By implementing our project “Mind Matters in Youth Work”, we aim to strengthen the quality, relevance and recognition of youth work by equipping youth workers with practical, ethical and non-medicalised competences to support young people’s mental health and wellbeing in non-formal education settings. Across Europe, youth workers increasingly work with young people who experience stress, anxiety, emotional overload, low self-esteem, loneliness or exclusion. Youth workers are often the first trusted adults young people turn to, yet many feel insufficiently prepared to address mental-health-related topics responsibly, without medicalising youth work or crossing professional boundaries. This gap directly affects the quality and safety of youth work practice and the inclusion and participation of young people, especially those with fewer opportunities. The main objective of the project is to improve youth workers’ competences to foster resilience, reduce stigma and create emotionally safe, inclusive youth work spaces where young people can express emotions and access supportive tools. From a youth work practice perspective, the project focuses on strengthening prevention-oriented, community-based support through non-formal education, rather than therapeutic or clinical interventions. The project is implemented as a 7-day international training course bringing together 40 youth workers, youth leaders and voluntary youth workers from 10 Programme Countries. All participants are actively involved in daily youth work at local level, such as youth clubs, workshops, camps, youth exchanges, outreach activities and community-based programmes. This ensures that learning outcomes are directly transferable to real youth work contexts. The training course addresses concrete needs identified by partner organisations through research, focus groups and daily practice. Its objectives are to: improve mental health literacy and shared professional language among youth workers; strengthen competences to challenge stigma and taboo around mental health in youth spaces; equip youth workers with practical tools for stress management, emotional regulation and resilience-building adapted to non-formal education; clarify ethical boundaries, safeguarding principles and referral awareness in youth work; support the creation of inclusive and emotionally safe environments for diverse youth groups. Our programme uses high-quality non-formal learning methods, including experiential learning, peer learning, creative and arts-based approaches, reflection groups and Youthpass-based competence development aligned with the ETS competence model. Continuous reflection ensures that participants link learning directly to their own youth work practice and organisational realities. At individual level, the project strengthens youth workers’ confidence, professional positioning and ability to respond responsibly to mental-health-related situations in their daily work. At organisational level, it supports participating organisations to integrate mental-health-sensitive facilitation, wellbeing and safeguarding more consciously into their regular activities, thus improving the quality and sustainability of their youth work. Beyond the direct participants, the project contributes to the wider development of youth work by creating multipliers who share learning with colleagues, local networks and partner organisations. The project aligns with the Erasmus+ Youth Quality Standards, the European Youth Work Agenda and the EU Youth Strategy, particularly Youth Goal 5 on Mental Health and Wellbeing. The project does not only provide training, but creates a structured transfer phase in which participants test and adapt the methods in real youth work settings, transforming the training into concrete organisational practices rather than one-time learning experiences. Overall, Mind Matters in Youth Work aims to strengthen youth work as a safe, inclusive and responsive space where young people are supported holistically, stigma is reduced, and wellbeing is recognised as a core element of quality youth work practice across Europe.