Europe is currently experiencing rapid demographic change that is leading to a structural change in population and its place on the space. Urbanization has now reached its historical highs while rural areas are slowly losing their strategic importance. A characteristic feature of European rural areas is their economic, environmental and social diversity. While some of them have excellent socioeconomic results, higher than those of neighbouring urban areas, others have to face depopulation, demographic aging, high-rates of poverty, land abandonment and consequential environmental degradation. The same Council of the Regions calls on the Member States to increase public awareness and policy makers' awareness of the diversity of rural areas, their potential and resources, and their importance for the conservation of European heritage, both from an environmental point of view that from the cultural one. It is essential to think about new models of sustainable development that protect the environmental resources present in rural areas and at the same time create new conditions for employment in these areas. Young people are often unconsciously involved in these dynamics and tend to run away from rural areas with the idea that they have nothing to offer. In 2017, the share of young people (aged 18 to 24 years) in the EU-28 neither in employment nor in education or training stood at 10.9 %. An analysis by degree of urbanisation reveals that the NEETs rate for rural areas (11.4 %) was higher than that recorded for cities (10.3 %). According to Eurostat (2017), the highest NEETs rate for rural areas was recorded in Bulgaria (27.2 %), followed by Italy (20%). NEETs rate in rural areas in Poland was around 20% in 2017. In Croatia, youth unemploymentwas over 30% in 2017. Sint Maarten’s youth unemployment rate (23.8%) in 2017 have significantly risen following the hurricane of September 2017. “RE-Thinking Rural Areas” (RE-TRA) is a project, which aims to: - promote the protection and enhancement of the environmental heritage of rural areas; - involve young people in the process of upgrading marginal areas with a view to sustainable development; - develop environmental awareness and sustainable entrepreneurial perspectives and set up a path of dialogue and exchange between young Europeans through hiking and outdoor activities, educational firm visits and other NFE methodologies.