During February-May 2026, 22 young people – participants in the Council of Europe’s programme for multiplication of Council of Europe approaches in the youth sector in Ukraine – develop competencies through expert and mentoring support to implement pilot activities on the youth perspective and strengthening the meaningful participation of young people in decision-making processes at different levels.
The programme is organised 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.
The aim of the programme is to create a network of young people to multiply the approaches of the Council of Europe in the youth sector in Ukraine, introduce a youth perspective and strengthen the participation of young people in decision-making processes at local, regional and national levels in the war and post-war period.
On 10 March 2026, the workshop “Participation of young people in decision-making processes” took place, during which participants not only delved into the standards and approaches of the Council of Europe on youth participation, but also discussed the levels of youth engagement, tools and forms of participation.
The conversation with Oleksandr Sanchenko, People’s Deputy of Ukraine, co-chairman of the Council on Youth Affairs under the President of Ukraine, head of ZeMolodizhka, the youth wing of the “Sluha Narody (Servant of the People)” party, and the author of Law 3718 “On the Basic Principles of Youth Policy” had a particular interest. Participants had a unique opportunity to communicate directly with the author of key changes in youth legislation and find answers to questions about the mechanisms of youth participation people in decision-making processes at the national level.
We remind, that within the framework of the programme, between 24 and 28 November 2025 training for young people on the approaches of the Council of Europe in the youth sector began for 22 representatives of youth councils, youth centres, civil society organisations, educational institutions from 11 regions of Ukraine.
Young people will have thematic expert workshops on non-formal education, facilitation of educational events, as well as a final session to exchange the results of the implementation of pilot activities.
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The Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV” was launched 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, youth resources and open calls for participation in the project, can be found here.
