The project Young, Wild & Eco-Free: Youth Driving Climate Action is a youth exchange designed to motivate young people to move from passive awareness to active engagement in environmental protection and sustainable development. From a youth work practice perspective, the project responds to the reality that many young people are concerned about climate change and environmental degradation, but often lack a clear understanding, practical competencies, and supportive learning spaces to transform concern into concrete action. Through non-formal education, peer learning, and intercultural exchange, the project creates a safe and inclusive environment where young people can explore environmental issues in a practical, creative, and participatory way, and develop a sense of ownership over their learning process. The main aim of the project is to equip young people and youth workers with relevant knowledge, skills, and competences related to environmental protection, sustainable development, and the smart and responsible use of resources, using innovative and creative youth work approaches rather than formal instruction. The youth exchange brings together 42 participants from Cyprus, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Romania, and Serbia, countries that differ in environmental policies, social attitudes, and everyday practices related to sustainability. This diversity enables participants to compare perspectives, challenge assumptions, and learn from each other through direct experience. During the exchange, young people will share information and experiences on how to reduce environmental impact in daily life, explore concrete ways of protecting the environment, and deepen their understanding of sustainable development. Particular emphasis is placed on experiential and creative activities that support learning by doing, reflection, and group discussion. More specifically, the project aims to: - Increase young people’s awareness and understanding of climate change, environmental degradation, and the scarcity of natural resources. - Strengthen participants’ competencies to adopt and promote eco-friendly lifestyles and responsible consumption habits. - Address common misconceptions about global warming by explaining how climate change works and why it represents a critical challenge for present and future generations. - Develop practical skills related to waste sorting and recycling, renewable energy, sustainable business ideas, urban farming, organic food, and sustainable mobility. - Encourage critical thinking and personal responsibility regarding everyday choices and their environmental impact. - Foster active participation, initiative-taking, and youth-led action in environmental and community-based activities. - Promote peer-to-peer learning and intercultural dialogue as tools for mutual learning and solidarity. - Support the exchange of good practices in youth work and environmental education among partner organisations. - Contribute to the development of new non-formal education methods and tools that can be used in future work with young people. - Build a strong and sustainable network of youth organisations committed to continued cooperation in environmental protection and climate action. By combining intercultural learning, creativity, and practical environmental education, the youth exchange creates conditions for greater youth involvement in civic life, encourages responsible attitudes towards the environment, and inspires participants to further engage in environmental initiatives or pursue educational and professional pathways related to sustainability. Through this approach, the project strengthens young people’s role as informed, motivated, and responsible actors in addressing shared environmental challenges at local, national, and European levels.