2024 Seminar Coming of age during war

Seminar
Coming of age during war
Youth work in Ukraine today
How can European youth policy adapt?

The Youth Department of the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine are organising a seminar entitled ‘COMING OF AGE DURING WAR. YOUTH WORK IN UKRAINE TODAY. HOW CAN EUROPEAN YOUTH POLICY ADAPT?’ from 30 September to 4 October 2024 (working days) at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg.

The seminar will bring together up to 30 professional practitioners and volunteer working with young people of Ukraine to develop their understanding of a human rights-based approach to youth work in supporting the well-being of young people coming of age in war conditions. The outcomes of this seminar will be reflected in the 4th European Youth Work Convention in May 2025 and the Conference of Ministers responsible for Youth in October 2025.

In the framework of the seminar, the Council of Europe Youth Department is organising a public discussion titled “Youth, Ukraine, Europe: Coming of age during war. How can European youth policy adapt ?” on 2 October 2024.

The event will bring together youth sector stakeholders, policy makers and practitioners, as well as the Council of Europe experts and member states, concerned to address the consequences of the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine on the lives of young people. It will shed light on the role of youth policies and youth work in Europe in supporting young people experiencing war and its consequences and in addressing their key needs and challenges.

OBJECTIVES

The seminar will

analyse and develop participating stakeholders’ understanding of the challenges and needs of young people coming of age in war conditions, notably young people of Ukraine.
map practices of human rights-based youth work that can ensure the participation, inclusion and well-being of young people of Ukraine displaced by the war within their country or other Council of Europe member states.
familiarise participating stakeholders with the various instruments of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe that can support them in ensuring the participation, inclusion, social cohesion, and well-being of young people living in the context of war.
explore the role of youth policies in Europe in supporting young people experiencing war and its consequence, and in addressing their key needs and challenges, also in the context of the EU accession process of Ukraine.
develop ideas and recommendations for sustaining and improving youth work and youth policy responses to the negative consequences of the Russian war of aggression on the well-being of young people of Ukraine and of war on young people, more broadly.

PROGRAMME

The programme of the activity will be based on the principles and approaches of non-formal learning, building from the experiences and practices of the participants. Key elements of the programme include:

concepts and terms of a human-rights based approach to youth work.
standards and practices of a human-rights based approach to youth work.
standards and instruments of the Council of Europe and its youth department for human-rights based approaches to youth work.
guidance on supporting well-being of young people during times of war.
standards and practices of youth policy that can support youth work in developing the participation, inclusion well-being of young people.
exploration of how European youth policies are adapting to the realities of young people living and growing up in war, also in the context of the EU accession process of Ukraine.

The programme will also include exchange of views with members of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) on the role of youth policies and youth work in supporting young people living and growing up in war.