The project Generation Europe - The Academy (GenE-A) aims to foster and develop the topics of Active Citizenship, Democracy, Human Right and European Identity in 16 European countries and among different layers of the civic society. The Network of GenE-A consists of 15 German organisations, 6 Italian, 2 Portuguese, 4 Spanish, 2 Greek, a Lithuanian, a Danish, 2 Romanian, 2 Swedish, 4 Polish, an Estonian, a Finnish, 2 Hungarian, a French, an Ukrainian and a Belarusian ones. In particular, GenE-A focuses on youngsters between the ages 14 and 30 and it involves more than 45 organisations for the period 2021-2025. The project is organised in 3 phases : 1 year of preparation (2021), 3 years of implementation (2022-2024) 1 year of evaluation(2025). During the three years implementation phase the organisations are working in trilateral partnerships implementing local youth work and annual youth encounters in every partnership. Over the course of the project, 45 youth encounters are implemented reaching more than 400 young people with diverse backgrounds. For years, within the EU, but also beyond its borders, there has been a rise of right-wing movements in society and, at the same time, a disengagement of (young) people not only from the politics but also from the civil society and the public debate. In the context of IBB’s previous projects (ewoca, Pimp my Europe Generation Europe – Young Democracy in Action,), it became clear that many young people, especially those who are less successful in the formal education system and often come from less advantaged families, describe themselves as apolitical. GenE-A creates opportunities for participation on local and European level, empowering especially young people from lower income families, with less success in the formal educational system or experiences of discrimination, and a history of migration or flight. Through the project, each participant is involved in a long-term experience that includes international and local activities and empowers the young people to be multipliers for social change and to work towards solving problems in their local communities. For its duration, the main focus is on problems identified by youths on the local level, which are then discussed and connected with democratic methods on the European level. In a practical, non-formal way, the participants experience that democracy is more than parliamentarianism and involvement with political parties. Through the establishment of the Ambassador Network, former participants from European projects are also trained as youth work professionals. In the long term, this is intended to promote more diversity in the staff structures of youth organisations on the one hand, and to counteract the shortage of skilled workers on the other by retaining young people in the organisation through career options. The active and strategic lobbying of the GenE-A Network also increases the visibility of (international) youth work, opens up new perspectives for funding European projects and aims to improve funding conditions at regional, national and European level. Objectives: EMPOWERMENT OF YOUNG EUROPEANS GenE-A focuses on a practical approach that connects the daily reality of young people with European politics (act local – connect European - think global) in order to reach and engage the target group that is perceived as distant and politically disengaged. It creates a common understanding and identification with Europe and European values. QUALITY DEVELOPMENT OF YOUTH WORK Staff mobilities creates moments of exchange for professionals and broadening horizons among youth workers. Through regular exchanges, youth workers can share their expertise and learn from each other as well as consult each other. This leads to a growing expertise and better quality YW and as a further impact also in their organisations. However, the project does not only improve the direct work environment of the professionals, but also aims for sustainable change at the political level. MAKE YOUTH WORK VISIBLE Young people with fewer opportunities often miss out on offers of international mobility and political education because of barriers and a limited amount of options. The few existing offers are additionally often not visible to them. GenE-A succeeds in reaching the young people through cooperation with youth centres and YW organisations that already work with the target group, as well as using the opportunity to introduce the young people to other offers that are less visible but also suitable. The work of GenE-A is continuously promoted and shared on channels that the youths follow, such as social media. Participants are encouraged and empowered to be multipliers of AEC and to inform and inspire their peers outside the project. The project additionally creates a bridge between politics and reality by maintaining a good connection with funding organisations and politicians, thus helping to make the reality of European youth