By implementing Bridging, Breaking Barriers, we wanted to respond to the persistent realities of gender inequality and hate speech affecting young people in both the MENA and EU regions. These challenges continue to restrict young people’s access to opportunities, reinforce harmful stereotypes and deepen exclusion, particularly for young women and youth with diverse identities. These issues are further intensified by digital spaces, which can amplify prejudice and silence open dialogue. The project used youth work as a tool to empower youth workers to become active agents of change in their communities. By bringing together youth workers, youth leaders, educators, volunteers and activists active in youth work from different regional contexts, we created a shared space for collaborative learning, exchange and networking. The training allowed participants to exchange good practices, learn digital advocacy strategies, strengthen their leadership skills and engage in intercultural dialogue. Ultimately, Bridging, Breaking Barriers aimed to amplify voices that are often sidelined and to unlock the potential of youth work and youth-led action. The project equipped youth workers to confront hate speech, advocate for more inclusive practices and challenge entrenched gender norms within their communities. Specifically, we targeted the following objectives: 01/ Strengthen youth advocacy skills on gender and inclusion, by developing the technical and interpersonal competences needed to confront hateful gender rhetoric and address systemic gender disparities. 02/ Strengthen youth workers’ capacity to contribute to inclusive policy dialogue by helping them analyse the needs of young people affected by gender inequality, LGBTQI+ exclusion and hate speech, and by supporting them to formulate practical recommendations for relevant stakeholders such as formal education institutions, civil society organisations, governments, big tech companies and social media platforms. 03/ Explore the GAMMMA+ model to foster reflection on the prevalence of online hate speech, especially gender-related hate speech, and to upskill youth workers with creative approaches to develop digital counter-narrative campaigns. 04/ Facilitate the exchange of effective support mechanisms and resources for vulnerable youth, especially those experiencing gender-based discrimination, so that youth workers can better identify signs of exclusion, provide appropriate guidance and connect young people with specialised services where needed. 05/ Build sustainable networks of cooperation between youth-focused organisations in MENA and EU countries, recognising that stronger cooperation can increase the impact of advocacy and inclusion work.