Youth unemployment remains one of Europe's most pressing challenges today. Social exclusion of young people who are not in an employment, education or training situation (or simply ‘in a NEET situation’) can have negative consequences for the economy and significant costs for Europe. With the youth exchange “NEETing the change” our partnership consisting of partner organisations from the UK, Lithuania, Latvia, and Turkey empowered young people for community participation and equipped them with skills to overcome NEET situation. This project explored the current situation regarding unemployment in Europe, the conditions under which young people live, their educational background, the match (and mismatch) between their studies and what they want to do in their lives. The facilitators equipped young people with tools that allowed them to identify their talents, their skills, their interests and passions in order to get employed (or self-employed). The need to provide sustainable rather than temporary solutions was explicitly discussed and practiced. Young talents were inspired and empowered to practice social inclusion, work with community and overcome NEET situation. The exchange also engaged young people in creating community projects (on national and international level) in order to put in practice the tools and skills gained during workshops. During the preparatory phase, 2 representatives of each partner organisation came to Latvia for the Advance Planning Visit to discuss the project's logistical part. They undertook a risk assessment, visited the venue and planned thoroughly for a successful programme. The 12 days youth exchange (which took place from the 20th June to the 1st July, 2016) brought together 14 young people and 2 group leaders from each partner organisation involved to Riga, Latvia. The main objectives of the youth exchange were: • To explore current situation regarding unemployment and discuss the need for sustainable solutions to address the problem; • To identify different realities regarding youth unemployment and social exclusion of youth all over Europe; • To understand and develop the sense of youth initiative and entrepreneurship among young people at risk and in a NEET situation; • To focus on knowledge, skills and attitudes young people at risk and in a NEET situation need for becoming active citizens and how they can be acquired; • To equip young people with skills to overcome NEET situation; • To develop own check lists and procedures for the most essential steps in implementing grass-root projects; • To initiate, design and implement creative and innovative grass-root projects and activities for the communities they live in; • To stimulate teamwork of the participating partners by enabling informal community networks to evolve the results of this project further. The working methods during the youth exchange were based on informal and non-formal learning, contributed to personal development of participants, and created space for grass-root approach, innovation and creativity of participants in a NEET situation. Young people developed and implemented ideas for joint projects for local community basing on their own skills and competences with support of facilitators. Moreover, an essential element of the methodology was based on the holistic nature of the learning experience, through methods that involved not only cognitive or intellectual approaches but also covered the emotional and attitudinal ones. This way the learning was enhanced as it embraced all dimensions of human learning. It consisted of activities, workshops, presentations, facilitated exchange of experiences and best practices. Methods of facilitation were selected by the preparatory team from the SALTO online toolbox. At the Exchange the peer youth leaders gained skills and knowledge that they further multiplied to other youth groups locally. They presented what they had learned to their peers, explained what impact the project had on them, how it changed their vision of the world, and persuaded other people to take part in similar activities. The advantages gained and skills acquired at the Exchange were also disseminated to local youth groups and the organisations, which related this project to a local and European context.