On 14-16 August 2024, in Lviv – the European Youth Capital 2025 – the trainers of the Council of Europe Professional Development Programme "Participatory Youth Policy" summed up the implementation of the training programmes, discussed challenges and needs for the future.
The Council of Europe Project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III" in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Association of Youth Councils has developed and is implementing the first educational and practical programme "Participatory Youth Policy". Its implementation began in November 2023 in accordance with the developed and approved the Model General Short-Term Professional Development Programme "Participatory Youth Policy" to ensure the participation of young people in the formation and implementation of youth policy, taking into account the standards and approaches of the Council of Europe.
Within the framework of the programme, the Project created a training a manual, conducted a training for trainers, prepared a series of videos of young people's participation practices and provided mentoring and expert support for the trainers team in the preparation and implementation of trainings at the regional and local levels. As a result of these efforts, 19 professional development programmes have already been implemented in 2024 for 555 civil servants, local government officials, scientists and educators.
Liudmyla Lukyanova, a member of the Board of the Ukrainian Youth Councils Association, expressed her gratitude to the trainers for the implementation of the Programme, emphasized that there are good reviews from the youth councils regarding the improvement of interaction with the authorities in those communities where such training took place and emphasized that for the Association it was very important to be involved in the process of creating and implementing the Programme to ensure the voice of young people.
Erlend Falch, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, congratulated the trainers on the successful implementation of the Programme in the regions of Ukraine and expressed gratitude for the co-operation with the Office. He briefly presented the activities of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine "Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction" 2023-2026, in particular, projects that may be in the field of professional interests of the trainers team: on public participation, IDP rights, youth policy and youth work, combating violence against women, protecting children's rights, combating discrimination and the rights of national minorities, veterans' rights and promoting housing issues for people affected by the war in Ukraine.
Andriy Chesnokov, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, communicated with the trainers, expressed gratitude for their co-operation and stressed the importance of the professional development programme to respond to the needs of young people in particular. He mentioned the results of the Ukrainian Youth Forum 2024, which took place on the occasion of International Youth Day from 10 to 12 August 2024. These results also highlight the need to develop the competencies of civil servants and local self-government officials to ensure the participation of young people in the formation and implementation of youth policy.
During the consolidation meeting, the trainers also visited the centre of the Network of Youth Spaces "Create (Твори)" in Lviv, where they studied youth work and activities, in particular within the European Youth Capital 2025.
The Council of Europe project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III" was launched within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2023-2026. The project builds on the results and experience of the Council of Europe project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine" in 2020-2022 and expands the systematic impact by strengthening youth policies based on participatory approaches and strengthening youth work during the war and in the post-war context, taking into account the specific needs of young people.
The project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III" highlights the importance of the Council of Europe's Youth Sector Strategy 2030 and reflects the National Strategy of State Youth Policy until 2030, the State Target Social Programme "Youth of Ukraine" 2021-2025.
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.
