How to involve young people in public and political processes in the Eastern Partnership countries through study tours?

russia’s full-scale invasion into Ukraine in February 2022 was a triggering event that motivated Ukrainian youth to take action. Many young people joined the defense of their country, became involved in volunteer movements, and began to participate more actively in the country’s political processes.

Now Ukraine is on the frontline of Europe and is intensifying its integration with the European Union, even during the war, we need to be active and analyze what changes are happening to young people in European and Eastern Partnership countries to build a democratic and progressive world together.

Participation in the Erasmus + project “Strengthening cooperation and mutual understanding between the Czech Republic and the Eastern Partnership countries: youth engagement in civil and political affairs” from the Czech organization “European Values Center of the Security Policy” provided an opportunity for 7 participants from Ukraine, with the help of the partnership of the NGO Internews Ukraine. Our Ukrainian team of EU Study Days in Ukraine alumni:

Hanna Demochka is a project coordinator at NGO Internews Ukraine.

Anastasia Krynytska is an IT Manager at an international company, but she is still an international political scientist at heart. She is a graduate of the Euroschool, where she and her team created the ReformatoruRe podcast, which aimed to inform young people about current reforms in Ukraine.

Lidia Leshko-Yaremchuk is a blogger and activist from Chernivtsi.

Luda Nikitina is the communication battery of her life and crowdfunding campaigns, which are published on the platforms Big Idea and Spilnokosht and prove every day that Ukrainians have powerful creative and social capital that is able to accumulate resources and solve local social challenges in communities.

Daryna Melnyk is a PR manager at 1+1 Media.

Angelina Lutsenko is a junior administrative specialist of the U-LEAD with Europe Program, and a participant in the Youth Internship Program at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (2021).

Galia Nikitina (I am the author of this blog) is an economist and a Young European Ambassador program alumni.

The project also involved young students, professionals, and analysts from the Czech Republic, Georgia, and Moldova. We were interested in the following topics and questions:

- How do young people in Europe and the EaP participate in political processes and support the development of democratic values?
- How long will the process of Ukraine’s integration and accession to the EU take?
- What positive experience of the Czech Republic can we adopt?
- How does the Eastern Partnership function now?
- How will the Eastern Partnership continue to function after Ukraine’s accession to the EU?
- Security policies of the Eastern Partnership countries and their interaction?
- Countering Russian propaganda and developing media literacy skills for young people?
- Radicalization of society

Important background information.

Let’s start with the background on the EU accession applications of all the countries participating in this project.

Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia applied for EU membership at the end of February 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion began.

In June 2022, Ukraine and Moldova were granted candidate status and a list of requirements to be fulfilled to advance membership (see the table below for a list of requirements for each country). Georgia was denied candidate status and received a much longer list of recommendations, after which it could be granted candidate status.

Ukraine is currently working to fulfill seven reform requirements from the European Commission, including judicial reform and effective anti-corruption measures. to start negotiations.

A full study analyzing the first six months of work on the implementation of the recommendations by the three countries by the 3DCFTAs team can be found here.

It is important to add that the Czech Republic officially joined the EU in 2004. It was the largest enlargement of the EU with the simultaneous accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. It is important to note that the Czech Republic applied in 1993, and the accession negotiations lasted for another 10 years. Currently, the European Union consists of 27 countries, with Ukraine, Turkey, Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Moldova applying for membership.

Study visits and our feedback

The project included study visits to Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic. During these visits, participants share their experience in the field of international relations and countering disinformation, which is especially important for all of us now.

Moldova, November 2022

In Chisinau, we had a rather intense program, which included:

- met with the Czech Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova.
- visited the office of the Institute for European Policy and Reform (IPRE).
- We had a tour of the Parliament of Moldova and met with Adrian Balutel, Member of Parliament.

In general, we had many discussions and debates on Russian propaganda and the crisis in the energy sector of our countries caused by Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine.

It is nice to hear positive feedback from colleagues about digitalization and anti-corruption legislation in Ukraine. The most unpleasant impressions were the Moscow Patriarchate in the center of Chisinau and the presence of Russian goods in Moldovan stores, especially the Russian chocolate bar “Stolen Sugar”.

Georgia, February 2023

2nd seminar in Tbilisi and included many activities:

- a visit to the NATO and EU Information Center, where we learned a lot about its activities aimed at raising public awareness of Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic and European integration.

- meeting with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to Georgia Petr Mikyska .
- GRASS seminar on How to expose disinformation and fact-checking on Facebook’s Third.
- Discussion with Paata Gaprindashvili, Head of the Cabinet of the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia Levan Makhashvili, Director of GRASS — Georgia’s Reforms Associates, on the prospects of obtaining the EU candidate status for Georgia, political processes and support for Ukraine in Georgia.

- a visit to the Civic Idea Office and a presentation by Director Tinatin Khidasheli on the office’s activities and research on “China’s Detrimental Influence on Georgia”

In general, all speakers spoke about Georgia’s European integration ambitions and prospects, the process of implementing 12 EU recommendations, tools to combat disinformation, and Georgia’s key cooperation with other countries.

