The Council of Europe presented the results of a research on the needs and the state of activity of youth workers and prospects for the development of youth work during the war in Ukraine and in the post-war period at the reporting conference of the civil society organisation “Association of Youth Workers of Ukraine” on 31 January 2025 in Kyiv.
483 youth workers, who took part in the research, expressed their views and opinions on the successes, obstacles and difficulties they face, on the needs, in particular in training, competence development, qualification confirmation and regulatory support, as well as on the directions for the development of youth work during the war in Ukraine and in the post-war period, etc.
The research was conducted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the All-Ukrainian Youth Centre and the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III” in co-operation with the Association of Youth Workers of Ukraine in 2024.
The event became a platform for presenting the activities and achievements of the Association of Youth Workers of Ukraine in 2023 - 2024, discussing success stories of youth workers, sharing experiences, presenting successful practices, discussing the role of youth workers in the development of youth policy and youth work, and discussing urgent issues and future opportunities for co-operation.
The Council of Europe project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III" was launched within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026. The third phase is built on results and experiences in 2020-2022 and expands systemic impact by strengthening youth participation policies and youth work in war and post-war contexts, taking into account the needs of young people.
The project is implemented in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine in three components: 1) participatory youth policy; 2) recognition of youth work in wartime (in particular, trauma-informed youth work); 3) support of youth centres and youth organisations as platforms for civic activity and democratic participation.
The project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III” highlights the importance of the Council of Europe's Youth Sector Strategy 2030 and reflects the National Strategy of State Youth Policy until 2030, the State Target Social Programme “Youth of Ukraine” 2021-2025.
The Project encourages youth policy stakeholders in Ukraine to implement and disseminate the Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers to Member States: on the access of youth from disadvantaged neighbourhoods to social rights, CM/Rec(2015)3; on young people's access to rights, CM/Rec(2016)7; on youth work, CM/Rec(2017)4; on Roma youth participation CM/Rec(2023)4; on protecting youth civil society and young people, and supporting their participation in democratic processes CM/Rec(2022)6.
News, Council of Europe resources in the field of youth and open announcements for participation in project activities can be found here.
