The CoDes – Innovative Strategies to Combat Youth Depopulation project was born from the urgent need to respond to a phenomenon that severely affects many rural communities in Europe and the Euro-Mediterranean region: the constant loss of young people who migrate to larger cities or even abroad in search of better opportunities. From the perspective of youth work practice, this reality poses a double challenge: on the one hand, the difficulty of maintaining services, projects and activities for young people in territories where their numbers are steadily declining; and on the other, the need to create attractive environments that encourage young people to stay, grow and contribute to their community. Through this project, we aim to empower youth workers, local decision-makers and community actors to become key agents of transformation. Our main objective is to strengthen their capacities and equip them with innovative tools that will allow them to design strategies against youth depopulation adapted to their local contexts. These strategies will include approaches such as rural entrepreneurship, digitalisation, youth participation in public life, the green economy, and the promotion of culture and local identity. From the perspective of youth work practice, CoDes pursues several concrete objectives: To improve the quality of youth work in rural areas, incorporating innovative methodologies that address the real needs of young people. To promote the exchange of international good practices, so that successful experiences in one country can inspire solutions in another. To strengthen the role of youth workers as mediators between young people, local authorities and communities, ensuring that young people’s voices are included in local decision-making. To train participants in the design of European projects (Erasmus+, European Solidarity Corps, Horizon, CERV), creating a framework for continuity beyond the seminar. To generate strong alliances among organisations from nine countries that share the same challenge, increasing the transnational impact of youth work. The project also aims to revalue the role of youth work in rural areas. For too long, most innovation and opportunities have been concentrated in urban settings. CoDes seeks to place villages, small towns and peripheral regions at the heart of the European agenda, showing that there too we can find talent, creativity and capacity for innovation. Ultimately, our goal is that youth workers and their organisations gain new competences, methodologies and support networks that allow them to better accompany the young people in their communities. In this way, opportunities for education, employment, culture and participation will increase in rural territories, helping to curb depopulation and build fairer, more inclusive and more sustainable communities.