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From 13 December 2022 to 7 February 2023, young Ukrainians, aged between 13 and 30, living in Ukraine or in the EU, were invited to answer the question "Young Ukrainians: How can you be helped to build your future?". Initiated by the Schüler Helfen Leben Foundation, and in partnership with the National Ukrainian Youth Association (NUMO), this online consultation engaged 20,000 participants who made 678 proposals and more than 275,000 votes on Make.org platform. This highlighted 16 ideas that are priorities for young Ukrainians.
Make.org and Schüler Helfen Leben presented the first results of this consultation at the event "#CafeKyiv - We choose Freedom", organised by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Berlin's "Café Moskau", renamed for the occasion "Café Kyiv".
Sarah Delahaye, Managing Director, Make.org Germany: “This participatory initiative among young Ukrainians living in Ukraine and in the EU was necessary. While the war has highly impacted their lives and their perspectives, it was essential to look to the future, to take into account their expectations and to respond to them. This online consultation allowed young Ukrainian citizens to be at the heart of the reflections on how to rebuild their future and the future of Ukraine. Their priorities provide a basis for concrete actions for civil society and institutions.”
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Patrick Hoemke, Managing Director, Schüler Helfen Leben: “Within our projects for young people affected by the war in Ukraine, addressing their real needs and offering long-term support and perspectives for a peaceful, just and democratic future society is of utmost importance to us. The results of our wide-scale consultation among Ukrainian youth will allow us to further develop our projects to even better address their future goals, needs and wishes. We are happy to invite all stakeholders active in Ukraine to take their perspectives into account as well.”
After the presentation of the initiative and some main ideas addressed by the young Ukrainians, 4 popular ideas of the consultation were discussed in workshops to imagine what measures should be implemented to respond to these priorities.
Kateryna, 25 years old, participated in the consultation and presented her proposal, about studying the History of Ukraine at every level of education: “I think it is important for every conscious citizen of Ukraine to learn the past of our country, especially now that we are scattered across different countries and continents. We have to bring our culture to the world and to educate people about our History, so that foreigners do not have questions like "is Ukraine a part of Russia?". History must be studied to be able to identify ourselves as a nation.”
Kateryna: "I would like to thank Make.org, Schüler Helfen Leben, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and all the team who organised this consultation and event. Today, it’s particularly important for young Ukrainians to be heard and to know that their voices are heard."