The Tourism Youth CoOperative project was a 12-month international project in the European Year of Competences 2023, aimed to strengthen non-formal education, personal development and soft competencies of students in the hospitality and tourism sector of partner organisations within the EU. The year-long project was divided into three main phases: preparatory, central and final. Each phase was subordinated to the realisation of the project's main objective - to strengthen the non-formal competencies of the target population - hospitality and tourism students and to promote the EU. The preparatory phase of the project thus focused on the individual work of the students who were pre-selected for the project. The students were provided with background material and based on the background material they prepared an independent analysis of the hospitality and tourism sector in their national contexts. The preliminary independent work strengthened their analytical, digital, multilingual, personal, social and learning competencies. The main event of the project was the International Youth Parliament of students (18 years and older; 18+) in the field of hospitality and tourism. The event aimed to stimulate engagement, participation and the search for proposals and solutions to the current challenges facing the hospitality and tourism sector in the post-civil war era among the target population of students and future professionals in the field of hospitality and tourism. In order to stimulate debates, we have chosen three topical issues: labour market challenges, digitalisation and sustainable development. At the same time, the basic idea of parliamentarisation reinforces the soft transferable competencies of students (communication in local and foreign languages; networking, event organisation competences; working independently and as part of a team; stress and time management; strategic planning, innovative thinking, problem-solving competences; intercultural cooperation), which are identified as key competences for the future of the hospitality and tourism sector (EHL edu, 2022; VSGT Maribor's own research, 2022). As part of the main event, the students prepared a Manifesto - a joint statement, which was later presented to decision-makers in the field of hospitality and tourism and education for hospitality and tourism professions. This reinforced participants' European identity, the participation of young people in shaping decisions that are important for their professional and personal future, and the competence of multilingualism. At the end of this phase, students also assessed their progress in developing all competencies and were awarded a Youth Skills Passport indicating the competencies they had acquired. The third phase was dedicated to disseminating the project and its results and promoting the Youthpass Competence Passport. The project was presented as an example of good practice and soft skills building among students of hospitality and tourism schools at five international meetings/events (Luxembourg, Ireland, Serbia, Italy and Lithuania) and two national meetings/events (Luxembourg, Italy and Lithuania). The project aimed to contribute, in a broader European and national context, to a twofold contribution: a more robust and flexible hospitality and tourism economy and a more flexible education in the field of hospitality and tourism professions. Firstly, the Youth Collaboratory project has thus contributed to strengthening the image of the hospitality and tourism professions and to a faster recovery of the hospitality and tourism sector in the post-covenant times, when it needs to look towards a sustainable and digital future together with an empowered and professionally best-trained workforce. Secondly, the project has opened up avenues and avenues of vision for the network of hospitality and tourism schools, which have become aware of alternative ways to strengthen the informal transferable competences of students. During the dissemination of the project, especially at national level, the project was also presented as an example of good practice in the field of all vocational colleges. This achieved an unexpected objective of the project - to contribute to the interdisciplinarity of higher vocational education and the cooperation of hospitality and tourism education with other fields of education (multimedia communications, health, economics and telecommunications, transport, etc.).