• 24 youth from PA groups in the Kharkov region attended a 10-day training in Nowy Sacz and Świętochłowice to prepare them to create 6 Centers of Youth Activism (CAM) in Kharkov and 5 nearby villages.
• 6 Centers of Youth Activism (CAM) opened in Visokij-Zelenyj Gaj, Zolochev, Pisochin, Tsirkuny, Merefa and in Kharkov itself. 
• Monitoring of the Centers of Youth Activism (CAM)
• A workshop for young journalists was run in Kharkov to encourage them to address the need for youth empowerment and to promote the goals and activities of the project.  They raised awareness of the problem of youth unemployment and organized a competition:  „Employment for Youth: Challenges and Solutions” featuring analysis, photo-reporting, interviews and creative solutions.
• A data base was created of employment opportunities in the Third Sector and business as well as study opportunities in the Kharkov region.  It includes a website and forum to discuss the problem of youth unemployment.
• Preparation and distribution of materials to promote the Youth Centers and Job Fair. 
• Job Fair organized in Kharkov for youth seeking employment in NGOs or businesses.
• Seminar for Kharkov youth leaders run by Odessa trainers to share experience in creating a Youth Council of Odessa which was awarded the Council of Europe „Youth Active Citizens” prize in 2007.   
  

24 youth from PA groups in the Kharkov region attended a 10-day training in Nowy Sacz and Świętochłowice to prepare them to create 6 Centers of Youth Activism (CAM) in Kharkov and 5 nearby villages. 

Lack of decent work for youth living beyond city borders and lack of school programs to assist in career counseling lead young people from villages to go to cities in search of employment.  Without experience, access to information, knowledge of how to find a job or about workers’ rights, they fall victim to low paying jobs and are easily taken advantage of. 

One of the goals of this project was to create 6 Centers of Youth Activism (CAM) which would provide career guidance.  Our Kharkov partner chose 24 young activists from participants in a previously implemented Public Achievement (PA) program.  They attended workshops in Nowy Sacz and had a two-day study visit at the Center for Local Education in Swietochlowice.  They were active, interested and full of questions, taking their task of returning home and creating these CAMs very seriously.   Before leaving Poland they had made detailed action plans of how to create these centers.

6 Centers of Youth Activism (CAM) opened in Visokij-Zelenyj Gaj, Zolochev, Pisochin, Tsirkuny, Merefa and in Kharkov itself. 

One of the key problems is lack of information about opportunities for youth especially in rural areas.  While the basic premise and goals of each of these centers are similar:  to provide information and training to young people looking for jobs, opportunities in the Third Sector or educational prospects; the methods of realizing these aims vary with each Center. The Centers are tailored to meet the needs of each community. 

Most of the Centers are located in schools and the target audience of several of the Centers has been recent graduates and those in their final years of high school.  This group is most likely to need assistance either finding immediate work, volunteer positions or information regarding opportunities for further education.  Many, however, are unsure of what they would like to do in the future, which makes the process of guiding them even more challenging.  We believe that one’s first „job” might not actually be a paid position, but rather an opportunity to gain experience as a volunteer which is equally beneficial.  It gives concrete exposure to real life situations that may help define a future career path and experience in a work environment which is often a prerequisite for a paid position.

Some of the Centers have done excellent outreach, not only advertising their services in local newspapers, radio, by flyers and word of mouth, but additionally by going out to meet with youth in high schools.  This has been especially important in the initial stages of the project when the concept of a CAM is still very original and young people are unaware of the wealth of resources that are available to them.  Each Center has regular, posted, working hours, scheduled workshops on various topics, and specialists available for consultations. Several of the Centers offer psychological profile tests to help young people figure out what kind of job or volunteer position they are most suited for. 

The CAM in Kharkov organized 3 workshops open to all participants:  „Secrets of Personal Development”, „Start finding a job that gives you satisfaction”, and „Legal aspects of employment”.  The remaining 5 CAMs each organized two workshops:  „First step to your career” and „Volunteering: an opportunity for personal development and gaining experience”. 

All were very well attended.

Even though the Centers have only been in operation since the end of August, there have already been at least a dozen success stories of individuals finding jobs or other educational and volunteer opportunities.  While this represents only a handful of the candidates, it is clear that the Centers are building momentum as they become a more familiar part of the community environment.  In fact, a dozen new positions with the severe economic crisis that is hitting Ukraine are quite remarkable. 

In addition to the usual Center work, the CAM in Kharkov was responsible for creating a data base of employment offers, maintaining contact with the 5 satellite Centers, creating a website for the project: http://activeyouth.assa.kharkov.ua, providing ongoing information about the project and Center work to the media, and organizing workshops for trainers in all of the Centers. 

Monitoring of the Centers of Youth Activism (CAM)

Anna Ulanovskaya and Larisa Radchenko (ASSA) visited each CAM twice and met with the directors of schools (where CAMs are located) and local authorities to explain the goals, breadth and depth of the project.  In addition to monitoring, in cooperation with Doverie Center, they also ran workshops on designing activities and business plans.  Alicja Derkowska and Julie Boudreaux (MTO) visited the CAMs and were impressed by the high level of commitment and professionalism evident in their work.

