On 15-19 April 2024, the Council of Europe project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III" in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sport of Ukraine held the fifth in a series of training seminars on social cohesion and barrier-free environment in the youth sector. The programme is based on the Project's experience in 2022 and the developed Training Manual on Social Cohesion and Barrier-Free Environment in the Youth Sector.
Youth workers of national, regional and local youth centers of Ukraine of any form of ownership were invited to participate.
While doing their homework, participants and participants:
- got acquainted with the content of the National Strategy for a Barrier-Free Environment in Ukraine until 2030 and identified three areas/tasks from the Strategy that are most important for their work with young people;
- carried out a self-assessment of local youth policy for compliance with the Council of Europe standards in the area of inclusion and access of young people to rights using both local documents defining youth policy and internal documents of the organisation or youth centre.
On the first day, participants from youth centers in 9 regions of Ukraine explored the concepts of "human rights", "access to human rights", "youth work" and the concept of social cohesion in the field of youth work and its relationship with human rights. Among the participants, in particular, were representatives of youth centres from the Donetsk region, displaced as a result of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.
The second day of the training was devoted to the analysis of barriers to social cohesion in youth work, in particular stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination. Participants identified who are young people in the community, including those at risk of exclusion or vulnerability.
The third day of the 5-day training began with a simulation game to develop a strategy to strengthen social cohesion through youth work. The coaching team has developed an adaptation of the game "Red Lines" from the Lviv Regional Youth Centre. The game "Red Lines" was developed in 2021 in cooperation with the Council of Europe project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine" and can be downloaded at the link. The second half of the day was devoted to the study of practices and experience of outreach, detail, street and mobile work both in Ukraine and in other member states of the Council of Europe.
The fourth day began with the "Fair of Successful Practices and Challenges of Youth Work on Social Cohesion". Among them, the participants presented: holding a career guidance forum for young people "Introduction Navigator" by the youth center "Energy" in Mykolayivka, Donetsk region; experience of operation and relocation of the 380 Volt Youth Centre from Kurakhove, Donetsk region, after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine; creation of the youth centre "RUKH" in Ivano-Frankivsk; ambassador programme and internship at the Nizhyn Youth Centre, Chernihiv region, youth excursions in the rural community of the village of Shpaniv, Rivne region; creation of a youth space in the city of Novhorod-Siverskyi, Chernihiv region.
Among the invited guests, Ivan Sapsa, Director of the Lviv Regional Youth Centre, presented the project "Youth Resilience Laboratory", supported by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe within the framework of a special call to support young people from Ukraine. The participants also got acquainted with the practical side of the functioning of the co-management system in the youth sector of the Council of Europe - a unique and living example of participatory democracy, which became possible thanks to meeting with Yevgenia Fedotova, representative of the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe.
In the afternoon, the participants became readers of the Living Library, organised on the basis of the methodology of the Council of Europe manual Don't Judge by the Cover. The Living Library provided an opportunity to meet with invited Books who openly shared their own stories and encounters with stereotypes and prejudices against the LGBTI community, Roma youth, IDP youth, and young people with disabilities.
On the fifth day of the training, the participants met with Olena Chernykh, Senior Project Officer of the Council of Europe Project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine" and explored the experience of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe, in particular the co-management system, the grants of the European Youth Foundation and expert support of the Project.
Natalia Rudnytska, representative of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, spoke about the Ministry's activities and the resources available to those who work with young people and young people themselves.
In the afternoon, participants developed their own collaborative initiatives to strengthen social cohesion and young people's access to rights in their work with young people.
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 Youth for Democracy in Ukraine projects in 2020-2022. The project expands the systematic impact by strengthening youth participation policies and strengthening youth work during the war and in the post-war context, taking into account the specific needs of young people.
