. This project made it possible to exchange knowledge and life philosophies, to see and experience what really is beyond Alavus or Affligem. In addition we learned about the work of another youth council, the pro's and con's of Finnish/Belgian approach on youth, but also the difficulties that the local youth faces in their young lives. The project was informative, educational and unforgettable experience that expanded every participants' life philosophy. Because both of the organisations were youth council, they swapped ideas and channels of communal influencing with each other. This enforced the different council's will to improve their own working in their town to further improve their town's youth's position on a communal level. In the future this will directly affect the town's youth's to be heard in conversations about their future. Youth councils are in both towns a big part in organising activities for the youth. When we combine two different council and their totally different ways of working, as a result we get a lot of new ideas and ways to solve difficult situations, for example how different councils convince the decision-makers of the youth being a valuable source of opinions and individual voices. By making a change in the other council's work, might the other one take and make those innovative renewments and use them to further enhance their ways of working. A snowball-effect is created and the influence might be seen in other councils apart from Alavus' and Affligem's. By taking the other council's cue on their practices and ways of communal influencing, we create two similar youth council in two different locations in Europe, making our Europe more united.