23 trainers conducting professional training for civil servants and local self-government officials were trained as part of the second educational and practical course “Participatory Youth Policy”.

The Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV” together with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine held the training from 12 to 17 October 2025 in Lviv, the European Youth Capital 2025.

The trainers participating in the training represent 16 regional centres of advanced training, higher education institutions, institutions and programmes from 10 regions of Ukraine.

The purpose of the course is to strengthen the professional competencies of trainers of educational institutions in the field of professional training of civil servants and local self-government officials (providers) to implement training based on the Model General Short-Term Advanced Training Programme “Participatory Youth Policy”.

The training agenda included:

• elaboration of the content of the manual of the Model Programme “Participatory Youth Policy”;
• research on the topic of participatory youth policy, as well as youth work, in particular the Bonn process of its recognition ;
• familiarization with standards, approaches and educational resources, institutions of the Council of Europe and Ukraine in the field of youth policy;
• exchange of practices in teaching advanced training courses;
• discussion of specific aspects of conducting educational events in online, offline and mixed formats;
• improvement of trainers’ competencies;
• analysis of the possibilities of implementing the programme “Participatory Youth Policy” in the activities of providers for advanced training for civil servants and local self-government officials.

The participants also got acquainted with the practical side of the co-management system in the youth sector of the Council of Europe, which is a unique and living example of participatory democracy. This became possible thanks to a meeting with Natalia Radchuk, Head of the Department of International Co-operation and European Integration of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, member of the European Steering Committee on Youth (CDEJ).

The meeting with the team of the HR Office of the Lviv City Council, the TVORY! Network, the team of Lviv - Youth Capital of Europe 2025 made it possible to study the experience of the “First Career Step” programme, the creation of the TVORY! network, the development of a youth strategy of the city with the participation of young people, to explore the possibilities of international co-operation, in particular with the support of the European Youth Foundation.

Within the framework of the educational and practical course “Participatory Youth Policy”, it is envisaged to have:

• Online learning
• Training of trainers in offline format
• Mentoring and expert support
• Implementation of advanced training programmes for civil servants and local self-government officials by trained trainers
• Consolidation meeting on the analysis and evaluation of the results of the implementation of advanced training programmes

Vyacheslav Holub, participant of the first training and practical course (2023-2024), Deputy Director of the Department of Family, Youth and Sports of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration, met with the new team and shared the experience of implementing the Model Programme “Participatory Youth Policy” in the Chernihiv region in 2024 and 2025, and emphasized:

"Participation in the programme significantly contributed to the emergence of new very important accents in the process of implementing youth policy in the region, in particular regarding the formation and strengthening of its human resources. This, in turn, gave young people in many communities of the Chernihiv region a real opportunity to feel their own involvement, demand and responsibility not only in terms of youth policy, but also in many issues of restoration and development of the territories in which they live. The conscious participation of young people in these processes is sometimes decisive, which may indicate the positive impact of the programme."

In 2023-2024, the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III” in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Youth Councils Association developed and implemented the first educational and practical course “Participatory Youth Policy”.

As part of the course, the Project created a training manual (in the Ukrainian language), conducted training of trainers, prepared a series of videos on youth participation practices and provided mentoring and expert support to the trainers team in the preparation and implementation of trainings at the regional and local levels, held a consolidation meeting and  a public presentation of the key achievements of the programme.

Thanks to these efforts, 21 advanced training programmes for 611 civil servants, local government officials, scientists and educators were implemented in Ukraine in 2024. Between January and August 2025, a further six advanced training programmes were implemented for 259 civil servants and local self-government officials. From August 2025 to September 2026  the second educational and practical course “Participatory Youth Policy” is being implemented.

Participatory Youth Policy course website.

The Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV” is implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 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.