This is the heartbeat of Y-PLAN, a new Erasmus+ project (No: 2025-1-CY01-KA220-YOU-000360453) led by SocialTech Lab in partnership with OPU Collective (Cyprus), Urbana (Greece), Toeastand (Belgium), and Young Ambassadors (Serbia). Running from September 2025 to August 2027, Y-PLAN invites youth to imagine and build the future of their cities.

“Y-PLAN gives youth the tools and confidence to lead change in their communities. They are not just learning about cities, they are actively designing their future,”  said Steven W. Stavrou, Co-Founder and Director of Strategy & Impact at SocialTech Lab.

Picture this: a group of young people walking through their neighborhood — noticing the empty lot that could be a garden, the forgotten wall that could tell a story, the corner where people could meet instead of just pass by.

Through Y-PLAN, these young changemakers will learn how to turn those “what ifs” into action. Its activities and results include: 

• Training Programme – Ten hands-on modules blending urban design, GIS mapping, storytelling, and community action.

• Youth Camp – A week-long international experience where ideas meet prototypes in the beautiful neighborhood of Agioi Omologites in Nicosia, Cyprus.

• Local Co-Creation Workshops – Youth team up with neighbors, local authorities, and artists to design real solutions in each partner country. 

• Urban Activations – Small-scale interventions that create immediate, visible impact in public spaces.

• Urban Archive & Advocacy Platform – A living library of maps, stories, and prototypes — proof that youth voices can shape policy.

• Replication Guidebook – A practical manual to inspire more neighborhoods to follow the Y-PLAN model.

At its heart, Y-PLAN is about agency — giving young people the tools, language, and platform to be heard where it matters most.

By bridging creativity and civic participation, the project helps youth become co-authors of urban change rather than passive residents. They identify local challenges, design inclusive solutions, and lead real-world transformations — reimagining public spaces as places of connection, sustainability, and belonging.

The project officially kicked off in Athens, Greece (30 September – 1 October 2025), where partners from across Europe gathered to sketch the roadmap for youth-led neighborhood transformation. The next major milestone: the Youth Camp in Cyprus (September 2026) — a vibrant laboratory of ideas where participants from all partner countries will design and test urban prototypes together.

Every neighborhood holds potential — it just needs someone to unlock it.

Y-PLAN is calling on young people, local communities, and urban visionaries to take part in this movement of co-creation.

Learn more: www.y-plan.eu

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @y_planproject

LinkedIn: Y-PLAN Project

Because the future of our cities doesn’t start in boardrooms — it starts in the streets, in conversations, and in the hands of the next generation. If you are interested in participating or collaborating with us contact us at [email protected].