Kyiv is hosting a five-day training seminar for teams of partner communities of the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine”. The training seminar is participated by the teams of Kuyalnytska Community (Odesa Region), Velykokopanivska Community (Kherson Region) and Pryshybska Community (Poltava Region).

This is the second meeting of the communities' teams within the third stage of the “Young People are Full Citizens” component, which was aimed to support meaningful youth participation at the local level by reviewing youth policy and implementing the necessary measures based on the Council of Europe standards. The training seminar aims to strengthen the ability of representatives of partner communities of the Council of Europe Project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine” to implement youth policy at the local level and carry out youth work based on approaches of public activity and involvement of young people.

On 14 September 2021, Maria Sakuta, Head of the Division for Regional Youth Policy and Support to Youth Initiative of the Department of Youth Policy of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, met with participants of the training seminar. During the training session, she presented regulatory documents governing youth policy in Ukraine, in particular, the Law of Ukraine “On the Main Principles of Youth Policy”, National Strategy for the State Youth Policy 2030, State Targeted Social Program “Youth of Ukraine” for 2021-2025. This meeting helped community teams find answers to practical questions about the application of these regulatory documents to strengthen youth participation in decision-making, the work and the establishment of youth councils and youth centres at the local level.

In addition, participants had a study visit to the State Institution “All-Ukrainian Youth Centre”. During this visit, community teams had a chance to meet Maksym Lutsenko, Head of the Department for Promoting Youth Policy and Youth Centre Development of the State Institution “All-Ukrainian Youth Centre”, and learn information about approaches and activities of the All-Ukrainian Youth Centre, find answers to the practical question concerning the establishment of the youth centre in the community and the possibility of cooperating with the All-Ukrainian Youth Centre to strengthen the participation of young people in communities. It is to be recalled that the All-Ukrainian Youth Centre is a partner of the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine” within the “Activation of Youth Centres and Youth Work” component.

On 16 September 2021, participants learned the experience of youth centre operation in various regions of Ukraine.

Anzhela Tymchenko, Director of the Municipal Institution “Nizhyn City Youth Centre” (Nizhyn, Chernihiv Region) talked about how the youth centre creation was initiated, how funding was received for the furnishing, how the needs of young people were researched and focus area determined, and also how the scope of funding is determined and resources attracted.

Maria Lutsak, Head of the Public Organisation DIYE (Dobri Ideyi Yednayut, Good Ideas Unite), presented the experience of the youth centre from Pechenizhynska CC (Kolomyia District, Ivano Frankivsk Region), specifically, she mentioned workshops, moving cinema and support to young women on maternity leave.

Roman Kudriavtsev, Project Manager at Tsarychanska Community, presented the experience of Tsarychanka youth centre (Dnipro District, Dnipropetrovsk Region) and said that the centre started its activities as the youth centre for movie screening and discussion. He noted that the creation of the youth council was the beginning of the establishment of the youth centre, as youth council representatives have become a bridge between the youth and local authorities. He also highlighted the importance of continuous communication between the authorities, businesses and the community.

As a reminder, on 13–17 September 2021, a five-day training seminar for partner communities of the Council of Europe Project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine” is taking place in Kyiv.

In the course of the training seminar, representatives of community teams partnering with the project will jointly explore and discuss:

• the role of young people in the life of the community and that of the community in the life of young people (opportunities and areas of responsibility);
• inclusive approaches in youth policy and youth work, recognizing the value of the participation of different youth categories;
• standards and approaches of the Council of Europe and the legislation of Ukraine in the field of youth policy and youth work, the ability to apply them in practice;
• the potential of youth councils and youth centres to strengthen youth participation and their possible impact on making decisions related to the lives of young people in the community;
• the legal framework regulating certain issues of the work of youth centres, and examples of advocacy of their proposals;
• youth work forms and methods, in particular approaches to non-formal education, etc.

Partner communities of the Council of Europe Project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine”

• Vasylkivska community (Kyiv Region)
• Velykokopanivska community, Kherson Region
• Kurnenska community, Zhytomyr Region
• Kuialnytska community, Odesa Region
• Novoukrainska community, Kirovohrad Region
• Opishnianska community, Poltava Region
• Prysyvaska community, Kherson Region
• Pryshybska community, Poltava Region
• Uzhgorodska community, Zakarpattia Region
• Khoroshivska community, Zhytomyr Region

As a reminder, on 13–16 July 2021 representatives of the teams of Pishnianska CC (Poltava Region), Prysyvaska CC (Kherson Region), Uzhgorodska CC (Zakarpattia Region) took part in the online two-week-long training seminar on the strengthening of youth participation and public activities.

On 5–9 July 2021, representatives of Vasylkivska community (Kyiv Region), Kurnenska community (Zhytomyr Region), Novoukrainkska community (Kirovohrad Region) and Khoroshivska community (Zhytomyr Region) took part in a five-day training seminar on the strengthening of youth participation and public activity, which was held in Kyiv.

Read more about the Council of Europe's project and resources in the field of youth at: https://www.coe.int/uk/web/kyiv/youth-for-democracy-in-ukraine

The Project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine” is implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018–2022 and is based on previous experience and efficient bilateral cooperation between the Council of Europe and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine as part of the Framework Programme on Cooperation between the Council of Europe Tarhana and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine in the Field of Youth Policy in 2016–2020.