Confidence has spread over the younger generations in emerging countries like Brazil and China. Both countries can represent important examples of successful models of self-reliance, improvisation skills and capacity to deal with lack of public funding for youth work. At the same time, Europe can provide much needed expertise in professionalization and transparency dialogue with policy processes. However, Brazilian as much as Chinese youth are demanding participation and influence by engaging in their communities, running and founding NGOs and CSOs - a trend that should be encouraged and reinforced. The EU history of youth programs and organisations is here an important precedent in the promotion of voluntary learning achievements and the advancement of an active civil society, representing a best practice for both China and Brazil as they face challenges of professionalization and increased pressure to demonstrate results.Against this background of challenges and opportunities and building on its multi-year experience in the three regions and the wide network of partners and local supporters that it has developed, this consortium of grassroots NGOs, mid-level institutions, informal groups and public authorities active in the youth, cultural and creative fields across the three areas, propose to develop and implement innovative models for youth work in order to challenge unsustainable youth unemployment and of youth at risk of social marginalisation. This project will develop a set of practical tools, case-studies, and pilot schemes for the improvement, empowerment, and innovation of youth work models and policies in two focus areas, the first resulting in higher conversion rates of youth programs in self-sufficient and labour-creating youth initiatives, the second in realistically reaching out to youth groups at risk of social marginalisation.The activities, which will span across Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom), China and Brazil within a timeframe of 18 months, include: extensive research and production, aimed at fostering the availability of transferrable information on best practices and successful models across the EU, China, and Brazil; youth workers mobility, aimed at capacity building and direct implementation of project findings; disseminating activities, aimed at expanding the outreach of production and findings.