INTEGR-ACTION empowers young people with and without migration backgrounds in rural regions to actively shape integration, participation, and community life at the local level. The project addresses a key challenge facing rural areas across Europe: the outmigration of young people, shortages of skilled workers, and the largely untapped potential of cultural diversity. Young people with a migration background living in these regions often encounter barriers to social participation, face prejudice, and see their skills and competencies remain underused. At the heart of INTEGR-ACTION lies the question of what “successful integration” means in everyday life and how it can be shaped as a reciprocal process between “locals” and “newcomers.” From a youth work perspective, the project aims to enable young people to actively contribute their cultural identities to democratic processes and to create inclusive spaces for genuine encounter. Especially during the first two exchanges, the focus is on creating an initial spark: participants are encouraged to take a close look at their local context, identify existing levers for change, and develop—and in some cases implement—their own ideas. Within supported, non-formal learning settings, the young participants design their own small-scale projects to respond to barriers such as limited access to education, experiences of discrimination, or a lack of political participation. The project is based on a modern, critical understanding of integration that places diversity and self-efficacy at its core rather than demanding assimilation. Participants acquire practical tools, build networks, and learn to use their skills for long-term engagement in their communities. The key objectives of the practical youth work are to strengthen the young people’s sense of self-efficacy and initiative, to expand their project management and participation skills, to foster intercultural and democratic competences, and to develop stable, supportive peer networks. Methodologically, the project works with storytelling, biographical approaches, community and stakeholder mapping, creative and sports-based formats, and continuous reflection in order to create a safe space for learning, exchange, and encounter. Through three consecutive international exchanges, participants develop practical solutions to challenges related to integration, demographic change, and social cohesion, and are gradually empowered to play an active role in shaping their rural living environments.