We believe that thanks to the realization of this project youth who are more socially active and better prepared, practically and theoretically, for work in the Third Sector or in business have a better chance of finding employment in their chosen field and can also help others do the same.

A workshop for young journalists was run in Kharkov to encourage them to address the need for youth empowerment and to promote the goals and activities of the project.  They raised awareness of the problem of youth unemployment and organized a competition:  „Employment for Youth: Challenges and Solutions” featuring analysis, photo-reporting, interviews and creative solutions.

The activities were jointly run by television studios and public TV programming, with support of the Local Committee for Family and Youth Affairs.  „Evening Kharkov” newspaper provided free information.  The competition was advertised using many forms of mass media including newspapers, radio, TV and the official website of the city of Kharkov.

The jury, consisting of representatives from ASSA, the Local Committee for Family and Youth Affairs and the Doverie Center, awarded prizes in 3 categories: press articles, videos, and TV „Talk Shows”.  All participants received diplomas and the best 12 articles were compiled in a special publication, „Youth Employment in Kharkov Region through the Eyes of Young Journalists”. Other articles appeared in local newspapers. The topic was broached on several TV programs which specifically mentioned this initiative.

A data base was created of employment opportunities in the Third Sector and business as well as study opportunities in the Kharkov region.  It includes a website and forum to discuss the problem of youth unemployment.

This data base: http://activeyouth.assa.kharkov.ua contains information about:

•   All educational institutions in Kharkov region;

•   All active NGOs working with youth. (So many NGOs in Kharkov exist only on paper and each one had to be checked to see if it was still in operation.);

•   127 businesses. The majority of them were recommended by the unemployment office as reliable and honest. Unfortunately the rapidly advancing crisis in Ukraine since October 2008 meant that many of the offers were quickly rescinded as businesses were forced to cut back. 

Preparation and distribution of materials to promote the Youth Centers and Job Fair. 

1800 flyers promoting the Job Fair as well as 200 copies of „Youth Employment in Kharkov Region through the Eyes of Young Journalists” were printed and distributed.  Additionally each CAM produced its own materials.  Three popular TV stations promoted the Job Fair.

Job Fair organized in Kharkov for youth seeking employment in NGOs or businesses. 

Under the careful guidance of Anna Ulanovskaya, the project coordinator from ASSA, this Kharkov CAM in cooperation with the Volunteer Center in Kharkov helped organize the Job Fair which attracted more than 100 people from Kharkov Oblast, as well as various businesses, universities and NGOs looking for volunteers. Many of the businesses which were eager to participate in the hopes of attracting qualified applicants for their openings, at the last minute had to resign entirely as they were now being forced to fire current employees in a drastic response to the severe crisis afflicting the country.  That notwithstanding, the unemployment office and other businesses still had offers and the continuous stream of candidates left satisfied with the event.  In fact, many asked us when the next Job Fair would be organized and felt that such an opportunity should become an annual part of Kharkov’s approach to youth affairs.  Other participants expressed interest in meeting with their counterparts in other parts of Ukraine and in Poland to share experiences. The event was recorded and widely promoted by posters, the local TV, radio and newspapers with Polish MFA clearly mentioned as a sponsor.

Seminar for Kharkov youth leaders run by Odessa trainers to share experience in creating a Youth Council of Odessa which was awarded the Council of Europe „Youth Active Citizens” prize in 2007.

It was our hope that the example of the Youth Council and its cooperation with local authorities in Odessa presented in detail by its creator would inspire the Kharkov youth to undertake similar steps in exercising their rights. This would be a true example of civil society. 

Vadim Georgienko, an extraordinarily dynamic leader and the mind behind the Youth Council, ran twodays of hands-on workshops.  Participants asked many questions, played various roles, learned to look at public issues in a new light and had fun in the process.  There were heated discussions about the role of youth in decisions that directly affect them, as well as about corruption and how to effectively fight against it.  There was a symbolic election of group leaders to emphasize the importance of each citizen exercising his/ her right to vote.

Vadim was able to show these active youth how little they really knew about how their city is run and who is responsible for the decisions about youth affairs.  He convinced them that they should know these things and more importantly be able to influence those decision.  Unfortunately though, the Youth Council of Odessa was a thorn in the side of the Odessa City Council and local authorities suspended their cooperation with it.  Maybe Kharkov youth will be more successful? MTO trainers attended this workshop and were pleased by the level of contact amongst the young leaders from Odessa and Kharkov which was also an aim of the project.

In our opinion the project results surpassed our expectations.  All six Centers of Youth Activism are working effectively, providing guidance to more and more youth, and committed to continuing after the project officially ends.  The Job Fair was well attended and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received generous thanks for its support.  Personal contacts were established amongst the young leaders in Odessa and Kharkov, another goal of the project. 

We would like to thank the Polish MFA once again for the generous support that has made this program possible!  We believe that the project has significantly contributed to the development of civil society in Ukraine.