On 4 September 2025, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe held an online meeting with representatives of 16 Ukrainian municipalities to launch a programme in support of inclusive school participatory budgeting (School PB) in 2025–2026 – whereby teachers, students and their parents decide together how to spend part of the school’s budget. School PB is seen as an effective tool for civic and youth participation that gives the school community a say in the budget, engaging everyone in democratic decision making.

“In the context of war and Ukraine’s recovery, engaging young people is essential to strengthening trust, building civic skills, and embedding the values of participatory democracy in the country’s future,” stressed Congress Director Claudia Luciani addressing the meeting. “School participatory budgeting plays a key role as a practical tool that lets young people learn by doing – identifying needs, deliberating, making proposals, voting, and seeing the results of their decisions. It is both a democratic practice and a long-term investment,” she said.

35 representatives of 16 communities learned about Council of Europe standards and the concept of inclusive School PB, and explored a model regulation. They also had the opportunity to hear about the inclusive School PB experience in Zviahel and Mahdalynivska communities of Ukraine. In the coming months, these municipalities will receive expert support in developing School PB regulations with inclusive provisions, along with guidance for their effective implementation.

The meeting was organised within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026 and the project “Strengthening multilevel governance and local democracy to support Ukraine’s recovery”, implemented by the Council of Europe Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.