Co-operation between the Council of Europe and the state authority responsible for the implementation of youth policy in Ukraine began in the late 1990s. The co-operation reached a peak in October 2008 when the Council of Europe held the 8th Conference of European Ministers responsible for youth which took place in Kyiv, with the support of the Ministry of Ukraine for Family, Youth and Sports.

Thereafter, framework cooperation  programmes have been concluding on an ongoing basis; their implementation is carried out through annual action plans.

Currently the long-term cooperation between Ukraine and the Council of Europe in youth policy is implemented within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine through the project Youth for Democracy in Ukraine, launched in 2020 and currently in its third phase. The project which strengthens youth work and supports youth policy reform at the local level in the respect of Council of Europe standards and approaches.

After the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022 the project Youth for Democracy in Ukraine transformed its activities to respond to the needs of youth workers, youth centers and youth organisations in Ukraine and to support youth policy and youth policy stakeholders in war time.

The Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine for 2023-2026 was adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 14 December 2022. This new Action Plan priorities strengthening youth policy and youth participation in the war and post war context taking into account the specific needs of young people and youth work actors.
 

 Framework Programme of Cooperation 2021 – 2025

The current Framework Programme for cooperation in the field of Youth Policy between the Council of Europe Youth Department and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine for 2021-2025 (English, Ukrainian) was signed in July 2021. The purpose of this Framework Programme is to contribute to the development of youth policy in Ukraine and implementation of new legislation in this field. The programme is complementary to the project Youth for Democracy in Ukraine.

The Framework Programme supports youth policy reforms in Ukraine and the implementation of relevant strategic programmes, notably the National Youth Strategy 2030, the State Target Social Programme “Youth of Ukraine” 2021-2025, and new legislation in the field of youth policy and youth work in Ukraine. The priorities and modes of intervention reflect the orientations of the Council of Europe Youth Sector Strategy 2030.

Within the Framework Programme 2021 – 2025, the Council of Europe and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine organised:

  • A “50/50” training seminar on youth participation standards and processes in UkraineTOGETHER HAVE YOUR SAY!” for youth policy makers, young activists and representatives of youth NGOs in Kyiv from 25 to 29 October 2021.
  • A study visit and seminar for youth workers and representatives of youth centres providing youth work during war time in Ukraine, which took place at the European Youth Centre, Strasbourg from 5 to 10 December 2022.

 

 

 

Previous cooperation programmes

 Key activities

The programme of activities was mostly funded through a Voluntary Contribution (VC) of Norway which covered: an international youth policy review, a programme of training for youth leaders on human rights education and on youth participation and the translation and dissemination into Ukrainian of the manuals Compass (manual for human rights education with young people), Bookmarks (manual for combating hate speech through human rights education) and Have Your Say! (manual on the revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life).

The close bilateral co-operation between the Council of Europe and Ukraine in Youth sector is evident in the following joint activities: