From 19 to May 2025, participants of the programmes "Trauma-informed approach in the context of access to human rights and basic services for internally displaced persons and returnees to Ukraine" and "Trauma-Informed Youth Work" strengthened their trainer competencies in Lviv, the European Youth Capital - 2025.
In the 5-day training of trainers "Human Rights and the Trauma-Informed Approach", the knowledge was deepened by the heads and representatives of 14 civil society organisation and 9 youth centres in Chernihivska, Chernivetska, Donetska, Kyivska, Kirovohradska, Khmelnytska, Lvivska, Mykolaivska, Poltavska, Rivnenska, Sumska, Vinnytska, Volynska, Zakarpatska, Zaporizka regions. Among other topics, the participants explored the application of the trauma-informed approach for different target audiences. For this purpose, the trainers analised and discussed ACCESS TO EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH FROM THE TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES OF UKRAINE: Special report of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for human rights, 2025 and FORCED DISPLACEMENT ABROAD: Analytical report, March 2025.
With the participation of Natalia Rudnytska, Deputy Head of the Department for Youth Policy of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, and Oksana Sira, Co-ordinator of the Youth Worker Programme, the All-Ukrainian Youth Center, the trainers discussed the content, challenges and proposals for changes to the State programme “Youth Worker” in view of trauma-informed youth work.
As a reminder, in 2024, in response to the needs of key national and local partners in Ukraine, two Council of Europe projects: "Facilitating access to human rights and essential services for internally displaced persons and returnees at the community level" and "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III" launched the programme "Trauma-Informed Approach in the Context of Access to Human Rights and Basic Services for Internally Displaced Persons and Returnees to Ukraine". The trainers of the programme are 24 representatives of youth centres and organisations working with internally displaced persons and returnees: youth workers, psychologists and psychologists, social workers. They represent 13 regions of Ukraine: Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Poltava, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Chernivtsi, Volyn, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, Donetsk.
Since May 2022, in co-operation with partners, the Council of Europe Project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine" has developed and is implementing a training programme "Trauma-Informed Youth Work" in response to the need to organize capacity development activities for youth workers in order to provide assistance and support to internally displaced persons, returnees, vulnerable groups of the population during the war. Since 2023, a specialized training "Trauma-Informed Youth Work" has been implemented in Ukraine within the framework of the state programm "Youth Worker" in co-operation with the Council of Europe with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the All-Ukrainian Youth Center.
More information about the Council of Europe project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine", news, youth resources of the Council of Europe and open announcements for participation in project events are available at the link.
