The Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV” in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Association of Youth Councils invites young people to apply for participation in training on participatory youth policy, youth participation and civic participation in decision-making based on Council of Europe standards. The training agenda also includes participation in a round table with youth leaders from Ukraine and other Council of Europe member states on the topic of democratic youth participation and youth work in view of reconstruction efforts.

The aim of the training is to create a network of young people to multiply the approaches of the Council of Europe in the youth sector in Ukraine, introduce a youth perspective and strengthen the participation of young people in decision-making processes at local, regional and national levels in the war and post-war period. 

 Objectives of the training are:

• to strengthen the competencies of young people to participate in democratic processes, taking into account approaches of youth participation in decision-making processes at different levels;
• to explore barriers and ways to overcome them for the participation of various young people in decision-making processes to ensure their access to rights and the development of an inclusive environment, in particular in accordance with the National Strategy for a Barrier-Free Environment in Ukraine 2030;
• to explore the roles and opportunities for young people’s contribution to the processes of dialogue and co-operation between public authorities, local self-government bodies, civil society organisations, youth institutions and young people in order to strengthen the participation of young people and the effectiveness of youth policy;
• to explore the approaches and standards of the Council of Europe and youth policy in Ukraine on the participation of young people in decision-making processes and the development of an inclusive environment;
• to explore and discuss the practical use of the Council of Europe’s recommendations on youth participation, in particular the Reference Framework on a Youth Perspective on a Youth Perspective adopted in Malta in October 2025, which is a continuation of the agreements of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe, held in Reykjavik (Iceland) in May 2023;
• to explore the forms and tools of participation of young people in the decision-making process at the national and international levels;
• promote the recognition and quality development of non-formal education in the youth sector, in particular in accordance with the process of Ukraine’s accession to the EU;
• plan further steps and training needs of participants of the training to multiply the approaches of the Council of Europe in the youth sector in Ukraine, introduce a youth perspective, strengthen youth participation in decision-making processes at local, regional and national levels, and develop an inclusive environment. 

Young people aged 18 to 35 are invited to participate in the training, who are ready to multiply the approaches of the Council of Europe in the youth sector in Ukraine, introduce a youth perspective and strengthen the participation of young people in decision-making processes at local, regional and national levels, and are representatives of:

• youth advisory bodies at the local, regional and national levels,
• student self-government bodies,
• youth civil society organisations and informal associations, initiative groups,
• youth centres and spaces,
• youth counsellors.

Participants are expected to:

• be citizens of Ukraine;
• have experience in raising awareness/advocacy/protecting/representing the interests of various young people, including internally displaced persons, returnees, people with disabilities, veterans, youth of national communities, youth of rural areas, representatives of the LGBTQ+ community and/or others;
• have practical experience in youth participation in decision-making processes at any level: local, regional, national, international;
• have support from a youth organisation, youth centre, network, etc., at local, national and/or international level to multiply the Council of Europe’s approaches in the youth sector;
• distribute and be ready to promote the values of the Council of Europe: human rights, democracy and the rule of law;
• have basic competencies in the field of ICT and have access to the Internet during training;
• have the opportunity to implement in Ukraine the acquired competencies on youth participation and approaches of the Council of Europe;
• have the opportunity to work and communicate in Ukrainian; the ability to communicate in English is an added value.

Selection criteria:

• practical experience on youth participation in decision-making processes at any level: local, regional, national, international;
• experience in raising awareness/advocacy/protecting/representing the interests of various young people, including internally displaced persons, returnees, people with disabilities, veterans, youth of national communities, youth of rural areas, representatives of the LGBTQ+ community and/or others;
• motivation to take part in training;
• plan to implement in Ukraine the acquired competencies on youth participation and approaches of the Council of Europe.

The Council of Europe welcomes applications from all candidates who fit a specific profile of activity, regardless of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, skin colour, religion, belief or sexual orientation.

Participants should be able to commit to the full duration of the training and all its features. At least 30% of participants must be men. Due to the war and martial law in Ukraine, the organisers took into account the risk of participants refusing to participate at any time.

You can get acquainted with the details of the training agenda at the link – https://rm.coe.int/-/488028ee27.  

You can apply for participation in the training until 30 October 2025 (inclusive) at the link – https://forms.gle/MntVPXYkSLN7uChw5.

The Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV” is implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine "Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction" for 2023-2026. News, resources of the Council of Europe in the field of youth, as well as open announcements for participation in the Project’s activities can be found here.