The second stage of the Young diversity ambassadors program is ongoing. In the framework of the program, participants will travel to meet their peers in Volyn, Zakarpattya, Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi regions. First visits have already taken place. Young people have met strong local initiatives and projects in Volyn and Zakarpattya regions, they have gotten a chance to get acquainted with each other better. What this process has to do with the building back and the development of Ukraine, read in this publication. Second step STAN NGO implements the Young diversity ambassadors program together with the “Action Aid” alliance for rights, equality and international solidarity. The program aims to support young people in their first steps in civic activism, and give them knowledge, tools, and some experi...

Child-friendly spaces were established by STAN NGO together with the Czech humanitarian organization People in need with the financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada. The spaces have been operating for five months. They have already proved themselves as places where small kids and teenagers can spend quality time. Child-friendly spaces have become supportive for parents and have become places to meet each other, to communicate and integrate into the new community. This publication tells how it works in the case of CFS in Kolomyya. In a foreign city Olha Yurchenko comes from Irpin in the Kyiv region. She came to Kolomyya with her 7-years old daughter Sofia. They did not come to their relatives or friends. They came to a new, foreign city.  In Kolomyya, Olha had to get on her feet a...

Psychological support and integration activities in Lukavtsi shelter child space in the Chernivtsi region.  In our previous publication, we told about creating child-friendly spaces (CFS) in Kolomyya, Vorokhta, Burshtyn, and Nadvirna in the Ivano-Frankivsk region and the village of Lukavtsi in the Chernivtsi region. CFSs are places where children can study, entertain themselves, and just have a good time. Here, taking an example of a child space in Lukavtsi, we will tell about the role of such spaces in the psychological support and integration of internally displaced children.  A shelter by the lake Lukavtsi is a village in the Chernivtsi region, nearby Vyzhnytsia town. Many internally displaced people have come here since the full-scale invasion started. It’s close to the Carpathian Mountains, and not ...

How can we combat racism in Europe? And how can youths play a role in the anti-racist work and EU politics? With the upcoming European elections in 2024, we want to open up the discussion between civil society and the politicians in the European Parliament on how we can achieve an anti-racist Europe. What? Panel discussion on how to enhance the anti-racist work within Europe. Who? Meet youths from the human rights organisation IM Sweden, the Ukrainian youth organisation STAN, Alice Bah Kuhnke (Greens/EFA) and Abir Al-Sahlani (Renew), Swedish members of the European Parliament. When? 6.00-7:30 PM (CET), 21st of march. How? Join us online. You will have the chance to be a part of the discussion and ask questions to the panel. Register here on the event page. The event is organised by IM Sweden, S...

In January 2023, STAN NGO launched a Young Diversity Ambassadors program. What is it about, for whom, and what will come out of it, – in this article.  People and waves Sometimes we say phrases like “historical wave”, “country’s dynamic growth”, or “democratic transformation”. We often don't reflect that a wave is an abstraction, and transformations do not happen by themselves. Country means people. And everything that is happening in a society is not done on its own, it is done by people. Those people have their knowledge and beliefs, their education and worldviews. People who are stronger together than one by one, and sometimes they can become a wave.  That’s why it is so important to develop communities that would be able to take action, that will define the country after the war. And the role of the ...

The facilitation kit "Open Dialogue for Peace" was created by Yuliia Liubych and Yaroslav Minkin based on the book of Enver Juliman, "Reconciliation: Directions along the Way." It is designed to maintain meaningful events for International Peace Day in Ukraine and all over the World. This facilitation kit has been produced with the assistance of the European Union under its Eastern Partnership Civil Society Fellowship Programme. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. The methodology was tested in Ukraine and Switzerland in 2022 as part of the cooperation between the Youth Organization "STAN" (Ukraine) and Polit-Forum Bern (Switzerland) with the support of the European Cultural Foundation. The authors also conducted open Dialog...

The residence is an out of project for young people, which is aimed at creating permanent connections, sharing knowledge and experience, and improving the mental state. Both residencies took place in the village of Kozary, Ivano-Frankivsk region. The participants of the first residency were 15 young people from different cities of Ukraine. Of them, 3 persons are IDPs, 10 are volunteers at the headquarters of NGOs or other initiatives aimed at solving war-related problems. According to the organizers, it was important to provide this space to people who need a sense of security, comfort, a place to feel relaxed and gain resources. More details in the report - Residence - 1 The aim of the second Residency was to unite young artists, volunteers and IDPs around the exploration of the village, as well ...

The comic book will be useful for young people who are hesitating whether to choose energy as their future profession. But not just a profession, but an activity that would combine perspective, importance, financial independence, curiosity and values ​of the modern world, which is developing so rapidly. The heroine of the comic is Tonya, a tenth grader. She sincerely likes to research energy, but the girl is convinced that it is difficult for young people to break through here. Especially for girls. Will Tonya be able to overcome her fears and doubts? The comic in simple language tells about the gas and electricity markets, the heat supply system, and renewable energy. And using Tony's example, he shows that there are more and more opportunities for young people, especially girls, in energy. Also read a...

The booklet "Your Rights: what you need to know” answers questions that are a concern for both Ukrainian students and foreigners, who study in Ukraine. In this booklet experts explain student rights and responsibilities in understandable language. They are not only relevant to organizing of the education process, but also living conditions in dorms and leisure of students. Furthermore, the authors pay particular attention to such actual issues such as nondiscrimination, inviolability and personal freedom. This booklet is like a “judicial ambulance”, which every student can use if his or her rights have been violated. It is intended to give a brief overview of the laws, rights, responsibilities and limitations of all people residing in Ukraine: in addition to a wealth of resources for further consultation. How...

Children have to study. But studying and teaching in the current situation in Ukraine is complicated. Even when students are in relative safety, when they have access to the internet and the ability for distance learning, the schooling cannot be the same as before the war. To explain the changes and needs of the educational process after February 24th, 2022, we address the experience of The Restless alternative school in Ivano-Frankivsk.  In the shelter On the first day of the war, The Restless alternative school was turned into a shelter for forcefully displaced people. People arriving from the most dangerous areas lodged in the classrooms. At the same time, the school did not cease the teaching process but made it completely online. Anyway, around one-third of the students happen to be abroad. And frequen...