The project “Active Rural Youth Now – Changemakers of Tomorrow” was designed as a response to the pressing need to empower young people from rural and underdeveloped areas across Europe. Our overarching aim was to strengthen their capacity for active civic participation by equipping them with a changemaker mindset, defined by the Ashoka network as a set of essential 21st-century skills including empathy, leadership, collaboration, problem-solving, and entrepreneurship. These are further complemented in our project by green skills and digital literacy, reflecting the EU’s Green Deal and Digital Education Action Plan, as well as the growing importance of sustainability and digital competence in the youth sector. The project sought to foster social inclusion, intercultural understanding, and democratic engagement in communities that often remain under the radar of mainstream youth development policies. Youth in rural areas frequently face structural challenges — from limited access to education and employment to poor infrastructure and a lack of inclusive youth services. As recognized in the EU Youth Strategy (2019–2027), young people in rural and remote areas are often at a disadvantage, and it is crucial to create opportunities that reduce these disparities and empower them to participate fully in society. Originally planned as a collaboration between Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, and Spain, the project underwent a strategic change during implementation: Croatia replaced Greece as a partner. This modification was made in response to contextual similarities between rural youth in Croatia and the rest of the participating countries, ensuring the project retained its thematic cohesion and relevance. Croatian youth brought comparable perspectives on rural challenges such as migration, depopulation, and lack of access to youth infrastructure, which enriched the dialogue and outcomes of the exchange. The central activity of the project was the youth exchange held in the Serbian village of Dojkinci (Pirot municipality), located within the Stara Planina Nature Park — an emblematic setting that represents both the challenges and possibilities of rural revitalization. Once nearly abandoned, the village has recently seen new life through grassroots initiatives like the restoration of a mountain lodge that now serves as a youth and community space. This real-life example of local changemaking made Dojkinci an ideal location for the project, immersing participants in the lived experience of rural regeneration and environmental stewardship. The exchange brought together 20 young people (aged 15+) from Serbia, Spain, Bulgaria, and Croatia, with diverse social, cultural, and educational backgrounds. Through non-formal education, experiential learning, and peer collaboration, the participants explored shared values and challenges related to youth inclusion, civic engagement, and the sustainability of rural areas. They worked together on generating ideas and prototypes that could improve rural youth participation and addressed common issues such as isolation, lack of opportunities, and youth migration to urban centers. The specific objectives of the project were: To improve changemaker skills and attitudes of young people in the context of active citizenship, particularly by focusing on inclusion of rural youth and fostering intercultural dialogue; To raise awareness among youth about the urgency of engaging with socially and environmentally relevant issues that affect their communities; To support and promote alternative forms of youth participation in decision-making, and to encourage local stakeholders (municipalities, schools, civil society) to adopt more inclusive models of governance that reflect the motto of the EU Youth Strategy: “Engage, Connect, Empower.”