The purpose of our Erasmus+ Mobility of Youth Workers (KA153) project is to strengthen the competencies of youth workers in supporting, renewing, and developing youth participation structures—especially youth councils—in inclusive and inspiring ways. Youth participation is a cornerstone of youth work: without it, young people cannot be empowered to shape their communities, and youth work loses its meaning. At the same time, participation is one of the key pillars of young people’s well-being, giving them voice, ownership, and a sense of belonging. Through this project we want to explore how youth workers can make youth councils and other participatory structures more meaningful and attractive for young people, while also creating alternative opportunities for those who are not engaged in formal bodies. Our objectives are: - to exchange best practices on youth participation from Finland, Estonia, and Hungary, - to reflect on challenges in engaging young people in decision-making, - to co-create inclusive models of participation that reflect young people’s diverse realities, - to strengthen the competencies of youth workers in designing, mentoring, and facilitating youth councils and participation processes, - to lay the groundwork for a future Erasmus+ project co-designed with young people. The project combines study visits, peer learning, and expert inputs. Participants will get to know each other’s working realities and see first-hand how youth councils and participatory structures function in different contexts. Visiting experts will enrich the process by sharing innovative participation models and new approaches from the youth sector. Through reflection groups and peer-to-peer dialogue, participants will identify the gaps and opportunities in their own local settings and begin to design participation models that can be tested and transferred to their municipalities and organisations. Our central theme is inclusiveness. Youth participation cannot be limited to those who already sit in youth councils. We aim to find methods that reach children and young people with fewer opportunities, those living in rural areas, those from minority or migrant backgrounds, and those whose interests lie outside formal politics. This requires youth workers to develop new methods, branding strategies, and engagement opportunities that speak to young people’s lived realities. For example, the project will explore how a youth council can become a “brand” that inspires involvement, and how participation can be connected to young people’s cultural interests, digital habits, and everyday lives. From the Finnish side, the project builds on the legal basis of youth councils (enshrined in the Local Government Act and Youth Act), but also addresses the challenges of making them truly impactful in practice. From Estonia, the experience of Rae municipality provides insights into how local authorities and youth workers can implement participatory structures effectively. From Hungary, YOPA contributes long-term experience of mentoring youth councils and youth initiatives, with special attention to disadvantaged groups. The case of Szeged Youth Council, which was only recently restarted after several years of inactivity, will serve as a living example of both the opportunities and challenges of rebuilding participation structures. By linking this local renewal process with international peer learning, YOPA ensures that the Szeged Youth Council develops in an inclusive, sustainable, and inspiring direction. The expected result is not only stronger individual competencies of the participating youth workers, but also concrete participation models and practices that each organisation can implement locally. These models will emphasise co-creation with young people, ensuring that they are not passive beneficiaries but active partners in shaping how participation looks in their community. Our project will contribute to building a culture of meaningful participation across the three countries, supporting youth councils to be more inclusive, effective, and visible, while also broadening participation opportunities for all young people. In doing so, it directly supports the objectives of the European Youth Strategy, in particular Youth Goal 9: “Space and Participation for All.”