Together with youth workers from twelve European countries, Ukrainian youth centres’ representatives took part in the Educational Forum for Educators of Youth Centres in the Network of the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres. The Forum took place at the European Youth Education Centre of Magdeburg (EJBM), Germany, from 19 to 24 October 2025.
The annual Educational Forum of the Quality Label Programme has evolved to provide a platform where pedagogical and educational staff of labelled youth centres can meet, exchange experiences, and strengthen the collective educational intelligence of the network. First launched in 2023, the Forum builds on earlier Council of Europe training initiatives for pedagogical staff in youth centres that have been awarded the Quality Label.
Lidiia Indychenko, Director of the Donetsk Regional Youth Centre (which has been twice displaced since 2014), joined the Forum and presented the trauma-informed youth work training programme developed for youth workers in the Donetsk region:
"It is important for us to participate in international events dedicated to the topics of democracy in the youth sphere, because the experience we gain, the programmes we implement, and the ways we use in the struggle for a democratic society in Ukraine are relevant and innovative for European countries, which are already raising the question: how to strengthen the quality of democratic thinking among young people.
We had the opportunity to present that our approach to young people is that we use trauma-informed work to give them a solid inner foundation. This helps young people not only to participate, but to qualitatively participate in the protection and restoration of democracy, based on a sense of security and the principle of do no harm. After all, it is worth remembering that the main thing is not the number of events, but how conscious and independent this participation is."
The participation of representatives from the Ukrainian youth centres was supported within the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV”. Co-operation with the network of youth centres bearing the Council of Europe Quality Label contributes to achieving one of the project’s key results — ensuring that youth workers and administrative staff of youth centres in Ukraine are trained in the practices and approaches used by labelled youth centres across Europe. The project is implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023–2026.
More information about the project, including news, resources in the field of youth, and open calls for participation in project activities can be found here.
