“Experience, inspiration, motivation, unbridled desire to continue what has been started, action plan and desire to strengthen the participation of young people” were received by 241 participants of the presentation of the professional development programme “Participatory Youth Policy”, which took place on 11 November 2024 in an online format.
The public event was organised by the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III” in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service and Ukrainian Youth Councils Association.
The “Participatory Youth Policy” programme was developed by the Council of Europe in 2023 together with national partners – the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service and the Ukrainian Youth Councils Association. On 18 September 2023, the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service approved a Model general short-term professional development programme “Participatory Youth Policy” to increase the level of professional competencies of civil servants and local self-government officials to ensure youth participation in the formation and implementation of youth policy, taking into account the standards and approaches of the Council of Europe.
Within the framework of the programme, the Council of Europe, together with its partners, created a training manual, conducted a training for trainers, prepared a series of videos of young people's participation practices and provided mentoring and expert support for the trainers team in the preparation and implementation of trainings at the regional and local levels. As a result of these efforts, 21 professional development programmes have already been implemented in 2024 for 600 civil servants, local government officials, scientists and educators.
Viktoriia Riasna, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine for European Integration; Maciej Janczak, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine; Liudmyla Rykova, Director of the General Department for Professional Development of Civil Servants and Local Self-Government Officials of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service and Maksym Bondarenko, Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Youth Councils Association took part in the opening of the public presentation of the programme’s achievements.
Viktoriia Riasna, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine for European Integration, thanked the Council of Europe, the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, and the Ukrainian Youth Councils Association for co-operation. She stressed the importance of the training programme for civil servants and local self-government officials to respond to the needs, in particular of young people.
Maciej Janczak, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, and the Ukrainian Youth Councils Association for fruitful co-operation. He briefly presented the activities of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023-2026, including projects on civic participation, the rights of internally displaced persons, the justice system, combating violence against women, youth policy and youth work.
Liudmyla Rykova, Director of the General Department for Professional Development of Civil Servants and Local Self-Government Officials of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, stressed the importance of approving the Model Professional Development Programme “Participatory Youth Policy”. She also stressed the need to unite efforts to ensure the development of competencies of civil servants and local self-government officials.
Maksym Bondarenko, Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Youth Councils Association, thanked the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the Council of Europe, and the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service for their partnership. He also stressed that the training of civil servants and local self-government officials in the context of youth policy is very important for young people, as it ensures more effective participation of young people at the local level, as a result, youth councils become active participants in democratic processes.
The trainers of the Programme shared their experience in implementing trainings based on the Model General Short-Term Professional Development Programme “Participatory Youth Policy”: Volodymyr Azovskyi, Higher School of Public Administration; Olena Babenko, Poltava Regional Centre for Advanced Training; Olena Bozhko, Serhii Gololobov, Mykolaiv Regional Centre for Advanced Training; Vyacheslav Golub and Tetyana Shestakovska, Chernihiv Regional Centre for Advanced Training, Chernihiv Institute of Information, Business and Law of the Higher Education Institution “Academician Yuri Bugai International Scientific and Technical University”; Vladyslav Dibrova, Sumy Regional Centre for Advanced Training; Iryna Ryzhuk, Alla Krushynska, Khmelnytskyi Regional Centre for Advanced Training and Tetyana Yanchyk, Rivne Regional Centre for Advanced Training.
The National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service recommends that subjects providing educational services in the field of professional development training (providers) develop general professional development programmes for civil servants and local self-government officials on participatory youth policy based on the Model Programme.
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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.
