The Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV” together with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine conducted the first training for representatives of national youth advisory bodies of Ukraine on Council of Europe approaches. From 31 May to 4 June 2026 the National Council on Youth under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, youth councils under the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine and the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine were represented at the training in Vinnytsia.

The training programme strengthened the competencies of these representatives to promote the implementation of participatory youth policies, the expansion of the participation of young people and the integration of youth perspectives into decision-making processes at the national level, in line with the standards and approaches of the Council of Europe, as well as through international co-operation, taking into account the challenges of the war and post-war period.

In his welcoming speech , Oleksandr Sanchenko, member of Parliament of Ukraine, Co-Chairman of the Council on Youth Affairs under the President of Ukraine, emphasized that most of the content of the Law of Ukraine “On the Basic Principles of Youth Policy” is based on the standards of the Council of Europe, and the experience of Ukrainian youth councils is valuable for other member states.

Uliana Tokarieva, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, emphasized that currently more than half of the ministries have created their own youth councils, which are a powerful tool for advocating for the needs of young people. She drew attention to the importance of barrier-free and inclusive representation of the interests of various young people.

Sophie Kwasny, Head of the Education, Training and Co-operation Division of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe, drew attention to the importance of implementing the youth perspective as a key priority of the Council of Europe, and in particular  the New Democratic Pact for Europe.

Xesk Mainzer, Deputy Head of the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe, highlighted the different experiences of young people and the need to implement a co-management system. It is a standard of the Council of Europe and involves the participation of young people in joint decision-making. He also drew attention to the importance of teaching young people participatory skills and the ability to express their views to advocate for change.

During the training, the participants deepened their understanding of the approaches and standards of the Council of Europe and Ukraine on the participation of young people in decision-making processes, discussed the issues of human dignity, equality and justice as a basis for meaningful participation of young people in democratic processes. Together with the expert team, they identified barriers and ways to overcome them for different categories of young people in accordance with the National Strategy for a Barrier-Free Environment 2030. Throughout the training days, they exchanged experiences on ensuring meaningful participation of young people and the effective functioning of youth advisory bodies, explored opportunities for international co-operation and planned further steps to implement a youth perspective, strengthen youth participation in decision-making processes. 

During the training, the group explored the content of the new European Charter on the participation of young people in local and regional life 2026, in particular through a conversation with Marcus Melau, member of the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe. He helped the team to explore the history of the development of the Charter and its updated content. The group also tested an updated board game on the participation of young people “Solutions exist!”, in accordance with the new Charter.

The participants of the training explored the potential of the Living Library format to overcome stereotypes and prejudices. It was organised on the basis of the methodology of the Council of Europe manual “Do not judge book by its cover”. The Living Library gave an opportunity to meet with invited guests - Books, who openly shared their own stories and encounters with stereotypes and prejudices against young people with hearing impairments, young IDPs and those returning to Ukraine, feminists, representatives of national communities, large families.

In addition, the young leaders got acquainted with the activities of the Register of Damages for Ukraine and the projects of the  Council of Europe Office in Ukraine: “Strengthening multilevel governance and local democracy to support Ukraine's recovery”, “Facilitating access to human rights and essential services for internally displaced persons and returnees at the community level” and “Safeguarding Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Ukraine – Phase II”.

Christian Hellevang and Siri Hansen, representing the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities, shared practical experience and online tools for developing young people’s skills for democracy at the local level.

The training provided an opportunity to get acquainted with the practices of influencing young people’s decisions in the structures of the Council of Europe, the European Youth Forum and other international organisations. The following shared their own experience of representation, advocacy and networking, as well as opportunities for active participation of young people both in Ukraine and abroad:

Olena Bilanina, Head of the National Youth Council of Ukraine,

Sofia Bogdanova, Youth Delegate of Ukraine to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (2023–2025),

Viktoriia Kravets, Youth Delegate of Ukraine to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe 2026, Ambassador of Lviv – Youth Capital of Europe 2025,

Daryna Varenyk, Founder and Executive Director of the Headquarters of the Ukrainian Youth of the World,

Yevheniia Fedotova, member of the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe and the Programme Committee on Youth 2024-2025,

Zhanna Kharkivska, Advisor to the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights in Portugal, Chairman of the Board of the CSO “MYR”, Director of the Portuguese Association “Vidkryttia Momentiv (Opening Moments)”,

Anastasia Vlasenko, vice president of the CSO “Brave Generation”.

The practical training programme was participation in the round table “Implementation of the Youth Perspective in Ukraine” together with young activists, representatives of international organisations, youth organisations and youth centres, participants in the programmes of the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine”. The round table was held at the Vinnytsia Regional Youth Centre “Kvadrat” on 4 June 2026, in particular with the participation of Iryna Kotsiubivska, Deputy Head of the Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration.

In addition, from 2 to 4 June 2026 at the Vinnytsia Regional Youth Centre “Kvadrat” passed exhibition of projects of young people and youth organisations from Ukraine “Stories of the Brave”, funded by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.

The Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV” was launched within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026. More information about the project, including news, youth resources and open calls for participation in the project, can be found here.