KYIV, 17 October 2024 – Ukraine’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and the All-Ukrainian Youth Centre, in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, have presented a new educational video course as part of the Youth Worker programme for all those working in the field of youth policy. 

The educational series “Youth Work: From Theory to Practice” contains knowledge and tools that will help new professionals in the field develop the potential of young people and engage them in civic activities in their communities. 

Recent research shows a significant increase in civic awareness among young people: 59% believe that the future of Ukraine is directly related to their actions, and 72% believe that their actions can make an impact. 

“Today’s young people are what society will be tomorrow. They are the people whose actions will help improve global competitiveness and innovation rankings. In particular, we in the Ministry of Digital Transformation are initiating the training of future leaders of state projects at the CDTO Campus (digital education and leadership organization), and supported the creation of this educational course on Diia.Education with experts in the field of youth policy. These concise and informative course videos will help engage young people more effectively in nation-building processes, both in their local communities and at the national and global levels,” noted Valeria Ionan, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration 

The educational video course is one of a comprehensive set of measures taken by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to enhance the capacities of representatives of state authorities and public associations working with young people. 

“The Youth Worker programme is an important tool for developing youth policy, facilitating the training of professionals to work with young people, taking into account modern challenges and best practices,” said Andriy Chesnokov, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine. “In 2024, we conducted over 50 training sessions, while the number of certified participants exceeded 1,300 individuals. Open access to this educational course will encourage even more youth workers to effectively implement youth policy in their communities.”  

The new educational video course on Diia.Education has seven episodes, which cover: 

• Youth policy, its components, and objectives; 
• Values, principles, and tasks of youth work; 
• Tools for working with young people; 
• Youth participation in community life, based on real-life cases; 
• Types of participation in youth work; 
• Stages of youth policy formation and engaging young people in this process. 

The course features over 10 youth centres, community spaces, and organizations from across Ukraine sharing their experiences of working with young people in wartime conditions. 

The development of the youth worker training system has been ongoing since 2014, when the Ministry of Youth and Sports, in partnership with UNDP in Ukraine, introduced the Youth Worker training programme. 

UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine Jaco Cilliers emphasized the importance of shaping effective youth policy and infrastructure to boost resilience and ensure sustainable recovery in Ukraine.  

“UNDP believes in the power of partnership, and aims to work with civil society and the government of Ukraine at all levels to achieve common goals,” Cilliers said. “By supporting the drawing up and implementation of youth policy, including the Youth Worker programme, we strengthen cooperation between the government and civil society organizations to engage young people in the development of the country, promote civic participation, and acquire leadership skills.” 

The “Youth Work: From Theory to Practice” educational course is now available on the platform: https://osvita.diia.gov.ua/courses/youth-work-from-theory-to-practice. 

This course was created for the Diia.Education platform as part of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the All-Ukrainian Youth Centre’s Youth Worker programme, in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Transformation and support from UNDP in Ukraine, with funding from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Media enquiries: Yuliia Samus, UNDP in Ukraine Head of Communications; e-mail: yuliia.samus@undp.org