Lead the Way focused on the professional development of youth workers and our partner organisations by developing their leadership competencies (self-confidence, resilience, connecting with others, managing change, effective communication, initiative, etc). We developed a unique project that not only trained youth workers direct leadership competencies but also supported them to manage the difficulties of the 'youth worker job' (high stress, frequent changes, rejection, overwhelm, lack of support, etc), and included leadership in their work with disadvantaged youngsters. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many experienced professionals had to transition to different fields to make ends meet, leaving a vacuum that young youth workers are now filling (leading organisations and supporting their target groups). While the responsibilities and demand for youth work activities increased, there is a crucial skills gap as the necessary support and training to manage different levels of challenges hasn't been there. Most NGOs feel that the reality often feels like a never-ending fight against a windmill, that there is already a lot to do, yet new changes keep coming our way (either on organisation, local or European levels). Unfortunately, not all of them manage. We have seen capable NGOs shutting down, youth workers experiencing burnout or quitting the field and believing that it’s impossible to manage all this. Project idea was rooted in the belief that effective youth work and leadership requires more than just good intentions; there needs to be suitable skills training and support provided. Youth workers have many roles and wear different hats that often go beyond working with young people and their area of competence. Yet youth work would not be possible without competencies in team leadership, managing change, organizational management and running the NGO. Thus, we focused on developing youth workers all-around leadership competencies and providing tools, techniques and know-how for managing the difficulties of the job. Additionally, the training in stress management, resilience, dealing with unexpected and handling fear provides long-lasting support which reduces their risk of burnout. We focused on 5 levels: 1)Developing the leadership skills of youth workers to be resilient, manage change, solve problems, inspire and innovate. 2)Increasing the working capacity of NGOs by equipping their youth workers with stress management techniques, and providing tools on effective organizational management. 3)Increase their target groups' active participation and employment by training their leadership competencies and offering them varied learning opportunities. 4)Support the overall involvement of youth facing fewer opportunities by increasing the supply of high-quality youth work activities. 5)Improve the quality of youth work by developing a toolkit on managing the multiple sides of youth work reality. The objectives of this project are: - to support the professional development of 32 youth workers (31% facing fewer opportunities) by developing their leadership competencies; - to increase the organizational capacity of 8 NGOs from Latvia, Ukraine, Czechia, Greece, Netherlands, Portugal, Bulgaria and Germany; - to contribute to improving the overall quality of youth work by developing a toolkit on managing the multiple sides of youth work reality; - to establish a supportive community among youth workers, encouraging collaboration, innovation, and exchange of tools and methods between the involved organizations; - to share leadership practices through 7 dissemination events; - to spread the gained knowledge by writing 8 articles and creating 8 videos; - to evaluate the project through 32 Youthpasses & Questionnaires This project links to the objectives of the Erasmus+: 1)Learning Mobility and Professional Development: It directly supports the professional development of youth workers by enhancing their leadership skills, addressing a critical area of need for effective youth work. 2) Non-Formal and Informal Learning: The project uses non-formal and informal learning methodologies, such as experiential learning and outdoor activities, to develop leadership competencies among youth workers. 3) Active Participation and Capacity Building: The project encourages active participation and engagement among youth workers, empowering them to take on more significant roles within their organizations and communities. 4) Development of Local Youth Work Practices: By equipping youth workers with tools and practices from the TC, we ensure real impact on their regular work. 5) Quality, Inclusion, and Innovation: By focusing on leadership development, we aim to improve the quality of youth work, fostering innovative practices that can be applied across different organizational contexts. 6) Community Building among Youth Workers - creating a supportive network