An inclusive Franco-German exchange program? It’s possible!
The FGYO is committed to making intercultural exchange programs accessible to as many people as possible. The launch of the “Diversity and Participation” strategy in 2015 marked the beginning of this effort.
Its goal? To encourage the participation of all young people, reflect the diversity of their backgrounds and aspirations, and strengthen inclusion within Franco-German or trilateral exchange programs.
“No one should be left behind”
Inclusion aims to enable everyone to take part in projects, to become fully involved in them, and to help shape their content, regardless of their abilities, interests, or personal circumstances.
Refugee status, gender identity, disability, or geographical distance should never prevent young people from participating in intercultural exchanges.
Programs must adapt to young people, not the other way around. We recognize that it is not always easy to meet everyone’s needs equitably. Adopting a more inclusive approach is, above all, a process of learning and adaptation. Even small adjustments can have a significant impact.
Below you will find useful resources and examples of projects designed to inspire your thinking and guide you in designing more inclusive mobility projects.
Our projects
Since 2024, more than 30 initiatives have been launched through the “Youth Inclusion and Participation” call for proposals.
Act’Art – Celebrating Our Differences
In July 2024, eighteen young people from France and Germany, aged 13 to 17 and from diverse backgrounds, came together to discuss different forms of discrimination. Led by two member organizations of the “Alliance” network, Solidarité Jeunesse Grand Est and Internationale Begegnung in Gemeinschaftsdiensten (IBG), the program encouraged initiative by inviting participants to lead their own projects individually, with support from the staff, and paid special attention to each person’s unique circumstances to strengthen group cohesion.
A daily youth council allowed them to contribute directly to managing the stay and to learn about democratic practices. The group also designed an Escape Game addressing digital discrimination against migrants, participated in an intercultural role-playing game inspired by their personal stories, and worked on creating a play about discrimination experienced in society, developed with the support of a specialist and presented in an intergenerational setting with the public.
When? July 15–30, 2024
Where? Fouday, Alsace
In shape for the Paralympic Games
Inclusive sports were at the heart of this event, which brought together young athletes with and without disabilities. The goal of this project was to highlight each participant’s individual abilities, encourage the participation of young people who typically have limited access to European mobility programs, and strengthen their independence, even when that requires support.
Over the course of a week, the participants explored several inclusive sports—volleyball, boccia, and baskin’—whose rules had been adapted to allow everyone to play together. They explored Paris with a particular focus on the accessibility of venues, ran a booth dedicated to inclusive sports at the 11th arrondissement’s community organizations fair, and took part in a roundtable discussion bringing together decision-makers from the sports and nonprofit sectors.
Project led by the French Cultural Center in Berlin and Peuple et Culture in close cooperation with the sports associations Pfeffersport e.V. and Novosports.
Inkluvista: Building Bridges to Inclusion
The goals of this hybrid project—to be carried out between May and December 2024 by the association Clever – Internationale Bildung e.V. in cooperation with several schools in France and Germany—are to raise young people’s awareness of the diversity of personal experiences and to equip them with skills for active participation, social inclusion, and intercultural understanding.
It is aimed at eighteen young people aged 12 to 15 from both countries, some of whom had never participated in an intercultural exchange before, in order to form a deliberately diverse group. The in-person meeting took place jointly in Strasbourg and Freiburg from November 8 to 14, 2024.
The initiative is based on several activities designed to address these issues in a practical way:
- An awareness workshop on blindness with the blind photographer Silja Korn;
- A visit to the European Parliament;
- Participation in the play “Schattenspringer”;
- A tour of Freiburg focusing on barriers to mobility;
- A workshop on envisioning an inclusive city.
