From a youth work practice perspective, the Greencademy youth encounter project aims to empower young people to actively engage with environmental sustainability and enhance their civic and environmental action, foster intercultural exchange, and promote ecological responsibility. This will be achieved through a structured, competence-oriented learning process based on non-formal education. The project seeks to transfer practical skills, knowledge, and support young people develop a critical perspective on regenerative agriculture and ecological sustainability while motivating them to develop their own projects and initiatives in the green sector, particularly within the agri-food industry. The project goes beyond awareness-raising by supporting young people in developing practical green competences, critical thinking, and the ability to translate learning into concrete action. This upgraded Greencademy YE is backed by extensive practical experience in environmental youth work and non-formal education. Since 2021, the Next Level e.V. has been implementing the Greencademy youth exchange and has gained valuable insights as evaluations of previous project editions have shown that although participants develop strong environmental awareness and basic green competences during a single exchange, learning outcomes become significantly more effective and sustainable when young people are given sufficient time and structured opportunities to apply their learning in practice. In response to these identified needs, the Greencademy 2026 - 2027 project is designed as a two-stage youth exchange that supports young people in progressing from environmental awareness to youth-led green action. The project aims to strengthen green competences, critical thinking, youth participation, and leadership, while enabling participants to actively contribute to environmental sustainability at local and European levels. Objectives of the Greencademy YE 2026-2027 project are: - Raise young people’s awareness in regenerative agriculture by engaging participants in soil restoration techniques, permaculture design, keyline farming, and sustainable resource management. - Foster holistic thinking in land use and sustainability through workshops and project-based learning that combine ecological, economic, and social dimensions. - Encourage collaboration and team-based learning by involving participants in farm-based challenges, group project design, and knowledge-sharing activities. - Strengthen civic responsibility and ecological stewardship by inspiring young people to become advocates for regenerative agriculture and sustainability in their local communities. - Enhance intercultural exchange and global sustainability perspectives by bringing together young people from different countries to work on shared environmental challenges. - Promote networking and professional development by connecting participants with local farmers, regenerative agriculture experts, and social enterprises working in the field. - Empower young people to design and implement solutions by guiding them through the full process of observation, ideation, prototyping, and presentation of regenerative agriculture projects tailored to the hosting farm's context. - Incorporate mindfulness and ecological awareness by integrating grounding exercises, reflection sessions, and nature connection practices into the learning process. By achieving these objectives, the project will equip participants with the tools to contribute to the transformation of local agricultural systems towards more regenerative, sustainable, and community-driven models.