On 27 February 2024, a meeting of the Steering Committee of the Council of Europe project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III" was held in Kyiv.

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 "Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction" for 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 participatory youth policy and strengthening youth work during the war and in the post-war context, taking into account the needs of young people.

The meeting was opened by Maciej Janczak, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine. Welcoming speeches were made  by Tobias Flessenkemper, Head of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe, who is on a three-day visit to  Ukraine, and Andriy Chesnokov, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine for European Integration.

The participants of the meeting discussed the current state of youth policy in Ukraine and the youth sector of the Council of Europe, plans for 2024.

Within the framework of the component "Participatory Youth Policy " in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service, the Ukrainian Youth Councils Association, the Project:

• Translated into Ukrainian:
  • Recommendation CM/Rec(2023)4 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the participation of Roma youth - https://rm.coe.int/rec-on-roma-youth-participation-upd-2774-6711-4760-v-1/1680abf18f;
  • Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)6 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the protection of youth civil society and young people and support for their participation in democratic processes - https://rm.coe.int/rec-on-youth-civil-society-upd-2764-3898-5224-v-1/1680abf191. 

•  Conducted a study of the needs and state of activities of local, regional and national authorities in the field of youth policy, as well as local and regional youth advisory bodies, in particular, taking into account the needs and realities of young people in the war and post-war period;
•  Developed  the Model for  advanced training programs for civil servants and local self-government officials "Participatory Youth Policy", approved by the order of the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service No. 149-23 of September 18, 2023;
•  Developed a training manual and conducted  a training for trainers  within the framework of the educational and practical programme "Participatory Youth Policy" for  teachers of entities providing vocational training educational services for civil servants and local government officials (providers);
•  Conducted a training seminar on social cohesion and inclusion, civic participation and democratic citizenship, non-discrimination and equality for young activists;
•  Created five videos of local practices of youth participation and three videos on the experience of youth work in wartime for the Council of Europe Summit in particular;
•  Started developing the concept of a youth-friendly educational resource on youth participation.

As part of the component "Recognition of Youth Work in Wartime":

• Thanks to the expert support of the Council of Europe, the participation of young people has become part of the newly adopted occupational standard "Youth Specialist (Youth Worker)".
• The Project, in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the All-Ukrainian Youth Centre, developed a curriculum and conducted a series of specialised trainings  "Trauma-Informed Youth Work" within the framework of the  State Programme "Youth Worker". The programme "Trauma-Informed Youth Work" was presented at the All-Ukrainian Forum of Youth Workers "Hardened. United".
•  On 26-30 June 2023, in co-operation with partner youth centres, the Project organised the All-Ukrainian Week of Networking for Psychological Support of Young People "Youth Work for Resilience", which was attended by 61 organisations working with young people.
•  The project conducted a series of three five-day training seminars on social cohesion and barrier-free environment in the youth sector, in particular in implementation of the National Strategy for a Barrier-Free Environment in Ukraine until 2030.
•  The project conducted a mapping of educational  practices of higher education institutions of Ukraine in the field of youth work based on the approaches, educational resources and standards of the Council of Europe.
• Translated T-KIT 6 "Training Essential".

Within the framework of the component "Support to Youth Centers and Youth Organisations as Platforms for Civic Engagement and Democratic Participation":

• The project, in co-operation with the Lviv Regional Youth Centre, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the Department of Youth and Sports of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, implemented a long-term training programme for the newly established youth centres of the Lviv region  "Youth Work Based on Council of Europe Standards and Values".
• The project conducted the second stage of research on the needs and state of activities of local and regional youth centres and spaces, in particular, taking into account the needs and realities of young people in the war and post-war periods. On 27 November 2023,  the results  of the study were presented  at the All-Ukrainian Forum "Youth Centers in Ukraine: Best Practices for Working with Youth in Wartime".
• The project has launched a new page on the official website of the Council of Europe Office - Cooperation with youth centres with the Council of Europe Quality Label.
• The project ensured the participation  of youth workers in the 14th Platform of Youth Centres with the Council of Europe Quality Label on  9-10 May 2023, Strasbourg (France) to strengthen international co-operation of youth centres in a peer-to-peer format.
• Ten representatives of youth centres from Donetsk, Volyn and Zhytomyr oblasts took part in a study visit to the Marttinen Youth Centre with the Council of Europe Quality Label, Wirrat (Finland).
• Nine representatives of eight youth centres from eight youth centres in Ukraine took part in a study visit to the youth centre in Killarney (Ireland) with the Council of Europe Quality Label.
• Conducted  a training seminar "Ensuring Young People's Access to Open Youth Work: Strengthening the Capacity of  Partner NGOs"  within the framework of the long-term programme "Access to Youth Work" for ten newly created NGOs working with young people.
• The project held an information session and provided expert support for the submission of applications to the European Youth Foundation.

Members of the Steering Committee provided positive feedback on the third phase of the project and stressed the critical need to continue it in 2025-2026 to facilitate the implementation of policies based on youth participatory approaches and to strengthen youth work to take into account the devastating effects of war on young people.

 Details about the achievements of the Council of Europe project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III", news, youth resources of the Council of Europe and open announcements for participation in project activities are available at the link: https://www.coe.int/uk/web/kyiv/youth-for-democracy-in-ukraine