Kyiv, 31 December 2024 – More than 25,000 people from 22 regions of Ukraine received training in Digital Education Hub libraries in 2024 and learned digital skills as part of a joint project of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine. The project “Acquiring Digital Skills in Digital Education Hub Libraries” was launched at the beginning of the year to support the development of the capabilities of Digital Education Hubs and to improve their employees’ professional skills levels. 

The initiative was implemented by the Ukrainian Library Association (ULA) with the assistance of UNDP in Ukraine as part of the DIA Support project, which is implemented with funding from Sweden, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. 

A total of 25,391 people from 22 regions and from the city of Kyiv received training and individual consultations as part of the project. Some 82% of those trained gave a high rating to their level of digital literacy after completing the courses (7-10 points out of 10). In comparison, only 17% of the trainees rated their level as high at the start of the course. 

The digital literacy courses for library visitors were organised by the coordinators of the hub libraries after they themselves completed a week-long training course. As part of the project, they underwent specialized training for hub coordinators from trainers at the regional training centres in their regions. It is the coordinators of the hubs – most of which are set up in libraries – who teach people digital skills. 

After that, as part of the project, training was conducted for 40 groups, which together had more than 1,000 coordinators from all regions and the city of Kyiv. The survey showed that 90% of hub coordinators had improved their organizational and coaching skills as a result of the training. 

“The Ministry of Digital Transformation initiated the launch of the Digital Education Hubs network in 2020 to provide Ukrainians with access to ways to develop their digital skills,” said Valeriia Ionan, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration. “Today, there are more than 5,000 Digital Education Hubs operating in Ukraine. Together with the Ukrainian Library Association, and with support from UNDP, we organised training for Hub employees so that they can provide educational services and ensure people have access to digital state opportunities.”  

Christophoros Politis, UNDP's Deputy Resident Representative in Ukraine, said “Digital tools cannot be used if you don't have sufficient digital skills. UNDP consistently supports its government counterparts in advancing digitalisation – we at UNDP want to ensure that the level of digital literacy among Ukrainians also increases.”  

“By developing Digital Education Hubs that enhance the digital skills of the Ukrainian population, we, together with our partners, are working towards the ultimate goal of enabling as many Ukrainians as possible to use computer technologies. This will help narrow the digital divide in the country, ensuring that no one is left behind as a result of digitalisation.” 

Among other things, the training of the users of the Digital Education Hubs was carried out using educational products from the Diia.Osvita platform. One such product is the online series “Basic Digital Skills for the Elegant Age”. It was developed by the Ministry of Digital Transformation and UNDP, with funding from Sweden. 

“This year’s project is a continuation of the three-year cooperation of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the Ukrainian Library Association and UNDP, with funding from Sweden on the development of the hub network and the professional capabilities of their employees,” said Oksana Brui, the president of the Ukrainian Library Association. “This initiative allowed librarians from all over the country to deepen their knowledge in the field of digitalisation and improve their professional qualities. As a result, they will be able to better organize the work of the hub in their library, and help Ukrainians master digital skills, receive digital services from the state, and solve their everyday problems.” 

In 2023, the partners implemented the year-long initiative “Library Capacity Development – Digital Education Hubs,” as part of which they also organized training for trainers of regional hubs, library coordinators, and hub users. The Ministry of Digital Transformation, ULA and UNDP, with funding from Sweden, also supported the creation of two tools for librarians – the Digigram, and the Digital Competency Framework for Librarians. These help assess the level of a person’s digital competence, identify knowledge gaps and areas that need improvement, and plan their further professional development. 

Media inquiries 

Yuliia Samus, UNDP Ukraine Communications Team Leader, yuliia.samus@undp.org