On 5 November 2023, the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III” presented the research results of the needs and state of activity of youth consultative bodies, in particular, taking into account the needs and realities of young people in the war and post-war period, at an organisational meeting of organisations, which are engaged in the creation and strengthening of youth councils in Ukraine.

The purpose of the meeting was to synchronize work plans and expectations regarding the work and development of the field of youth councils and youth participation in general to develop a single scenario for the work of this sector of youth policy of Ukraine.

It was important in the process of discussing the current situation and drawing up future plans regarding the functioning of youth councils to hear the voices of young people themselves, in particular those represented in the results of the Project’s research.

Victoriia Bezsmertna, an expert of the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III”, outlined the key findings of the research in her presentation:

• As for the various areas of participation of young people, the most relevant, according to the respondents, are informing, training, supporting youth projects and initiatives, encouraging young people to volunteer and promoting the participation of young people in non-governmental organisations.
• The main difficulties and barriers in the implementation of youth policy with the participation of young people were identified as the lack of a youth policy strategy at the local level, the devaluation of youth policy, a political barrier, unsettled co-operation between the authorities and young people, lack of support from authorities, lack of experience, insufficient level of competences, movement of young people outside the community, change of sphere of activity and priorities, financial barrier.
• Establishing co-operation between authorities and young people, support from authorities, increasing the level of competences, functioning of youth councils as consultative bodies, and performance of consultative functions by representatives of youth consultative bodies at different levels, research of young people’s needs, financing, development of youth infrastructure, mobile youth work were defined as possible and desirable actions to overcome obstacles to youth participation.
• Competencies of youth work and youth policy that need to be developed in order to improve the participation of young people, according to the respondents, are knowledge of the legislative framework, administrative skills, researching the needs of young people, knowledge about the purpose, tasks and functioning of youth councils, communication and co-operation skills, English (or another foreign) language, flexibility and adaptability, advocacy skills.

The research was conducted by the research team of the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III” during May-July 2023 with the aim of better understanding key stakeholders, their achievements, challenges and needs for the implementation of participatory youth policy. The target group of the research was civil servants and local self-government officials responsible for youth policy, and representatives of youth consultative bodies.

The research methodology was based on methods of participatory research, which involve the participation in the research of representatives of target groups, the inclusion of common (popular) ideas and practices in the content of the research, a focus on expanding the opportunities of research participants, the absence of hierarchy to take into account interests and opinions of those with less power or representation, valuing different opinions and views.

On 11 August 11 2023, day before the Youth Day, 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 National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service and the Ukrainian Association of Youth Councils held a presentation and discussion of the research results.

It should be noted that representatives of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, local self-government bodies, international organisations and institutions of civil society joined the meeting of organisations involved in the creation and strengthening of youth councils in Ukraine. The event was organized by the non-governmental organisation “Youth Platform” with the assistance of the Norwegian Refugee Council in Ukraine with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway.

The project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III” is implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2023-2026 and is based on the results and experience of the projects “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine” in 2020-2022.  The project will expand the systematic impact by strengthening youth participation policies and youth work during the war and in the post-war context, taking into account the specific needs of young people.

The project encourages youth policy stakeholders in Ukraine to implement and disseminate the Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers to Member States: on the access of youth from disadvantaged neighbourhoods to social rights, CM/Rec(2015)3; on young people's access to rights, CM/Rec(2016)7; on youth work, CM/Rec(2017)4; on Roma youth participation CM/Rec(2023)4; on protecting youth civil society and young people, and supporting their participation in democratic processes CM/Rec(2022)6.

News, Council of Europe resources in the field of youth and open announcements for participation in project activities can be found here.