The "Youth for Sustainable Futures" project is conceived as a strategic response to the pressing environmental crises facing the Central and Eastern European region, specifically targeting the disconnect between environmental awareness and actionable competence among youth in Romania and Hungary. The primary achievement we seek through this implementation is the operationalization of "active environmental citizenship" among 40 young participants. We aim to transition these individuals from a state of passive climate anxiety—a phenomenon increasingly documented among European youth, where over 70% express significant fear regarding climate change without feeling equipped to address it—into a state of empowered agency. The project is designed to bridge the gap between abstract policy frameworks, such as the European Green Deal, and the daily lived reality of young people in the Harghita and Budapest regions. By creating a transnational space for dialogue and practical learning, we intend to demystify the mechanisms of the circular economy, waste management, and biodiversity conservation, transforming these from technocratic concepts into tangible, personal habits and community advocacy tools. From the specific perspective of youth work practice, this project aims to address several interconnected developmental needs identified within our target communities. Firstly, there is a critical need to enhance "Green Competence" as defined by the European Commission’s GreenComp framework. Youth in our regions often lack practical literacy in sustainable consumption; for instance, while Romania has recently implemented the RetuRO Deposit Return System to improve its historically low municipal recycling rates (hovering around 12-13%), young people frequently lack the foundational understanding of why these systems matter or how to engage with them effectively beyond mere compliance. Similarly, in Hungary, despite the introduction of a Deposit Refund System in 2024, there remains a significant need for non-formal education that reinforces the reduction of consumption and the creative reuse of materials, rather than relying solely on technological solutions. Youth work must step in to provide the scaffolding that transforms systemic infrastructure changes into personal values and habits. Consequently, the specific objectives of the project are: 1, To equip 40 young people with practical green competencies, specifically in waste reduction, recycling (understanding DRS/RetuRO systems), and biodiversity protection, using the natural setting of the venue as a learning tool, until the end of youth exchange. 2, To foster active environmental citizenship by empowering 40 participants to move from passive anxiety to active community engagement, teaching them how to organize local eco-initiatives, until the end of youth exchange. 3, To improve intercultural dialogue and solidarity between 40 Romanian and Hungarian youth, using the neutral and shared ground of environmental protection to build lasting cross-border connections, until the end of youth exchange. 4, To enhance social inclusion in the group of participants by ensuring that at least 10 participants are young people with fewer opportunities, providing them with a transformative international experience that boosts their confidence and soft skills, until the end of youth exchange.