This project is being led by three organisations that lead small rural localities. During these last decades the rural communities were severely affected due to urbanisation. The continued depopulation of many peripheral communities have effected negatively the rural economies, rural services and the architectural and natural heritage. Young people living in rural and geographically isolated areas face a number of challenges such as:- lack of information that is available in the busy city-centres;- fewer opportunities for formal and non-formal education such as specialised schools;- there is a small jobs market and high unemployment rate among youngsters;- the nearest hospital and specialised doctors are far away; - distances and lack of public transport and infrastructure make it more difficult to set up international projects; and- often youth work and youth workers is scarce. The aim of this project is to bring youths from these rural villages to discuss how to revive and strengthen the youth sector in the European countryside. The project, which involves 3 groups from Portugal, Italy and Malta, has the following objectives:- share the difficulties they face in rural localities and come up with new ideas or good practices how to turn weaknesses into opportunities;- learn on opportunities EU citizens have in the education sector;- make use of the strengths existing in rural areas such as healthy lifestyle, healthier food and outdoor activities;- appreciate the green environment, no heavy traffic, tranquility and low stress levels that surrounds rural areas;- identify gaps between formal education and the employment sector and how to reduce the youth unemployment rates in these areas; and- how to overcome boredom, lack of opportunities and lack of youth/information centres. The project will include three youth exchanges taking place in Portugal between 30th August and 5th September 2016, in Italy between 25th April and 1st May 2017, and in Malta between 3rd July and 9th July 2017. For each mobility, 15 youths from each organisation and 3 youth leaders will participate, having a total of 45 youths and 9 leaders, that will participate in all 3 youth exchanges. The three youth exchanges include various types of activities and utilises various working methods such as workshops, discussions, role plays, hands on activities, visits, outdoor sports activities and networking sessions with locals. These activities are focused on the strengths and weaknesses of rural villages, that these youths face on a daily basis. The three exchanges will cover various topics such as good quality of life and low crime rates in rural villages, villagers focus less on consumerism and engage more in healthier lifestyle, outdoor sports, lack of opportunities in the employment and education sector, lack of leisure time activities, and lack of healthcare provision. The main competences and skills learnt by each individual will be registered on the Youth Pass certificate which will be given to each participant. Some of the learning outcomes and competences include:- develop a common European language for rural areas and villages;- enjoy participating in outdoor activities and adopt a positive attitude to challenge and healthy behaviour;- gain personal confidence and self-esteem through taking on challenges and achieving success;- developing self-awareness and social skills, and appreciate others contributions;- become aware of the European diversity in culture, history and intangible heritage including the traditional cuisine;- broaden our horizons and become open to a wider range of employment opportunities, European rights and other grants we canmake use of; and- develop new key skills of communication, problem solving, leadership and teamwork.As part of the long term benefits the participating youths will create a policy suggestions document, highlighting how we could succeed in our rural localities, create new opportunities and build stronger communities. Today's youths are the leaders of the future and therefore ideas shared during these activities might be implemented by the present and future local administration bodies. The network among the participating organisations will strengthen, leading to projects which will be implemented in the future, thus continuing to contribute towards the greater participation of young people in the democratic life and more collaborative approaches towards finding solutions to common European challenges.