A new game-based training “UCHANGE” was launched on 21 February 2020 in Kyiv, to increase the culture of civil participation and address one of the biggest obstacles to participatory democracy – the low level of public awareness of the existing civil participation tools and mechanisms. This highly interactive 4-hour training features an engaging gaming exercise that enhances participants’ awareness of civil participation while at the same time equipping them with practical skills to solve their specific neighbourhood problems and find solutions by using the civil participation tools. At the end of the training, participants finalise individual implementation action plans and sign up to a “digital mentor”, the Facebook chat-bot managed by the Council of Europe experts, supports and guides them in project implementation even after the training.

The training scheme was developed within the framework of the Council of Europe’s project “Promoting civil participation in democratic-decision-making in Ukraine” and is currently being used in 10 districts in Kyiv, targeting more than 200 residents. The training module can be adapted and customized to the needs and conditions of any municipality in Ukraine, as well as being used as a pilot project in other Council of Europe member States.