What is life like for young people in Ukraine, or for the volunteers and professionals who work with them? How can space be created for creativity and debate in the teeth of violent aggression? A new collection of 23 personal testimonies from youth workers in Ukraine will help answer that.
In it individuals tell stories of resilience and perseverance, standing up for freedom, democracy and human rights, and contributing to young people and society through the power of youth work, professional development and the support of the Council of Europe and its standards, all in the context of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
The work is the result of a series of workshops that took place in the summer of 2025 where people who work with youth in Ukraine got together to discuss their experiences, create their own stories, and rethink their personal contributions to youth work, with each meeting dealt with a specific topic. This is the second collection of stories in this series.
The project, at root, is an acknowledgment of the need to document the experiences and personal contributions of youth workers who continue to build physical and virtual spaces for young people to come together, create, and make their voices heard and respected. It was developed by the Council of Europe project Youth for democracy in Ukraine: phase IV in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine.
This collection builds on the work started in 2022, when the experiences and practices of youth work in the context of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine after February 24, 2022 were collected and described for the first time. The first collection - which was compiled for the Council of Europe's Reykjavik summit - comprised 20 stories about teams and projects, initiatives of youth centres and non-governmental organisations, and individual experiences regarding social, cultural, educational, and environmental transformations implemented by the youth, together with and for the youth. Thousands of people working with young people at the local, national, and international levels have consulted the collection and are studying the experience of youth work in Ukraine in times of war.
A related exhibition on activities for young people from Ukraine called "The Tales of the Brave" was also curated. It was shown in Strasbourg and very well received. All youth projects presented through the exhibition were supported by the European Youth Foundation.
What to learn more about youth work in Ukraine: read the testimonies (in English and Ukrainian)
Watch more about youth work in a time of war
The Council of Europe's support for Ukraine
The Council of Europe and youth
