The Russian aggression against Ukraine has highlighted one more time that our democracies must be defended with stronger and more diversified means. Today, the 13th of December, the Conference for the Resilience and Reconstruction of Ukraine, organised in Paris, outlined the needs of Ukraine to ensure its resilience in times of war and its reconstruction in the medium term. Indeed, beyond the emergency and the efforts to enable the Ukrainian energy sector to endure this winter, it is essential to look to the future. To do so, Ukrainian citizens must be at the heart of the reflections on how to rebuild their future. This counts especially for those who have all their future way ahead of them: young people.
Indeed, young people and children face a particular uncertain future in wartime: their education, their job, or their family and friends are severely affected. In order to overcome the medium and long-term consequences of the war, the younger generation must not be forgotten. The wishes, needs and commitment of young people will be decisive for a future of peace and democracy. If we want to support the people of Ukraine beyond emergency aid, we must listen to the younger Ukrainian generation.
That is why the Foundation Schüler Helfen Leben (SHL), a youth-led organisation that has been supporting young people in war and post-war situations for almost 30 years, is launching the initiative "Ukraine's Future Voices" on the participatory online platform of Make.org, in partnership with the National Ukrainian Youth Association (NUMO). The “Ukraine’s Future Voices” initiative will be a Europe-wide and participatory consultation in Ukrainian language. It will address more than 10,000 young Ukrainians, aged 13 to 30, no matter whether they are in Ukraine or refugees in Europe. With this online consultation, thousands of young Ukrainians throughout the continent will connect to make their voice heard. Their priorities, expectations and wishes for the future will be listend too.
From 13 December 2022 to 31 January 2023, young Ukrainians will be able to express themselves by answering the question "Young Ukrainians: How can you be helped to build your future?". This will happen on the platform ukraine-future.make.org, which will receive proposals and votes from participants. At the end of the consultation, Make.org will analyze and determine the priorities of young Ukrainians for their future, based on the contributions made on the platform.
The results will be published in a comprehensive report in three languages (Ukrainian, German and English) that displays the results and makes youth priorities visible to policymakers and civil society actors. This will help decision makers to translate such priorities into effective projects, measures and initiatives that support the Ukrainian people in the democratic reconstruction of their country in the long term.
Thanks to insights from the consultation, European policymakers and civil society actors will be encouraged to take concrete actions to help Ukrainians build their future according to their priorities.
At the same time, the Foundation Schüler Helfen Leben wants to support the young generation by offering them a safe space to think about the future and get involved in society even in this critical situation.