Youth work covers a wide variety of activities of a social, cultural, educational, environmental and/or political nature by, with and for young people. Trauma informed youth work is a new concept in youth work in Ukraine, which still is a necessary practice consistent with the young people’s needs.
Guide on the Educational Course of Trauma Informed Youth Work, 2022
In 2022 the Council of Europe Project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase II” in cooperation with the Council of Europe Project “Internal Displacement in Ukraine: Building Solutions. Phase II” developed the Guide on the Educational Course of Trauma Informed Youth Work. The Guide is translated in the English language and accessible online.
Youth workers already explored this Guide in the English language during the training course “Human rights education with young Ukrainian refugees and host communities in Romania” in the Youth Centre in Bucharest, between 27 February and 4 March 2023. The Council of Europe Youth Department supported, in the framework of the Democracy Here |Democracy Now project, the organisation of two training courses for youth workers on human rights education with young Ukrainian refugees and host communities in Romania. The training course was organised by the National Youth Foundation and the Timiș County Youth Foundation, and co-funded by the European Union.
The idea of the Guide on the Educational Course of Trauma Informed Youth Work as a methodological basis for training on trauma-informed youth work arose in April 2022 during a series of meetings of youth workers of Ukraine. The meetings were dedicated to discussing current challenges and priorities of youth work during armed agression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine after 24 February 2022. In its turn, the series of meetings was held in response to the findings of the survey at the end of March 2022 regarding the essential matters and needs of youth workers in Ukraine.
The Programme on trauma informed youth work has been implemented for four months in 2022 by the Council of Europe Project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase II” in cooperation with the Council of Europe Project “Internal Displacement in Ukraine: Building Solutions. Phase II” and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine.
The programme included the training for the trainers and implementation of educational programmes in the communities in accordance with the content of the Guide.
In October – November 2022 twelve youth centres organised educational activities for youth workers and young people on prevention of burnout and compassion fatigue, first psychological aid in crisis situations based on the developed Guide of the Trauma Informed Youth Work training programme.
The Guide contains the description of the educational programme and relevant sessions for the five-day training for the youth workers. Moreover, the educational programme may be used as an educational kit and adapted to the needs of the target group, the format and available time. Each session constitutes a complete educational module and contains explanations on the preconditions and possible follow-up.
In 2023, the Council of Europe Project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III" in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the All-Ukrainian Youth Centre preliminarily plans to hold an three-day (advanced) training for trainers of the Programme, develop and conduct a specialised course "Trauma Informed Youth Work" within the framework of the state program "Youth worker" and the all-Ukrainian week of mapping psychological services for young people in communities for the referrals in the work of youth centres and youth workers.
The Programme “Trauma Informed Youth Work” involved youth workers from twelve regional and local youth centres of different ownership forms:
- Non-Governmental Organisation “Youth Centre of Kirovohrad Region”
- Municipal Institution “Vinnytsia Regional Youth Centre "KVADRAT" ("Square" in English)
- Municipal Institution “Nizhyn City Youth Centre” of the Nizhyn City Council, Chernihiv
- Region
- Municipal Institution “Chernihiv Regional Youth Centre” of the Chernihiv City Council
- Municipal Out-of-School Educational Establishment “Donetsk Regional Children
- and Youth Centre”
- Non-Governmental Organisation “Okhtyrka Youth Centre”
- Youth Centre “Space of Ideas” (Non-Governmental Organisation Kremenchuk
- Information and Education Centre “European Club”)
- Non-Governmental Organisation “Centre of Innovation, Social, Physical and
- Intellectual Development “People.ua”
- Municipal Institution of the Kyiv City Council “Plast Training Centre”
- Everything Will Be Fine, Khmelnytskyi (Non-Governmental Organisation "Zahody"
- ("Events" in English), Mariupol)
- Non-Governmental Organisation “Volunteers of the State Higher Educational
- Establishment “Uzhhorod National University”
- Municipal Enterprise “Dnipro Youth Centre” of the Dnipro City Council
The Project «Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III» is carried out in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2023-2026. The Project was built on the results and experience of the projects “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine” in 2020-2022 and will extend the systematic influence by strengthening participatory youth policies and reinforce youth work in the war and in a post war context taking into account the specific needs of young people.
Read more about the project and the Council of Europe resources in the field of youth policy and youth work – https://www.coe.int/en/web/kyiv/youth-for-democracy-in-ukraine
