The Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk met with interns who are undergoing an internship at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
“Even under martial law, with all the enhanced security requirements, the Verkhovna Rada should keep its doors open to young people. Especially for those young Ukrainians who are actively interested in how the Parliament works and want to join the civil service. I am absolutely convinced of this!” said Olena Kondratiuk.
She recalled that the interns had recently resumed their internship at the Verkhovna Rada’s Secretariat, which was interrupted by the full-scale russian invasion in 2022, and this was the first meeting with them in the Parliament building at 5 Hrushevskyi Street.
The Vice Speaker told the youth about the important role played by the Ukrainian Parliament as an institution during the war. In particular, what has been done to adapt legislation and bring Ukraine’s accession to the EU closer, and what new and proactive parliamentary diplomacy means. In particular, on the issue of protecting the rights of Ukrainian children abducted by russia and developing good neighbourly relations with countries such as Poland, which holds the EU Council presidency.
The interns, in turn, shared their impressions of their internship experience and recommendations for improvement. During the question and answer session, they also asked about security guarantees for Ukraine and the prospects of joining NATO, the state of education and science, the environment, the judiciary, and inclusion for people with disabilities.
“We definitely need to involve young people in visiting, interning and working in the Parliament, just as they do in the European Parliament or the US Congress. This opens up social lifts and many new opportunities for young people. It forms responsible and conscious citizens who are ready to take responsibility for the country and contribute to its reform and development,” emphasised Olena Kondratiuk.
The Vice Speaker also expressed her gratitude to the Verkhovna Rada Secretariat and its Secretary General, Viacheslav Shtuchnyi, for supporting the initiative to restore youth internships.
According to her, many young people, after completing their internships, found work in the secretariats of the Verkhovna Rada leadership, parliamentary committees, the Press Service and the Educational Centre, in other structural units of the Secretariat, and even became MPs.
“I hope that a competitive selection of the new wave of interns for 2025 will be announced soon,” said Olena Kondratiuk.
In addition, the Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada thanked the League of Interns NGO, which unites the community of internship programme graduates and helps to attract caring and motivated young people to do internships in the Ukrainian Parliament.