YEU was founded in Strasbourg in August, 1986 by a group of 120 young people from 11 different countries and since 1989 it has been recognized as a member association of the European Coordination Bureau (E.C.B.). Today we are member in the European Youth Forum in Brussels and considered by the CoE & the EU as an INGYO. That was a result of 4-year cooperation witch started in Germany in 1983 with the first international meeting with participants from 8 countries. Today we in our network member and partner organisations spread over more then 30 countries from all Europe and Northern Africa involved in our activities. The main aim of the Youth for Exchange and Understanding is to promote peace, understanding and co-operation between the young people of the world, in a spirit of respect for human rights. To achieve these YEU will thus provide activities to foster closer co-operation and better understanding among the young people of the world, both between and within continents, particularly by encouraging the exchange of information; to stimulate mutual aid in the developed and the developing countries for cultural, educational and social purposes; to encourage the interdenominational exchange of ideas and opinions; to improve the relationships among young people of countries with differing political systems; to work together on issues affecting people and their environment. YEU looks forward to increase tolerance and awareness between different countries, cultures and traditions, and to promote a greater level of comprehension through the development of youth exchanges, seminars, conventions, meetings, study visits, training courses, and working groups for investigation, studying and analysis of youth concerns/themes, educative manuals, between other activities of educational nature.

YEU is a member in the European Youth Forum in Brussels and considered by the Council of Europe and the European Union as an international non governmental youth organisation. YEU in their twenty one year of experience in the youth field have worked mainly in organizing International Youth Exchanges and training courses to youth workers and youth leaders that are organizing International youth exchanges dealing with the topics of intercultural education, human rights education, European citizenship and youth participation among other relevant issues for youth in general. During these years YEU have organized and helped their member to implement around 8 to 10 International youth exchanges and training courses per year.

In the years of 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 YEU International implemented the following projects in the fields covered by the project:

Year of 2004
International Youth Exchange: “Marginalised People: Equal Opportunity and Integration " (17th to 24th of October, Malta) – Participants learned about the meaning of marginalisation and tried to identify the marginalised groups in our countries; Visited marginalised groups in Malta (prison, possibly refugee camp, underprivileged people), and worked together bringing the ideas how we can help those people benefit from equal opportunities and to integrate them within society.
International Youth Seminar: “Creating of Training Module for Distributing Non-Formal Education Based on Eastern Europeans countries” (4th – 11th Baku, Azerbaijan) – The event was organized for young people who will came from different eastern European countries to create the Training Module to use it for the Non-Formal Education in Eastern European countries; one of the aims the organizers achieved was to educate young teachers to use methodology of non-formal education.

Year of 2005
Training Course “Creative Organizer – Organizing Youth Exchanges for a Culture of Peace” (27th of February to 8th of March CEULAJ – Centro Eurolatinoamericano de Juventud, Mollina – Spain) – Our main aim was to continue develop the cooperation between Mediterranean and European Union YEU Member Organizations and Partners especially by providing quality trainings for multipliers, that empowered them to be able to plan and implement programmes with a strong intercultural learning via intercultural and religious dialogue in order to promote a Culture of Peace in a relevant interaction with the local communities. We expected developing young people who are in a position to act as "multipliers". These opportunities were based on a philosophy of participation, democracy & intercultural exchange and had the ambition to build an open and just European society for all. In this spirit, experiences and the results of this specific international training course can be used all over Europe, especially in the Mediterranean region by young people active in their organizations work.
Training Course “Creative Leadership – Training on Organizational Management and Networking” (27th of February to 9th of March CEULAJ – Centro Eurolatinoamericano de Juventud, Mollina – Spain) - Training and empowering participants to develop Skills, Attitudes and Knowledge to manage Youth Organizations and network to organize Youth Exchanges..
International Youth Exchange: “Clash or Integration of our Civilizations?" (25th to 31st of August Madrid, Spain) – To promote intercultural contact between participants; to develop empathy, understanding and respect about difference.
International Youth Exchange: “Inclusion of the excluded” (15th to 24th of September Poznan, Poland)– intercultural work with orphanage children” – The sub theme of the project was the intercultural learning and active participation in society as modes of social inclusion. The sub theme refered to the second phase of the project that employed several methods of intercultural learning and supported participants’ active participation in the work with orphanage youngsters.
International Youth Exchange: “Europe without borders: Integration through mobility” (23rd to 30th of September Birstonas, Lithuania) – To discuss & identify what is the importance of mobility on the European level by stressing the value of equal opportunities in the integrating Europe. The project examined the concept and the role of mobility throughout the historical context and its importance for European integration.

Year of 2006
Training Course: “How to organize Youth Exchanges for a Culture of Peace” (13rd to 20th March CEULAJ – Centro Eurolatinoamericano de Juventud Mollina, Spain) – To continue develop the cooperation between member, partner & other youth organization providing quality trainings for multipliers that empowers them to be able to plan & implement programmes.
Training Course:“Organizational Management & Networking” (13rd to 20th March CEULAJ – Centro Eurolatinoamericano de Juventud Mollina, Spain) – Training and empowering participants to develop Skills, Attitudes and Knowledge to manage Youth Organizations and network to organize Youth Exchanges.
International Youth Seminar:“Active Citizen – You can make a change!” (1st to 7th of September Vilnius - Lithuania)- To promote active citizenship, raise awareness about the complexity of being a self aware, responsible citizen nowadays and provide opportunities for personal development and greater contribution to communities and society in general.
International Youth Exchange: “Cultural minorities in contemporary Europe” (15th to 25th of September Trakai, Lithuania) – To focus on the national minorities, its integration into societies, communities, to discuss about their problems.
International Youth Exchange: “Myself in Society” (27th September to 4th October Valetta, Malta) – It was directed to the young people needs and expectation for the society they lives.

Year of 2007
Training Course"Creative Organizer – Training Course on Organizing Youth Exchanges for Promotion of Respect for Cultural Diversity” (11th to 18th February Mollina, Spain)- aims to continue to encourage & enable young people to participate in building peaceful societies based on diversity & inclusion, in a spirit of respect, tolerance & mutual understanding.
Training for leaders of NYGO “Creative Leadership – Training on Intercultural Leadership and Communication” (11th to 18th February Mollina, Spain)- aims to improve the skills and knowledge in leadership, organizational management and communication for the organization of Youth Exchanges and other actions of the Youth in Action Programme.
International Youth Exchange: “Media is a keyhole! Let's open the door!"( 1st to 13 March, Estonia)
Training Course "Culture animation in social inclusion projects - how to organize an effective exchange with disadvantaged youth"(13th to 22nd April Poznan, Poland) it was addressed to YEU MOs who is willing to develop projects regarding social inclusion issues and who wants to work with disadvantaged youth.
Study Session "Methods and practices for Facilitators dealing with intercultural and inter-religious dialogue in international youth exchanges".(13th -20th May Strasbourg, France) Of the main purpose of this study session is to capacitate facilitators with methods and practices to encourage intercultural and interreligious dialogue
International Youth Convention: “You and me in Europe” (1st to 19th August Azerbaijan)– young people participation promoting the role of youth organizations aims to provide comfortable atmosphere among participants where they can explore European integration processes; become aware of European citizenship & explore tools to deal with those processes positively.

Year of 2007
Training for trainers in Global Education (20th to 27th October Mollina, SPAIN) -To prepare trainers to work in non-formal context within a global perspective once that this activity is the main annual youth meeting where young leaders from different continents get together to participate in different activities and in some shared ones. The University is organized by the Council of Europe North South Centre together with the European Youth Forum, the Spanish Youth Institute, the Eurolatinamerican Youth Forum among others.