On 13 November 2024, the Central Election Commission (CEC) initiated and hosted an online round table discussion on “The importance of youth participation in elections for the functioning and development of democratic society”. This event also commemorated 27th Anniversary since the CEC’s first session, underscoring the long-standing commitment of the Commission to advancing inclusive and participatory democratic processes in Ukraine.
The event brought together more than 200 participants, including young Ukrainian leaders from 50 universities nationwide along with representatives of national authorities, leading international organisations, including Council of Europe, IFES and International IDEA, as well as international experts, to discuss strategies for fostering youth engagement in Ukraine’s democratic processes.
While opening the discussion, the CEC Deputy Chair Mr Serhii DUBOVYK emphasised that youth are the heart of the nation, and the elections serve as a unique tool for young generations to have a say in shaping the course of the history. The First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Mr Oleksandr KORNIYENKO welcomed the participants of the discussion and underscored the importance of Ukrainian youth engagement and active participation in post-war elections, both as voters and as candidates. He noted that, based on current estimates, young voters are expected to make up one-third of Ukraine’s voters in the near future.
In light of the Council of Europe 75th anniversary, as well as the Reykjavik Declaration adopted in May 2023, Mr Maciej JANCZAK, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, underlined the Council of Europe commitment to empowering youth, particularly Ukrainian youth in current context of ongoing war of aggression*: “In these challenging circumstances, promoting Ukrainian youth engagement in democratic processes is more crucial than ever, given their vital role in rebuilding Ukraine, defending our common democratic values, as well as shaping the post-war peaceful and resilient future”.
Mr JANCZAK referred to the tools and resources developed by the Council of Europe to empower young generation with necessary knowledge and skills for their active and effective participation in democratic processes at all levels. He also drew attention of the participants of the discussion to the unique online awareness raising platform – “CEC: prosvita” – developed by the CEC with the Council of Europe support**. The online platform offers free online training courses and awareness raising materials on elections and referenda that can be especially valuable for young leaders and activists who are keen to build their political careers and actively participate in political and electoral processes in Ukraine.
Participants of the discussion explored and exchanged on existing international experiences of engaging young people in electoral processes, as well as on various methods and strategies to motivate young voters to participate in post-war elections in support of further democratic developments in Ukraine.
*Targeted Council of Europe support on strengthening participatory youth policies and reinforcing youth work in Ukraine is provided within the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: III Phase”, implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023 – 2026.
**The “CEC: prosvita” online awareness-raising platform was developed in the framework and with the support of the Council of Europe project “Supporting the transparency, inclusiveness and integrity of electoral practice in Ukraine”, implemented within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018 – 2022. The technical support to the functioning of the online platform is further ensured within the Council of Europe project “Supporting democratic post-war elections in Ukraine”, implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023 – 2026.
