In Ukraine, not only has the date of Youth Day been changed to 12 August, but the very essence of the holiday has also changed: young people are not remembered just once a year, but are constantly encouraged to actively participate in reforming the state and engaging in direct dialogue with authorities at all levels. One example of such work is the Ukrainian Youth Forum.
This was announced by Oleksandr Sanchenko, a member of parliament and member of the parliamentary committee on humanitarian and information policy.
«Until 2022, Youth Day was celebrated together with post-Soviet countries on the last Sunday of June. It was not a real holiday in the sense that young people were mentioned only once a year, invited to some events, and that was it. Now, young people are involved in direct dialogue with the authorities at all levels. Young people are asked how they see their community, village or city. At the national level, there is a Council on Youth Issues under the President, which brings young people together and asks for their opinions on certain areas of life,» the MP noted.
He added that this year a large-scale Ukrainian Youth Forum is being held, which started in Lviv and will end in Kyiv.
«In Lviv, which has been designated the European Youth Capital 2025, events have begun as part of International Youth Day. More than 200 young people from all over Ukraine and representatives of the diaspora gathered here to develop proposals for the authorities in the areas of economy, health care, youth and sports, energy, etc., so that they can live in a country they want to live in and have services that are youth-oriented. I hope that these proposals will become part of the updated state policy,» the MP summed up.