Contemporary entrepreneurial ecosystems in the RIS (EIT Regional Innovation Scheme) countries largely remain underdeveloped with moderate innovation capacity, a fact often evidenced by the “brain drain” of local talents. The numbers of entrepreneurial student teams, and consequently the innovation development level in RIS Countries are still relatively low. The operation of 7 Incubators of EIT RawMaterials since 2019 in RIS Countries has validated this insufficiency and the lack of uniformity of the national entrepreneurial ecosystems indicating the need for enrichment and support for organic growth. The proposed project, Green Alternatives for European Autonomy (GAEA) Challenge, outlines the implementation of a coherent program for youth employability to reinforce regional entrepreneurial ecosystems by engaging students and local talents in regional and interregional idea competitions. Building on the successful experience of the Greentech Challenge in Greece, GAEA will go beyond the current state-of-the-art a) by widening the conceptual scope of challenges to address to include the dimension of the European autonomy reinforcement within an international context influenced by the war in Ukraine and b) by interconnecting regional ecosystems in a cross-cultural initiative designed to last beyond the 28 months period of the project. GAEA's ambition is to enhance entrepreneurial skills of youth in moderate innovation ecosystems by bringing together educational institutions & private companies in a mutually beneficial way, ultimately boosting entrepreneurial ecosystems growth in EU countries that mostly need it. The project will unfold in two stages, regional & interregional, mobilizing and connecting regional entrepreneurial ecosystems around student ideas and projects that will reach to the market in eight countries (EL, LT, SK, LV, HU, CZ, SE, RS and PL), improving innovation flows among the regions and consolidating this knowledge through accelerated projects.