On the occasion of the Youth Day, representatives of national youth councils and national youth organisations of Ukraine got acquainted with the activities of the Council of Europe in Ukraine and discussed ideas for co-operation with the Organisation’s projects and the Register of Damage for Ukraine.
Opening the event, which took place on 7 August 2026, Maciej Janczak, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, stressed the importance of co-operation between the Council of Europe and youth civil society to protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms. He noted that despite the difficult situation in times of military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, such a meeting is of particular value for joining forces and shaping the future of Ukraine. The Head of the Office reaffirmed the Council of Europe’s commitment to support Ukraine, in particular through the current largest in the history of the Organization Action Plan “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023-2026, which covers more than 30 projects, including the areas of youth policy, local democracy, the rights of internally displaced persons and returnees, the protection of children’s rights and others. The Head of the Office emphasized the significant role of young people in these areas and expressed confidence that the results of joint work are the basis for the recovery and development of the country.
Ganna Khrystova, Head of the Kyiv Office of the Register of Damage for Ukraine, emphasized that the Register is intended to record all admissible claims for compensation for damage, losses or harm caused as a result of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The Register is the first stage of the international compensation mechanism, which is aimed at restoring justice for victims of aggression. Ms. Khrystova emphasized the need to involve young people in the process of disseminating information about the activities of the Register, because active participation helps to raise awareness and the effectiveness of recording losses.
The Youth Day at the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine became an opportunity to establish links between the various projects of the Organisation in Ukraine, the Register and national youth organisations and youth councils. The event became a space for the integration of youth perspective into the activities of the Council of Europe in accordance with the Reykjavik Declaration.
The participants discussed the contribution of the Council of Europe to strengthening youth policy and youth work at the local, regional and national levels in Ukraine. In particular, they discussed the implementation of the projects “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase IV”, “Strengthening multilevel governance and local democracy to support Ukraine's recovery”, “Facilitating access to human rights and essential services for internally displaced persons and returnees at the community level” and the Register of Damages for Ukraine.
The Council of Europe implements these and other projects with partners within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026.
More about the activities of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine can be found here.
More about the activities of the Register of Damage for Ukraine can be found here.
