From 30 October to 3 November 2025, the Haivoron community hosted a five-day youth leadership training “Youth Connect for Ukraine”, organised by the British Council in partnership with the NGO Agency for Sustainable Development “Skyscraper”.
Thirty-five young people from the city of Haivoron and neighbouring villages came together in the Haivoron Youth Space to build leadership, communication and teamwork skills – and to turn ideas into social initiatives with real impact. Now, their teams are shaping proposals for the next stage: a competition offering up to UAH 20,000 and dedicated mentoring to bring these projects to life.
The programme came to a powerful finale on 3 November with the Open Day “Formula of Leadership, Partnership and Change”. More than 100 participants travelled to Haivoron from six communities of the Holovanivskyi District – Blahovishchenske, Vilshana, Haivoron, Holovanivsk, Zavallia and Novoarkhanhelsk – to share ideas and build connections. The day blended creativity with non-formal learning: a youth marketplace of ideas and projects, a talk show with local authorities and youth leaders, a design-thinking lab, an ethnographic block-printing workshop, a dedicated networking zone, and an original performance, “The Day Will Come”, by the Rovesnyk Youth Theatre.
At a safety workshop, officers from the Kirovohrad Educational Safety Service and the “Ambassadors of Safety” civic hub made 100 reflective badges together with young participants – a practical tool for pedestrians and cyclists during blackouts. As part of the “1325 Strengthens the Country” campaign, participants learned about UN Security Council Resolution 1325 Women, Peace and Security.
Representatives of the British Council also joined the event. Jeremy Lang, Regional Lead for Non-formal Education for Wider Europe, talked about the importance of dialogue, responsible leadership and collaboration.
Arsen Kelichavyi, Head of Non-formal Education at the British Council Ukraine, noted: “The Youth Connect for Ukraine programme builds bridges between people and communities and helps young people become drivers of change.”
“Through mobile youth work and a cluster approach, we bring remote communities together, support youth activity and help implement initiatives,” said project manager Iryna Tkachenko.
Our thanks to the young people, mentors and partners for their inspiration, courage and readiness to act. Together, we look ahead to new steps, fresh ideas and even more opportunities to strengthen Ukrainian local communities.
The project “Youth Connect for Ukraine” is implemented by the British Council in partnership with local youth organisations. The regional partner in Kirovohrad Oblast is the NGO Agency for Sustainable Development “Skyscraper”.