Young voices drive new youth policy in Zaporizhzhia

Over the past year, with support from UNICEF, Zaporizhzhia has made significant progress in local youth policy, leading to greater youth participation and engagement. The most visible achievement is the new municipal program “Youth of Zaporizhzhia 2025–2027”, developed directly by young people.

Thanks to these efforts and cooperation with UNICEF, Zaporizhzhia was selected as one of three cities to join the National Program for the Promotion of the Title “European Youth Capital 2025”, won by Lviv. As part of this collaboration, Zaporizhzhia will draft a strategic document to guide the future development of youth policy. The process actively involves young people, experts, and local NGOs.

A wide range of participatory activities — including focus groups, consultations, open discussions, surveys, and a competition for youth initiatives — will ensure a transparent and high-quality process, where the voices of young people form the foundation of decisions that affect them.

Together with Mykolaiv and Poltava, Zaporizhzhia is adopting best practices that helped Lviv secure the European Youth Capital 2025 title, making it the first Ukrainian city with a long-term Youth Strategy. This approach reflects a systemic youth policy built on open dialogue between young people and local authorities.

Planned activities also include creating a dedicated space for youth–authority interaction, conducting a needs survey, launching a sub-grant competition, and holding a final youth festival in the autumn.

The project is being implemented under the title “Lviv – European Youth Capital 2025” with the support of UNICEF Ukraine and financial backing from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the state development bank KfW.