The youth exchange “Create & Grow: NEET Edition” was developed in response to a very concrete need observed by the partner organisations in their daily youth work: many young people from rural areas, especially those who are NEETs (not in education, employment or training), face serious barriers to employability, self-confidence, access to opportunities, and participation in social and economic life. The project was designed in the context of the post-COVID period, when these challenges became even more visible. Young people in rural communities often have fewer job opportunities, less access to career guidance, weaker support networks, and fewer examples of entrepreneurship or self-initiated development around them. For this reason, the consortium wanted to create a youth exchange that would not only discuss unemployment as a problem, but would offer young people practical inspiration, tools, and motivation to become more proactive in shaping their own future. The main idea behind the project was that entrepreneurship education can be a meaningful youth work response to rural youth unemployment and social exclusion. The project did not approach entrepreneurship only in the narrow business sense, but as a broader competence framework that includes initiative, creativity, problem-solving, teamwork, decision-making, self-confidence, and the ability to turn ideas into action. This was especially important for NEET participants, who often need encouragement to recognize their own strengths, believe in their potential, and see that there are alternatives to passively waiting for opportunities to appear. The project therefore aimed to empower participants to become more self-reliant, proactive, and aware of their own capacity to create opportunities for themselves and for their communities. The overall aim of the project was to address the post-COVID employability challenges faced by young people from rural areas, especially NEETs, by fostering an entrepreneurial mindset and equipping them with relevant skills, knowledge and competences. A first major objective of the project was to raise awareness about the employability challenges faced by rural youth and NEETs in different European contexts. Through the exchange, participants were expected to better understand that youth unemployment, lack of access to quality opportunities, and social exclusion are not isolated individual failures, but structural challenges affecting many young people across Europe. By sharing personal stories, comparing local realities, and discussing the national contexts of the partner countries, the project aimed to create a stronger sense of understanding, solidarity, and critical reflection. In this way, the exchange also had a strong educational value from a youth work perspective, as it helped participants name the obstacles they face and reflect on possible responses instead of internalising frustration or disengagement.A second key objective was to promote entrepreneurship as a viable and realistic pathway for young people from rural areas. The project wanted participants to see entrepreneurship not as something distant or reserved only for highly privileged people, but as a possible path for local initiative, self-development, employability, and community improvement. This objective was particularly relevant in rural environments, where formal employment options can be limited and where young people often need alternative approaches in order to remain active and hopeful. The project therefore aimed to introduce entrepreneurship as a tool for empowerment and as a mindset that can help young people identify needs, generate ideas, mobilise resources, and take action. A third objective was to encourage initiative, autonomy and active participation among participants. The consortium wanted the young people involved to leave the exchange feeling more motivated to pursue their own development, whether through entrepreneurship, education, volunteering, youth initiatives, Erasmus+ opportunities, or other forms of engagement. Closely linked to this was the goal of helping participants strengthen important transversal competences such as communication, teamwork, creativity, intercultural understanding, adaptability, and problem-solving. These competences are essential not only for employment, but also for meaningful participation in society.