Youth in action: How UPSHIFT is helping shape Ukraine’s future
UNICEF is strengthening a platform that helps young Ukrainians gain new skills, implement social projects and build a resilient future for themselves and their communities.
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The challenges
Ukrainian youth are coming of age amid the realities of full-scale war, which has drastically altered their lives and futures. Many teenagers and young adults have experienced the loss of their homes, forced migration, separation from families and active hostilities near their communities. The war has disrupted education, employment and access to services.
Mental health remains a serious concern. Ongoing stress, trauma and other diagnosed mental health conditions, and uncertainty about the future are increasing the pressure on young people. Many teenagers and young adults need support in developing life skills that will help them adapt, overcome difficulties and rebuild their inner resources.
Despite all these challenges, youth remain a driving force for change. They engage in volunteering, support communities through grassroots initiatives, develop innovative projects and strive to help build a strong, resilient Ukraine. By advocating for and investing in their education, psychosocial support and participation in decision-making processes, UNICEF is enabling young people not only to help rebuild the country today but also shape its future.
The solution
UPSHIFT is a comprehensive response to many of the challenges facing young Ukrainians. The programme creates opportunities for youth to become leaders of social innovation in their communities, while also developing their professional skills.
UPSHIFT focuses on building twenty-first century skills – such as critical thinking, teamwork, leadership, communication and adaptability. Each cohort includes a four-day training course, mentorship support, problem-solving and resources to bring youth-led solutions to life.
In 2018, UNICEF launched the programme in the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions. It later expanded to other regions of Ukraine, responding to emerging challenges faced by young people. For instance, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of social distancing measures, UPSHIFT was adapted for online learning, allowing young people to participate remotely in training and develop solutions to mitigate the pandemic’s effects on their communities.
Since the escalation of the war in 2022, over 100 UPSHIFT cohorts have been launched in 22 regions of Ukraine, with the support of international partners and local civil society organizations. Adolescents and young people had the opportunity to implement their ideas to support communities and help rebuild the country.
In 2024, UPSHIFT launched six waves open to young people from across Ukraine. These cohorts helped unite youth with common interests from different regions to work on projects under six themes: recovery, mental health, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), inclusion, and career. Participants explored these socially significant topics and developed solutions to today’s most pressing challenges. Sixty youth-led projects were implemented as part of the national waves.
Over the past three years, young people have implemented initiatives addressing support for internally displaced persons, inclusion, education, humanitarian aid, mental health, environmental protection, youth and child development, animal welfare and technology.
Today, UPSHIFT Ukraine works toward four key goals:
- Developing skills that improve young people’s employability
- Empowering socially vulnerable teenagers and youth
- Engaging youth as agents of positive change in public life
- Supporting the growth of social entrepreneurship as a way to tackle societal challenges
Since its launch in Ukraine, UPSHIFT has run over 120 cohorts with more than 6,000 participants. Through their projects, UPSHIFTers have implemented initiatives that have reached and supported over one million people across the country.