On June 10-11, 2026, a landmark event in the field of European youth policy took place in Belgium, on the basis of the well-known Destelheide youth centre — the 17th meeting of the European Platform of Youth Centers with the Quality Label of the Council of Europe.
The event brought together teams of leading European youth centres that have received the Quality Label of the Council of Europe and candidates for such a prestigious award, as well as experts, representatives of the governing bodies of the Council of Europe and the Platform of the Quality Label of the Council of Europe. This year's delegation from Ukraine consisted of Yaroslav Ogonesyan, Deputy Head of the State Institution "All-Ukrainian Youth Centre" - a representative of the state institution, and Kateryna Bezhynar, secretary of the board of the CSO "Association of Youth Centres of Ukraine", youth worker and co-ordinator of international partnerships of the youth centre "Space of Ideas". (Kremenchuk, Poltava region), representative of the public sector. This very symbolically emphasizes the fundamental understanding of the Ukrainian side that effective interaction between the state and the public sector is an important guarantee of high-quality implementation of youth policy.
The main focus of this year's platform was to protect democratic institutions by building critical thinking among young people in the era of artificial intelligence, algorithmic social media and aggressive disinformation campaigns.
The event was opened with inspired speeches by the director of Destelheide-Hanenbos Guy Uyttebroeck, representatives of the Council of Europe Steering Committee on Youth (CDEJ) and a member of the expert group Georges Metz. Programme Co-ordinator Marcos Andrade presented the latest updates of the Council of Europe Quality Label.The event continued with a speech by Professor of Odisée University College Brussels Eef Cornelissen and a panel discussion on mapping and sharing successful cases of using tools for building critical thinking among young people. The participants joined the discussion of effective tools for developing critical thinking skills and media literacy among the target audience of youth centers, regardless of the geography of their location.
By the way, the venue was not chosen by chance. The Belgian centre Destelheide is a unique centre that has proudly borne the Quality Label of the Council of Europe since 2016. The main philosophy of the centre is the synergy of non-formal education, youth work and the development of artistic potential of young people. For the participants of the Platform, the Destelheide Centre was a living demonstration of how infrastructure (open spaces, modern workshop halls and inclusive environments) can fully comply with the values of respect, sustainability, accessibility and democratic participation.
After the panel discussion, the participants of the Platform had a great opportunity to take part in a tour, where the Destelheide Centre demonstrated its unique profile — a combination of youth work and art. Participants visited unique exhibitions of works of art presented on the territory of the youth centre, which explore and emphasize the connection between recognized artists and new talents. This has become a living example of how the art space stimulates the out-of-the-box thinking of young people.
All the work of the Platform was based on the principles Marienthal Statement (Marienthal Statement) - the fundamental document of the network, which consolidates the status of youth centres as engines of youth empowerment.
"Here, young people speak out loud, listen with an open mind, learn to overcome their differences and take collective responsibility for their present and future" - this postulate from the Statement has become the leitmotif of each session.
For Ukraine, which is fighting for its European future, the Marienthal Statement is a clear guide - infrastructure must work for the education of civic competencies, inclusion and protection of human dignity.
Today's young people live in a situation of total digitalization, where the line between verified fact and disinformation generated by neural networks is becoming more and more thin. For European democracies, this is an existential challenge. That is why the 17th Platform has transformed from a purely co-ordination meeting into a strategic platform for discussing problematic issues and finding effective ways to solve them. Participants in working groups analyzed in detail how youth centres can use non-formal education tools to teach young people to verify sources, analyze content and counteract manipulation. The main thesis of the discussions: the youth space today is not just a building, it is a safe offline and online hub that forms immunity against hybrid threats. The traditional continuation of the platform was the Project Fair - a platform where each center presented its achievements, implemented projects and proposals for co-operation to other participants of the fair. For the Ukrainian delegation, it was a great moment of informal diplomacy and an opportunity to talk about the resilience of our youth centres in wartime, to share the experience of using tools to activate critical thinking among young people. Faced with modern daily challenges in Ukraine, this skill has become basic for Ukrainian youth, and the Ukrainian delegation generously shared its experiences.
The program of the 17th meeting of the European Platform for Youth Centres with the Quality Label of the Council of Europe" ended with a summing up and a study visit to the neighboring environmental youth center Hanenbos.
As a conclusion, the participation of the Ukrainian delegation in the 17th Platform confirmed that the Ukrainian youth sector is moving in the right direction, because even in extremely difficult conditions, our spaces and centres are implementing non-formal education tools that correlate with the highest standards of the Council of Europe. Belgium's experience, developed media literacy tools and new contacts with international colleagues will be useful assets for the further development of Ukrainian youth centres and spaces to the criteria of the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres. We come back with a clear understanding: European integration is not about papers, it is about common values, critical thinking, solidarity and effective co-operation with like-minded people.
Successful participation in the Platform of this scale was possible only thanks to strong international partnership and synergy of efforts. We express our indescribable gratitude to the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, the team of the Council of Europe, in particular the Secretariat of the Quality Label Programme, as well as to the hospitable hosts - the Destelheide-Hanenbos Youth Centre for the impeccable organization of the event, creating an inspiring atmosphere and openness to the exchange of unique experience.
This visit laid a solid foundation for new cross-border initiatives. Ukraine remains a reliable part of the European youth community, demonstrates absolute openness to effective co-operation, joint projects and further implementation of the high standards of the Council of Europe for the benefit of young people and with their direct participation.
Author: Yaroslav Ogonesyan, Deputy Head of the State Institution "All-Ukrainian Youth Centre".
*The views expressed in this publication are the responsibility of the authors and may not coincide with the official policy of the Council of Europe. All photos are provided by the author.
The visit was organised with the financial support of the Council of Europe project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV".
More information about the Council of Europe project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine", news, Council of Europe resources in the field of youth and open calls for participation in project activities can be found here.
