“UpDate: South” program developing young people, giving boost to the development of de-occupied communities

Publication date: September 3, 2024

Author: Yuliia Bilyk, Legal Development Network Communications Manager

In the summer of 2024, the Legal Development Network (LDN), supported by the Global Giving charity platform, invited youth from the Shevchenkivska Community of Mykolaiv Region, most of whose villages survived the occupation by Russian troops, to participate in the educational and career guidance program “Update: South”. 20 teenagers — 14 girls and 6 boys — who wrote the most inspiring motivational letters were selected and spent five days in Kyiv to study, communicate, and make plans for the future. They returned home not only with new impressions and knowledge, but also with ideas that could improve the quality of life in their communities.

Counting on youth

“The Update: South” training program is a synergy of many players’ efforts. We, the team of the Legal Development Network, are the designers and initiators of the program. We were joined by the team that implemented everything. This team includes the author and coordinator of the program, Viktoriia Pidlisna, mentors, and assistants at all stages. All of us have combined our expertise, experience, knowledge, dreams, and ideas. As a result, we have created a perfect product – a program that allows us to expand the vision of youth in terms of opportunities for development, reducing barriers to education and career choice,” says Vitalii Okhrimenko, Strategic Development Director.

According to Vitalii Okhrimenko, “Update: South” is not so much a youth project as one of the approaches used by the LDN in its activities with communities. It helps to recover from the occupation, shelling and destruction, to become modern communities where people want to live and where those who were forced to leave during the war want to return.
“In the de-occupied communities, we see a shortage of professions and competencies. Youth is the lifeline that communities need. And communities are even more interested than the youth themselves in giving them opportunities”, Vitalii Okhrimenko believes.

Victoria Pidlisna, “Update: South” Program Coordinator, notes: “ This project is not only about strengthening communities and unleashing their potential, but also about leaving young people in our country with real opportunities for development, so that they feel at home, as those who can take life into their own hands and create the world around them the way they want it to be.”

Discovering opportunities
The program participants got to know each other, organizers and mentors at the end of July in Mykolaiv. The organizers had the opportunity to learn more about the interests, needs and desires of young people. It turned out that most of the girls and boys had never been to the capital before, and some had never been to their regional center. When it came down to selecting their future professions and where to study, young people were limited to Mykolaiv Region, considering the best higher education institutions in Kyiv or other major cities of the country inaccessible to them. For many of the participants, the trip to the capital was an adventure, as they had never used rail transportation before the program.

The “Update: South” training program took place in Kyiv on August 12th to 16th. It focused on developing the social skills of young people. All the training, lectures, exercises, and excursions were designed to help the boys and girls to socialize in community, connect and interact, think critically, work as a team, use the Internet and media safely, and dream without limits.

The participants worked in groups of 10 during the practical training sessions. One of the groups was mentored by Daria Buriy from Mykolaiv.
“Teenagers from my region have very limited access to opportunities, they simply do not reach their community, their villages. That is why it is so valuable for them to gain new knowledge, visit new cities, meet new interesting people, spend time with like-minded people, explore their region, their country, and then develop their community,” says Mentor, Daria Buriy.

Full update
Viktoriia Pidlisna says that she is proud that the program hit the mark. The topics, tools, and exercises used by the trainers resonated with the youth.

“I expected the participants to open up a bit at the end. As a coordinator, it was important for me to see that some of the skills that the trainers were trying to cultivate were already being put into practice by the teenagers. But I didn’t expect all these skills to come together on the fifth day of the program. Some of the participants blossomed into a whole bunch of things that we had been teaching them for five days,” says Viktoriia Pidlisna.

Alina Kasianova, 14, from Tsentralne Village, remembers the media literacy and career guidance sessions the most: ” Every meeting has a moment that is definitely useful for me. I will take everything useful for my life and use it.”

“I was most impressed by how the teenagers changed and evolved during these five days. Many of them said that they already want to change something in their community and pass on the knowledge they have gained to their peers. I hope that they will be as active in the future, and that we will be able to support them,” says Daria Buryi, a program Mentor.

The impact of “Update: South” on the participants themselves has been noticed. Kateryna Kapusta, 17, from the Zelenyi Hai Village, says: “The program has changed my worldview 100%. To be honest, before I had no desire to improve anything in my village, but now I feel responsible for the future of our country and have an understanding of my home. I want to improve the development conditions for young people and beyond.”

“In fact, their eyes were glowing, there was an incredible amount of positive feedback, an incredible amount of gratitude, both in person and in group chats, and at the train station when we were saying goodbye. They thanked me for understanding who they wanted to be,” recalls Illia Yurchenko, the Program’s Mentor.

“After the program, everything in my head became clear, and now I understand who I want to be and that everything is in my hands. I remember many different phrases and tips, for example: “you have to be an authority for yourself,” “rely on your feelings and desires,” “dream – believe – act,” “there are no stupid questions,” says 16-year-old Daria Tuz from the Zelenyi Hai Village.

Tapping into adult decisions
According to the Program Coordinator, Viktoriia Pidlisna, the idea of “Update: South” includes three stages. First, the training stage is a so-called bridge for the personal growth of teenagers. Then other waves, sets, and programs are planned to enable more young people from different communities to grow. Second, we will build bridges between communities, literally between young people from different communities for communication, development, and exchange of ideas and experiences. At the third stage, a sustainable and strong youth community will be created that will communicate with local governments and implement its own projects.

“This will give teenagers the opportunity to make their first attempt at adult decisions, to feel that they can be influential at their age, to see that they are valuable in their community,” says Viktoriia Pidlisna.

On the fifth day of the program, the girls and boys worked out the initial concepts of their projects to improve the quality of life in their villages. For example, 16-year-old Valentyna Mukhtarova from the Novokyivka Village came up with the idea to upgrade the old village library to make it not only a place to read but also a platform for leisure and self-development. Artem Sekeresh, 14, from Tsentralne Village, wants to help older people by providing access to medicines.

“It would be great if a car would go to several villages and people could buy the medicines they need,” explains Artem Sekeresh.

“The enthusiasm and involvement of the youth of the Shevchenkivska Community gives a positive result. Therefore, we plan to continue the “Update: South” program and include the existing youth asset and resource in other processes – strategizing, generating ideas, implementing initiatives that will be supported by the Legal Development Network,” emphasizes Timur Kanatayev, GlobalGiving Project Manager, LDN Program Director.

The material was created with the support of the international charity platform GlobalGiving. The content of the publication is the sole responsibility of the Legal Development Network Non-Governmental Association.

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