During the introductory meeting, 35 representatives from 16 Ukrainian communities familiarised themselves with the Council of Europe’s standards and the concept of Inclusive School participatory budgeting.
On 4 September 2025, the Council of Europe project “Strengthening multilevel governance and local democracy to support Ukraine’s recovery” organised an introductory meeting for representatives of 16 Ukrainian municipalities interested in implementing inclusive School participatory budgeting (inclusive School PB) in 2025–2026 as an effective civic participation tool.
All 16 municipalities will receive expert support in developing School PB regulations, including provisions for inclusion, as well as recommendations on their effective implementation. These municipalities include Vinnytsia, Ternopil, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv, Stryi, Novoyavorivsk, Chornomorsk, Rozdilna, Kobleve, Fastiv, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Pereshchepyne, Volochysk, Velyka Dymerka and Otyniia.
“In the context of war and Ukraine’s recovery, engaging young people is essential to strengthening trust, building civic skills, and embedding the values of participatory democracy in the country’s future. School participatory budgeting plays a key role as a practical tool that lets young people learn by doing – identifying needs, deliberating, making proposals, voting, and seeing the results of their decisions. It is both a democratic practice and a long-term investment,” said Claudia Luciani, Director of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.
A total of 35 representatives of 16 municipalities learned about Council of Europe standards and the concept of inclusive School PB, and explored a model regulation. In addition, participants learnt about the inclusive School PB experience in Zviahel and Mahdalynivska communities.
“We believe in youth, invest in their future, and, of course, the interaction between the authorities and students, as well as the development of civic participation, is our priority,” said Nataliia Borys, Deputy Mayor of Zviahel.
The next stage will include establishment of working groups and carrying out individual work with each municipality to develop School PB regulations and recommendations for implementation tailored to local contexts. Once finalised, these documents, together with the inclusive School PB concept, will be presented to city and village councillors.
School participatory budgeting is an effective tool of civic participation, increasingly implemented worldwide to engage school students in decision-making processes. Beyond shaping school improvements, it helps cultivate an active civic mindset, fosters a strong sense of responsibility, and strengthens young people’s connection with their communities.
The meeting was organised within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026 and the project “Strengthening multilevel governance and local democracy to support Ukraine’s recovery”, implemented by the Council of Europe Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.
