On 12 August 2025, International Youth Day, the final day of the Ukrainian Youth Forum “Youth Is Here” took place with the participation of the President of Ukraine, the Speaker of the Parliament and the Prime Minister. The event brought together more than 1000 young people, representatives of the authorities and international partners.
The day began with interactive discussions between young people and representatives of the Government, embassies and international organisations. Young people presented ideas developed on 9-10 August in Lviv, the European Youth Capital 2025, and received direct feedback from decision-makers.
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially opened the day’s programme. Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk also addressed the audience with welcoming remarks.
Matviy Bidnyi, the Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, presented the Portal of Opportunities “EASY” – a digital tool that provides young people with access to educational, volunteering, international and professional programmes.
A panel discussion on “Mental Health” featured Taras Topolia, serviceman and frontman of the band Antytila; Yevhen Klopotenko, Ukrainian restaurateur; Yevhenia Vasylenko, officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and psychologist; and Ostap Ukrainets, a public figure of modern Ukrainian culture.
The forum spanned four days – 9-10 August 2025 in Lviv, the European Youth Capital 2025, and 11-12 August 2025 in Kyiv. Hilde Haug, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, took part in the opening of the Forum in Lviv. Ms. Haug reaffirmed the Council of Europe’s support to Ukraine within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026.
On 11 August 2025, in Kyiv the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV” together with the Ukrainian-Danish Youth House and the United Nations Development Programme organised a series of events. The Council of Europe presented resources and opportunities for young people, including a board game “Solutions exist!” about youth participation.
The Ukrainian Youth Forum 2025 was organised by the Council on Youth Affairs under the President of Ukraine in close co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the “TVORY!” Network, the “Lviv – European Youth Capital 2025” initiative. The event was supported by UNICEF in Ukraine with the financial assistance of the Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development of Germany (BMZ) through the German Development Bank (KfW); Hepatica Foundation; the project “EU4Youth IV: Youth Engagement and Empowerment”, co-funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ); the Swiss-Ukrainian EGAP programme implemented by the East Europe Foundation; UNDP in Ukraine with funding from the Government of Denmark; the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV”; with the support of PipeLogicAI, the CSO “Platform for the Development of Youth Initiatives”, as well as in co-operation with the Office of the President of Ukraine.
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. News, resources of the Council of Europe in the field of youth, as well as open announcements for participation in the Project’s activities can be found here.
