“Coloured Glasses” refers to the well-known analogy of the sunglasses which represent the cultural filters through which we observe and interpret reality. Everyone is born with sunglasses of a specific color based on the nationality the person was born with. The colored lenses represent our attitudes, beliefs, values and represent our cultural identity, which we are socialized with. All information we perceive go through this cultural filter – the Colored Glasses. Wearing the sunglasses is normal for everyone. We do not even notice it, meaning that the things we are surrounded with certain behaviours and actions are perceived as normal.

In YFU, Coloured Glasses has come to refer to a set of workshops designed to build young people's cultural self-awareness, leading them into cultural understanding by introducing them to the concepts of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination.

“Coloured Glasses”, a concept developed over more than 20 years through several adaptations, involves peer-to-peer learning and is rooted in grassroots volunteerism and community building.