Acknowledging the need to document experiences and personal contributions, 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 those working with young people, created a second collection of youth work experience that is based on the approaches and standards of the Council of Europe in the context of the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine.
During a series of workshops in the summer of 2025, people who work with young people in Ukraine got together to discuss their experiences, create their own stories and rethink their personal contributions to youth work. Each meeting had its own question, which was reflected in the stories.
The result of this work is this collection of 23 personal stories of acquaintance with the Council of Europe and its standards, professional development and contribution to youth work in the context of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
The 2nd Collection is available in Ukrainian and English by the link.
In 2022, the Council of Europe Project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase ІІ”, in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, collected and described for the first time the experience and practices of youth work in the context of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine after 24 February 2022.
The publication comprised twenty stories of experience and reflection — including team projects, initiatives of youth centres and non-governmental organisations etc. And individual experience directed at social, cultural, educational, environmental transformations implemented by the youth, together with and for the youth.
This first collection was published in Ukrainian and translated into English at the request of partners from Council of Europe member states. Thousands of people working with the young people at the local, national and international levels have turned to the Collection and are studying the experience of youth work in Ukraine in times of war.
A video about youth work in Ukraine in wartime, based on the first collection, was shown at the opening of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe in Reykjavik (Iceland) on 16 May 2023.
More information about the Council of Europe project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine", news, Council of Europe resources in the field of youth and open calls for participation in project activities can be found here.
