In September 2026, the Council of Europe project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV" in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the All-Ukrainian Youth Centre launch a study of the ethical dilemmas of youth work in Ukraine.

The study is carried out taking into account the current context of Ukraine's youth policy, in particular the conditions of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the transformation of the needs of young people and the development of new formats of youth work. Particular attention is paid to the issues of youth participation, inclusiveness, equality of opportunity, security, voluntariness and joint decision-making.

The purpose is to study and analyze the ethical dilemmas of youth work in Ukraine in the context of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, as well as possible ways to receive assistance for both youth workers and young people.

The collection is not intended to be statistically representative of the entire youth sector of Ukraine and does not provide for a rating assessment of dilemmas and/or organisations.

How to participate in the study?

• Until 20 November 2026 – discuss ethical dilemmas in the team in accordance with the guide and fill out  the form
• Any Friday during November 2026 – take part in the facilitated meeting "What are we silent about in youth work? An open discussion of ethical dilemmas". Registration at the link

As a reminder, in February-March 2026, the Council of Europe project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV", at the request of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, conducted a desk study of the features and practice of regulating ethical documents for youth work in selected six member states of the Council of Europe: Belgium, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Denmark, Moldova, Germany, Finland. The research report also contains proposals and recommendations for taking into account the experience of some Council of Europe member states in youth work in Ukraine.

More information on the Council of Europe's activities in the youth sector in Ukraine, including news, youth resources and open calls for proposals, can be found here.