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 All-Ukrainian Youth Centre conducted research of the needs and state of activity of youth centres and youth spaces of Ukraine of various forms of ownership at the local and regional levels.
On November 27, 2023, the results of a research of the needs and state of activity of youth centres and spaces of Ukraine of various forms of ownership at the local and regional levels were presented at the All-Ukrainian Forum “Youth Centres in Ukraine: Best Practices of Work with Youth in the Conditions of War”. The presentation of the research results can be found in more detail at the link.
The research was conducted by the research team of the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III” during August - October 2023 in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the All-Ukrainian Youth Centre in order to investigate the current situation and analyse changes in the activities of youth centres and spaces, comparing with the previous year. This is necessary for reviewing the work plan of both the Council of Europe Project and the Ministry, the possibility of forecasting development trends, clarifying the strategy and tactics of managing the quality and efficiency of youth centres and spaces, forming a comparative database for further improvement of the system of services provided by youth centres and spaces of Ukraine various forms of ownership at the local, regional and national levels, etc.
This research is the second stage. The first stage was carried out by the Council of Europe Project in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine in August-October 2022. The results of the research were used, in particular, for the development of the new Action Plan of the Council of Europe for Ukraine for 2023-2026 and the project of the Council of Europe “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine” for 2023-2024, distributed among the youth centres of other countries that have the Quality Label of the Council of Europe. The results of the research in 2022 can be found at the link:
- https://rm.coe.int/-08-2022-yfdua/1680a8e55a (in the Ukrainian language),
- https://rm.coe.int/needs-of-youth-centres-in-ukraine-2022/1680ab69f5 (in the English language).
The target group of the research was the management of youth centres and youth spaces in Ukraine.
The research methodology was based on the methods of participatory research, which provide for participation of representatives of the target groups in the research; inclusion of common ideas and practices in the content of the research; focus on expanding opportunities of the participants of the research; no hierarchy to consider interests and opinions of those with less power or representation authority; values-based attitude to different views and opinions.
Desk review, online questioners, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted within the research.
The report of the research of the needs and state of activity of youth centres and youth spaces of Ukraine of various forms of ownership at the local and regional levels, may be found at the link:
- https://rm.coe.int/needs-of-youth-centres-and-youth-spaces-in-ukraine-2023-/1680b0571f (in the Ukrainian language).
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.
