A report on the state of participation of young people in decision-making processes, taking into account the needs and realities of young people in the war and post-war period, has been published.

The research was implemented by 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 Ukrainian Youth Councils Association in September-December 2025. As part of the research a desk review, an online survey and focus group discussions were conducted.

According to the conclusions of the research:

• The most effective tools for youth engagement are awareness-raising campaigns, trainings and forums, as well as research on needs of youth and participation in the development of local programmes.
• The composition of youth councils, as noted by the participants of the survey, is dominated by young people who study or work. At the same time, young people with disabilities, veterans, representatives of national and religious communities and repatriates remain less represented, which requires special mechanisms of involvement.
• Youth councils strive to take into account the needs of different groups of young people, but this process is not yet consistently systematized in most councils.
• The main barriers to the activities of youth councils remain the internal challenges of the councils (lack of resources, experience, infrastructure), demographic and motivational factors among young people, the impact of the war and the security situation, as well as limited communication with the authorities.
• Meaningful participation of young people is a collective responsibility of authorities, youth councils, youth, civil society organisations, educational institutions, business and international partners.
• To improve interaction with the authorities, the participants of the research recommend developing horizontal co-operation, transparency, dialogue, institutionalization of co-operation, as well as the formation of trust and partnership.
• To strengthen the capacity of youth councils, resource support, development of communications and networking, training and mentoring programmes, involvement of active youth, as well as psychological support for activists are needed.

The full report of the it is research of the state of youth participation in decision-making processes, taking into account the needs and realities of young people in the war and post-war period, can be found at the link (in Ukrainian).

The results of this reseach can be used to strengthen the participation of young people both by youth councils and authorities at local and national level, as well as by the Council of Europe and other international partners.

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.