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 Association of Youth Councils held a five-day training seminar on participatory youth policy, youth participation and civic participation in the decision-making process, which took place from 18 to 22 March 2024 in Lviv.

23 representatives of youth and student councils, youth organisations, youth centres from 14 oblasts of Ukraine, working at the regional and local level, took part in the training.

• The purpose of the training seminar was to strengthen the abilities of young activists to participate in democratic processes, considering the approaches of youth participation and civic participation in the decision-making process.

Maciej Janczak, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, Tobias Flessenkemper, Head of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe, Volodymyr Sonko, Head of the Ukrainian Association of Youth Councils, Vladyslav Yatsuk, Director of the Youth Policy Department of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine participated in the opening of the training.

Maciej Janczak, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, stressed that for everyone living in Ukraine, the situation after the full-scale Russian invasion is difficult. He highlighted the importance of the joint and effective co-operation of the Council of Europe, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, youth councils, non-governmental organisations, and youth centres of Ukraine. He added that even in the dark and difficult times of war, the Council of Europe contributes to the protection and promotion of human rights and basic freedoms of young people, including democratic participation. The Head of the Office in Ukraine also emphasized the fact  that in 2024 the Council of Europe celebrates its 75th anniversary, which provides an opportunity to look ahead and highlight the work carried out by the member states of the Council of Europe to promote common values and standards. Within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023-2026, the team of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine implements about 27 projects, among which the project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III”.

Tobias Flessenkemper, Head of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe, shared the results of the visit of the Council of Europe Youth Department delegation to Ukraine, which took place from 26 to 28 February 2024. He emphasized that the Council of Europe is helping to empower young activists through the Council of Europe’s approaches and standards, by strengthening their capacity and preparing them to take on the role of leaders of today and tomorrow. The Head of the Department emphasized that the participation of young people and their vision should be taken into account in all key issues, in line with the Reykjavík Declaration. Therefore, the Council of Europe helps to develop policies with and for young people based on its well-established standards. In addition, he emphasized the support of youth organisations within the framework of a special call of the European Youth Foundation for youth non-governmental organisations working with young people in Ukraine.

Volodymyr Sonko, Head of the Ukrainian Association of Youth Councils, emphasized that the war entailed the withdrawal of youth policy, youth work and youth processes. Nevertheless, the civil society, in particular, the participation of young people in democratic processes and showed how young people can unite through different forms of participation. The Head of the Association expressed his encouragement regarding the strengthening of the voice of young people in youth consultative bodies and pointed to the increase in the number of youth councils, and the role of the Association, which is part of this process.

Vladyslav Yatsuk, Director of the Youth Policy Department of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, emphasized the long-term fruitful co-operation between the Ministry and the Council of Europe, through the implementation of the Project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III”, which ensures, in particular, qualitative steps in the development of youth councils. He assured that despite all the challenges of today, the Ministry continues the development of this approach.

Also, on the first day, the participants explored the concepts of “human rights”, “participation of young people” and analysed the prerequisites and motivation of young people to participate in the decision-making process.

The second day of training was dedicated to getting to know the Council of Europe and its role in youth policy, the standards of the Council of Europe in the field of youth participation and the standards of national youth policy, as well as researching the forms and tools of participation of young people in the decision-making process at various levels. The participants got acquainted with the practical side of the functioning of the co-management system in the youth sector of the Council of Europe - a unique and living example of participatory democracy, which became possible thanks to a meeting with Yevgeniia Fedotova, a representative of the Council of Europe’s Advisory Council on Youth. Lesia Holoiad, head of the grant department of the Youth Congress of Zborivska community, ex-president of the Youth Congress of Zborivska community, member of the Board of the Ukrainian Association of Youth Councils, shared successful practices and challenges of young people’s participation in the decision-making process at the local level.

The third day of the 5-day training began with a discussion of the structure and functions of the youth council as a form of youth participation and a presentation of the key results of a research on the needs and state of activity of local and regional youth consultative bodies, in particular, taking into account the needs and realities of young people in the war and post-war period from Victoriia Bezsmertna, researcher of the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III” and discussion of their application in practice. In the afternoon, the participants investigated the issue of creating an inclusive space in the museum in the dark.

On the fourth day, the participants identified who are the young people in their communities, in particular those who are at risk of exclusion or becoming vulnerable, what their needs are, and what access and motivation to participate, as well as analysed the barriers to youth participation and the role of the youth council to ensure the participation of various young people in the life of the community. Together with Liliia Shkyra, head of the department of regional youth policy and support of youth initiatives of the department of youth policy of the Ministry of youth and sports of Ukraine, in the afternoon the participants discussed the concept of the State Targeted Social Programme “Youth of Ukraine” for 2026-2030 and developed their proposals, that were transferred to the team of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine.

On the fifth day of training, the participants got acquainted with the resources and opportunities of the Council of Europe, in particular, the special call of the European Youth Foundation to support youth from Ukraine, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Youth Foundation and the Ukrainian Association of Youth Councils; discussed the concept of a youth-friendly educational resource with standards, tools and resources for strengthening youth participation and developed their own joint initiatives to strengthen the participation of young people in the decision-making process at the local, regional and national levels.

Thanks to the expert work of the trainers’ team of the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III”, the participants of the five-day training seminar on participatory youth policy, youth participation and civic participation in the decision-making process:

• formed competences regarding participation in democratic processes, taking into account the approaches of youth participation in the decision-making process;
• strengthened their role as multipliers in the processes of dialogue and co-operation between state authorities, local self-government bodies, non-governmental organisations, youth institutions and young people in order to strengthen the participation of young people and the effectiveness of youth policy;
• researched the approaches and standards of the Council of Europe and the Ukrainian state youth policy regarding youth participation and civic participation in the decision-making process and developed the skill of applying them in practice;
• researched the forms and tools of participation of young people in the decision-making process in order to strengthen the participation of young people at different levels;
• got acquainted with the results of the research on the needs and state of activity of local and regional youth consultative bodies conducted within the framework of the Council of Europe project "Youth for Democracy: Phase III" and discussed their application in practice;
• had space to discuss the concept of the State targeted social programme “Youth of Ukraine” for 2026-2030;
• had a space to discuss the concept of a youth-friendly educational resource with standards, tools and resources for strengthening youth participation at local, regional and national levels, social cohesion and inclusion, democratic citizenship, non-discrimination and equality;
• planned further steps to strengthen the participation of young people in the decision-making process at the local, regional and national levels.

Details of the training programme are available at the link.

The project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III” is implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2023-2026. The project is based on the results and experience of the projects “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine” in 2020-2022 and will expand the systematic impact by strengthening youth participation policies and youth work during the war and in the post-war context, taking into account the specific needs of young people.

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.