Research on youth engagement in municipality decision-making presented in Lutsk
The presentation of the results of a sociological research conducted within the framework of the project “Increase young people’s interest and impact in the municipality decision making process” took place on December 12 at the Department of Administrative Services in Lutsk. The project partners are the Lutsk City Territorial Community and the Municipality of Piteå (Kingdom of Sweden).
The presentation was attended by representatives of local self-government bodies, the Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy (ICLD), the Municipality of Piteå (Sweden), youth councils and youth centers of Lutsk and Volyn oblast, educational institutions, as well as experts in the field of youth policy.
The event was moderated by Zarina Datsyk, Head of the Youth Policy Department of the Department of Youth and Sports of Lutsk City Council, who introduced the audience to the purpose and main objectives of the project. The project implementation and the role of the Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy (ICLD) were presented by Mariia Tyshchenko – ICLD mentor, Honorary Doctor of Malmö University (Sweden), Director of the NGO “Poruch”; Annika Ruge – ICLD Program Officer; and Hanna Degerman – Project Coordinator of Piteå Municipality (Sweden). Anna Vintsiuk, Head of the International Cooperation and Project Activities Department of Lutsk City Council, spoke about the importance of the initiative for the Lutsk City Territorial Community.
The results of the comprehensive research were presented by Viktoriia Balasanian, sociologist and author of the research methodology. The study included focus group meetings with young people aged 14 to 22, interviews with experts in youth policy, as well as an online survey conducted via Google Forms on Facebook and Instagram. The aim of the study was to identify the needs of young people in the Lutsk community regarding the development of civic competencies and participation in community life.
According to participants, some of the findings were unexpected, while others confirmed existing trends. Certain issues sparked active discussions, underscoring the relevance of the topic. Based on the data obtained, participants were able to discuss current challenges and opportunities for engaging youth in community decision-making processes and to outline further directions for the development of youth policy.
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The project “Increase young people’s interest and impact in the municipality decision making process” is implemented with the support of the Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy (ICLD) and is funded by a grant from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), a government agency under the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden.
As part of the project, offline training sessions for teachers and youth sector leaders are also planned, along with the development and printing of a workbook for representatives of formal and non-formal education, containing guidelines for improving young people’s civic competencies.
Department of International Cooperation and Project Activities