"The scale of human suffering and forced displacement caused by the war in Ukraine faced Europe with the largest refugee crisis of the century. The situation is opening old wounds for WB countries that are still recovering from a legacy of war crimes and ethnic divisions. A deeper understanding of collective trauma faced by the WB population could help build resilience of European CSOs working with youth in the context of the current humanitarian crisis.The EU-CARES project aims to address collective trauma and support reconciliation process among young people from war affected countries through storytelling techniques fostering active participation, constructive dialogue and critical thinking. The recognition of different narratives and creation of new collective ones as a holistic method for fostering youth engagement, esp. among displaced youth, will raise the capacity of youth CSOs to mainstream peace-building best practices.Main activities:• Collection of best practices and exploration of main narratives on WB conflicts;• Think Tanks involving 176 young people, representatives of local authorities, educational institutions and stakeholders;• International Training Course for 40 youth workers on using storytelling to help youth understand trauma and explore resilient community building;• Local storytelling workshops for 120 young people with production of a storytelling catalogue;• Final round table conferences and a storytelling exhibition encouraging networking and dialogue.Expected results:• Measured improvements in youth workers and young people’s emotional, creative and social skills, i.e. active participation and conflict resolution;• Raised awareness on human rights, reconciliation and collective trauma related to WB societies;• Consolidated European collective identity with opened transnational and intergenerational dialogues.Main outputs:• Virtual Handbook;• E-toolkit with Operational Curriculum;• “We are all stories"" catalo"