The KA1 project, part of "Generation Europe - The Academy" (GenE-A), aims to enhance youth work structures and engage disadvantaged youths locally and across Europe. It focuses on active citizenship, democratic awareness, human rights, and European identity, addressing these topics at various civil society levels in participating countries. The project's educational concept is based on the triad "act local – connect European – think global," ensuring all activities are interlinked to support these aims. The GenE-A network includes 13 German, five Italian, two Portuguese, four Spanish, two Greek, one Lithuanian, two Romanian, two Swedish, four Polish, one Estonian, one Finnish, two Hungarian, one French, and one Ukrainian organization. The project targets young people aged 14 to 27, involving over 42 organizations across Europe from 2021-2025. GenE-A is divided into three phases: preparation in 2021, implementation with the target group from 2022-2024, and evaluation in 2025. During the second phase, participating organizations work in tri-national partnerships, combining local work with annual youth exchanges, linking local action and European integration. Through 12 youth encounters, over 800 mobility activities have been conducted by young people from diverse backgrounds. Based on IBB e.V.'s previous projects, empirical educational sociological findings show that young people with fewer opportunities are less involved in civic engagement and often see themselves as apolitical. GenE-A addresses this by creating diverse participation spaces at local and European levels, empowering young people, especially those disadvantaged by economic, educational, or social barriers. Participants engage in a long-term process of local and international activities, acquiring meta-skills through social learning, enabling them to become multipliers for European civic engagement and initiate local change. The pedagogical design supports participants in identifying and discussing local problems, combining these discussions with democratic education methods in a non-formal learning setting. The project also includes an ambassador network of former participants who receive special support and training. This network encourages participants to take on civil society responsibilities and develop skills to work as youth leaders, diversifying the organizations. The ambassador network embodies a peer-to-peer learning approach, where active young people inspire their peers to get involved. Strategically, GenE-A aims to lobby for international youth work, increasing its visibility to improve funding conditions at local, national, and European levels. The lobbying process empowers young Europeans for political and civic engagement, enhances the professional development of youth workers through mobility activities, and raises awareness of international youth work, particularly among disadvantaged youth who are often overlooked by other projects. By partnering with youth centers and organizations already working with disadvantaged youth, GenE-A aims to reach its target group effectively. Media coverage on various social media channels further promotes the project to the target audience. Through these objectives, GenE-A connects real political levels with the living environments of young Europeans and stakeholders, enabling sustainable support for young people across Europe.