Ukrainian youth cooperation Across Borders

Youth work in Ukraine during the war – is that even possible? Among the more than 40 organisations of Generation Europe – The Academy, there is the “German-Ukrainian Community of Youth Work”, DUGA for short. Based in Lviv in western Ukraine, DUGA is organising local projects and international encounters for seven years, promoting youth participation, democracy and European exchange. Then there was February 24th, 2022, which changed everything. But the activists carry on, both in exile and in their war-torn country. This is a story about practical networks of solidarity, and local activities that do make a difference.

When the Russian attack brought suffering and destruction to Ukraine, some of the DUGA activists were able to leave the country, while others remained in Ukraine. What sounds like the certain end of a youth organisation turned out to become the opposite: a self-organised support network of active young people across borders.

Two groups cooperating closely

Some of the DUGA activists ended up living in Munich, Germany. There, they used their experience as youth work professionals to set up a new local youth group as part of Generation Europe – The Academy. Since then, they are organising meetings, projects and activities with young Ukrainians living in Munich and the surrounding area. The Munich group keeps in touch with the group in Ukraine via regular Zoom calls. They also organise practical and mental support, have an open ear and raise donations. Meanwhile, the youth group in Ukraine has remained just as active, for example organising recreational activities for internally displaced children who have fled the horrors of war to western Ukraine.

Unusual youth encounters

As part of Generation Europe – The Academy, the group operating from exile in Munich was able to travel to Spain this autumn, to meet with their international project partners for a youth encounter. For the group in Ukraine, a trip like this was not possible. To provide an alternative, DUGA organised a nine-day tent camp in the far west of Ukraine in August: the camp took place near the village of Vyshenka in the Carpathian Mountains, not far from the border to Romania.

While the war makes personal international encounters so much more difficult, the camp should at least facilitate dialogue across regional borders, just as DUGA’s youth work was already organised in the time before the Russian aggression. With success: the young people taking part came from Kyiv, Melitopol, Odesa, Chernivtsi and Lviv. In the natural surroundings of the mountain region, they explored how civic activism and democratic involvement can be maintained in times of war and crisis. They filmed videos, made postcards and wrote songs: Accompanied and supported by the DUGA youth leaders who came from Munich, the participants also used creative methods to locate themselves in space and time. An urgent need when people feel shattered and uprooted.

So, this is the story why our Ukrainian project partner DUGA is currently organising two Ukrainian youth groups as part of Generation Europe – The Academy, one in Munich and one in Ukraine. We are delighted to be able to support this important work. Many thanks to all those involved in both groups!