The idea of the “Authentic Path” project was born out of young leaders’ initiative to support young people in the phase of transition from education to employment. Drawing from observations, discussions and our personal experience, we saw a pattern that many young people in their early twenties in the circles of our organizations, facing this transition stage, struggle with mental health issues, largely coming from the lack of direction, uncertainty, failure to find a job that brings a sense of purpose and satisfaction. After more research, we realized that the barriers to the labor market are often linked with the lack of support and preparation from institutions for this transition period, and the employers’ requirements for previous experience and various soft skills that for most people are not taught sufficiently in formal education. This can lead to young people taking entry-level jobs in fields unrelated to their education, particularly in the hospitality industry, where stress levels are high, and job satisfaction is low. These circumstances often contribute to mental health challenges, trapping young people in a cycle that is hard to escape due to financial pressures and societal expectations. Another group of youth, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, remains unemployed. The percentage of youth neither in employment nor education across the EU in 2023 was 12.4% (Eurostat, 2024). This is a significant problem, particularly during a crucial age of identity formation for young people. Negative effects are on the individual level such as prolonged unemployment, social isolation, and persistent mental health challenges, and also on a broader level - social disengagement, economic strain, passive members of society and even increased crime rate. To address these issues and the needs of young people, we aim to create a learning environment where young people are encouraged to cultivate self-awareness and self-knowledge, realize their direction in life, decide the next steps, create a supportive, long-lasting, international community, and gain tools to care for their mental well-being during the times of stress and uncertainty. We want the young people to realize that they are not alone, get inspired to go after their career goals, confidence, develop soft skills, and practical knowledge on how to take care of their mental health. Learning in an intercultural environment will contribute to their intercultural awareness and their sense of belonging to Europe. The specific objectives of this project are defined as follows: *Empower 32 young people with tools, methods, and practices to enhance their self-regulation skills and ability to take care of their long-term mental wellbeing *Enhance young people's self-awareness and understanding of their values and aspirations, empowering them to develop a vision, followed by a practical plan to achieve their career goals *Build an inclusive community of young people, who inspire, support and encourage each other, also beyond the project's timeline *Develop young people’s soft skills such as communication, cooperation, leadership, creativity, resilience, adaptability, cultural awareness and emotional intelligence to increase their confidence and success in their professional and personal lives *Create a series of short-length videos of stories from the lives of young people: the lessons, “aha” moments, or successes that initiated a change of perspective, and can serve as reassurance, inspiration and encouragement for other young people in their transition journey *Raise awareness and interest in the EU opportunities for young people to increase participation and engagement From the youth work perspective, we offer a holistic approach to professional and personal development. We meet the young people where they are, acknowledging the issues that they currently face and support them to create their own story for their future. We various methods, such as storytelling, embodied learning, theater, tools from mindfulness, art therapy and narrative therapy, experiential learning, peer-to-peer learning, group discussions, nature based learning, and others. All those different approaches are brought into the program with active participation and initiative of 6 group leaders and the support of the KALM team, and other stakeholders. The programme is built taking the Kolb Learning Cycle as a backbone, ensuring a quality and experiential learning experience. Moreover, the outputs of the project are concrete and sustainable. We combine local events, the short-form videos on TikTok and Instagram accounts, publications in social media of KALM and partner organizations, articles on the websites and social media, newsletter - all those to reach as many people as possible, raise awareness on EU opportunities, and start a public discussion about support for young people in the school-to-job transition, youth mental health and how to take a better care of it.