 One of the most challenging and exciting parts of long-term cooperation partnerships is the intercultural aspect that comes with the diversity of partners. It involves differences in personal and working culture, national or regional culture, and also national agency's working culture. And it is an important condition for learning and capacity building. The diversity of countries, partners, expertise and backgrounds add to the quality of the project. However, it can also be counterproductive when it creates tension, confusion and unsolved conflicts. What level of diversity can the partnership handle and how do you deal with it? What good does diversity bring to a partnership project? It provides opportunities to learn from things that are new, different or unusual. Diversity in a consortium has the potential to bring quality and a broad range of sharing expertise and experiences. Partners can learn from how things are done by various partners in various countries by forms, protocols and contracts that are used. They can get inspired by each other and increase awareness of the European youth work contents they're working in. When building a partnership, it is useful to clarify from the start what specific team competence you need or want. Cultural diversity is also challenging. It questions our routines. It touches differences in work ethics. But it also deals with different laws and unwritten rules. It creates ambiguity and uncertainty. And that is, in combination with the distance, sometimes quite difficult to manage. Allow some time to discuss with the partners how you are going to manage risks and possible conflicts due to intercultural differences and what you can do to minimize risks. So, how do you deal with the intercultural aspect of these partnerships and minimize frustration and tensions? The most obvious answer is you discuss this issue when developing the idea. It is good to do more than talk about content-related and rational aspects of the project. You can discuss intercultural aspects as well. Aim to achieve agreements on how you'll communicate possible upcoming challenges in the project. Discuss ways in which you will deal with disagreements and conflicts. Reflect on what is important to you and what to others. Do they match? If not, it is better to find out these answers before you submit the project proposal as you might need time to search for new partners. When you are new to the field, that already brings uncertainty. Figure out how much more ambiguity or diversity you can handle. Experienced partners might challenge themselves more in these types of projects and go for a broader diversity within their consortium. On a practical level, there are many ways to work with diversity in your partnership. Make sure to be transparent and make others understand why things are important to you. What are the things that are difficult but acceptable? And where do you draw the line? What is acceptable for you and what is not? When communication is already challenging because of cultural diversity, be aware of the communication channels you use in order to minimize misunderstandings and tensions. Conflicts can be good learning opportunities when you know how to deal with them. Again, be clear about which steps you will take to deal with conflicts. Intercultural aspects have a huge impact on your personal, professional and project development. To make the best out of it, just make sure you are all on the same page.