I liked the hospitality of our colleagues and the overall pro-Ukrainian vibe of the Georgian streets with Ukrainian flags, slogans and creative stickers. I also remember the tour to Mtskheta. It is the ancient capital of the Georgian kingdom of Iberia and one of the most important cities for the entire nation, located at the crossroads of the two rivers Aragvi and Kura. It was here that the recognition of Christianity as the official religion of Georgia was announced. The historical monuments of Mtskheta are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

It is disappointing that the ruling party of Georgia, Georgian Dream, is quite pro-Russian, although the majority of the Georgian population supports Ukraine, and Georgian volunteers are going to defend Ukraine on the battlefield.

Slovakia and Ukraine, March 2023

Officially, one of the sessions was supposed to take place in Ukraine, namely in Kyiv, but due to security risks, the team could not allow it. It was still important for the project participants to visit Ukraine to understand the local context. Therefore, the organizers made a lot of effort to ensure that the participants had the opportunity to visit Ukraine. Thus, one of the sessions took place in Uzhhorod, a city that is a 3-hour drive from Kosice. The focus of the visit was shifted to show how Ukrainians have adapted and continue to adapt to life in war.

As part of the seminar, we visited several organizations and a university and listened to a lecture by Dmytro Tuzhansky, Director of The Institute for Central European Strategy, who gave us an overview of the formation of relations between Ukraine, Slovakia, and Hungary, and Volodymyr Feskov, Director of the Agency for Regional Development and Cross-Border Cooperation of Zakarpattia, who spoke about the progress and challenges of decentralization in small communities.

Our foreign colleagues were very impressed by the activities of the NGO Movement to Support Transcarpathian Soldiers. The organization was founded in 2014 as a volunteer initiative of concerned citizens and has become a driver of change in volunteering in Zakarpattia. Since February 24, the team has been called “Movement to support Transcarpathian soldiers — Uzhhorod” and works daily to provide for the army, wounded soldiers from all regions of Ukraine in hospitals in Transcarpathia and support the families of servicemen. Many colleagues decided to support the organization’s activities and made charitable contributions to support the organization, as a sign of which the founder of the organization, Halyna Yartseva, presented the participants with several teddy bears, which are symbols and mascots of the organization.

In the afternoon, the participants walked around the city and looked in amazement at the doors and windows barricaded with sandbags.

At about 4 p.m., we went to one of the largest universities, Uzhhorod National University, to meet with Khrystyna Tovt, head of the student volunteer center. Our colleagues were impressed by how quickly the students were able to get involved in supporting the Armed Forces by weaving nets, raising funds, supplying ammunition and helping civilians by accommodating those who lost their homes.

Luckily, there was no air alert in Uzhhorod that day, and we were able to follow the program and visit all the organizations and initiatives on the visit list.

The next day, at breakfast in Kosice, the participants discussed for a long time how long we had been standing at the Ukraine-Slovakia border, because the trip took only three hours, but we were standing in line for another 5 hours.

The program of visits to Kosice included a list of organizations that worked with refugees from Ukraine and other countries. We visited IPČko, an organization that provides free anonymous psychological and social assistance. Afterwards, we had a chance to meet with representatives of international organizations and foundations working in the field of humanitarian challenges and migration — People in Need, IOM and UNICEF. This meeting raised many issues that the participants recorded for the next EuroNest simulation workshop.

Czech Republic, June 2023

The 4th seminar in Prague included:

- visit to the headquarters of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is a non-profit corporation that includes online publications and radio stations in 23 countries in 27 languages. The total audience is 35 million listeners. Radio Liberty played a significant role in the collapse of communism and the establishment of democracy in post-communist Europe. More than 700 full-time journalists and 1,300 freelancers.

- visits to local chapters of People in Need, UNHCR and Asociace pro mezinárodní otázky/Association for International Affairs,
- communication with MEP Marketa Gregorová on the topic “The future of the Eastern Partnership countries through the prism of EU institutions”.
- a simulation of the EuroNest Parliamentary Assembly, a forum for economic and political integration between the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries.
- a presentation on “EU-Czech Republic relations: the politics of polarization” by Michael Murad

We also had free time to explore the historic center of Prague and visit the Prague National Museum. Most of all, we liked the large number of Ukrainian flags and banners supporting Ukraine.

Our conclusions from the project

While participating in the project, we learned more about models of how young people in different European and Eastern Partnership countries influence decision-making processes at different levels and are active. We identify the following conditions that facilitate youth participation in decision-making and engagement with young people at all levels (global, national, and local):

- youth advisory bodies exist within youth representations;
- Within the framework of civil society institutions, there are civil society organizations that are active in the field of youth policy;
- Youth centers are part of the youth infrastructure.

As a result of the project, we were able to formulate several tips on how young people can get involved in civic and political processes in Ukraine and internationally.

1. Be interested in why and what decisions are made in your community and country. To keep abreast of news about the European Union and Ukraine, we recommend that you regularly watch the YouTube channel of European Pravda.

2. Subscribe to the social networks of the main state institutions of Ukraine and the EU (European Commission, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers, Presidential Office, etc.)

3. Choose youth organizations that interest you and follow their activities (National Ukrainian Youth Association — NUMO, Ukrainian Volunteer Service, Building Ukraine Together, Ukrainian Students for Freedom, Plast — Ukrainian Scouting).

4. Actively apply for educational events for young people both online and offline (more opportunities here: the channel of the Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) and Your Space of Opportunities)

5. Learn English and other foreign languages 🙂.

Thank you, organizers, for the opportunity to communicate with progressive youth from Moldova, Georgia and the Czech Republic. It’s important to keep up with the news, but it’s even more important to be able to analyze, verify and maintain communication.