The idea for the BOSS 2 project stemmed from daily work with young people, but the implementation of the first such project in the Municipality of Draganić and their Elementary School played a crucial role. Although the media often reports, or it is commonly heard in the community, that young people are apathetic and uninterested, our experience indicates that young people desire stronger connections with the community and have a strong will to take action, but in a space that is uniquely theirs (school) and under conditions they choose, as well as to engage in activities that have an immediate effect in the community. Inadequate implementation of Civic Education and the lack of youth involvement in decision-making processes are aggravating factors. Young people lack relevant information and are unaware of the various ways they can get involved, leading to the perception that they are generally uninterested. Moreover, local self-governments do not implement participatory budgeting, further contributing to the alienation of young people from the local community, political participation, and increased passivity. The implementation of the "Participatory Budget within Schools" served as a micro-level tool that can be applied on a macro-level, i.e., at the municipal level. In this way, a method of participation that is generally accepted in some cities is gradually introduced into a small, closed, rural environment. Through the tool of participatory budgeting, young people learned what it means to participate in decision-making, resource allocation, idea implementation, and taking responsibility for these actions. The goal of the project was to empower young people for active participation in decision-making processes in the local community and to encourage dialogue between youth and decision-makers through an innovative method of project development in schools, which will enhance democracy among students and strengthen their sense of responsibility and ownership over the mentioned projects. We achieved the main goal through several specific objectives: - Strengthening democratic skills among young people - Empowering young people to assess needs at micro-locations (in schools) - Enhancing financial, project, entrepreneurial, communication, and presentation skills - Informing young people about the functioning of local self-governments and EU institutions The project included several different activities that contributed to achieving all the objectives: budget analysis from the youth's perspective, implementation of participatory budgeting, simulation of local self-government work with an overview of the EU level, communication and presentation skills workshops, and mini project management. Additionally, young people themselves designed as many as 10 projects as solutions to problems and needs in their community, visited examples of good practice in Draganići, Osijek, and Ilok, met with decision-makers, and organized and conducted the final conference "Youth - Active Citizens" on the position of youth in rural areas. At the same conference, they held a debate on the topic "Lowering the voting age to 16 years". Thus, young people gained knowledge about the functioning of local self-governments and the EU level, skills important for financial literacy, and entrepreneurial skills through the development of ideas/mini projects.