Ukrainian Youth Forum (UYF)

Ukrainian Youth Forum is not only the most mass union of singeing majority of the registered Ukrainian youth and children’s organizations and there unions.

It is an association due to which a youth public part appeared in Ukraine the valuable participant of social and political processes, and young people realized not only own forces in the decision of the social problems - felt it changeable force which take a place in political life of our country.

It is a structure which connected diametrically opposite to political forces after for the structural prosecution the decision of actual problem of children and young people in Ukraine.

It is a structure which reconstructs the future of the state system and consistently.

The main purpose of UYF

Consolidation of domestic youth and children’s organizations for the proper presentation the interests of Ukrainian young people in relationships with state power and on international level.

Mission of UYF

the assistance in development for youth and children’s public organizations of Ukraine and their unions, co-ordination of youth motion in Ukraine and integration it in international youth motion.

Directions of activity

• co-ordination and development of children’s and youth public organizations
• participating in forming and realization of public youth policy
• a representative office and defence the interests of children and young people, their associations in legislative, executive public authorities and parts of self-government on all levels
• beginning the public activity of young people, assistance in increasing of their role, in to public-political life of country
• creation terms for self-determination, self-realization of children and young people
• providing and integration Ukrainian youth public sector in international youth motion
• providing the decision of actual problems of children and young people in Ukraine through support of youth organizations.

Strategy of activity

by the efforts of youth public to lift and work out at the greatest state level problems, actual for young people and children’s public sector, different groups of children and young people of Ukraine. Structure of UYF:

• 16 unions of youth and children’s public organizations
• 120 national youth and children’s organizations
• indirect membership of more than 5,5 thousand of youth and children’s organizations of city, district, rural, settlement levels of registration.
• 25 regional representative offices of UYF and 2 representative offices in cities Kyiv and Sevastopol.

Structure of guidance and making a decision:

The higher decision-making body of UYF is Board which collects all of members. We jointly, large on the whole accept all decisions in relation to activity of association, support the youth public motion, different groups of children and young people.

Advice of UYF looks like a parliament, in fact that a decision is not made without the collective concordance of two equal rights constituents – Board’s memebers and Vice-Chairmen. They, although present sometimes political forces and social positions, by joint efforts lift and decide the greatest state level questions, directed on satisfaction of interests of all task that cncerns children and young people.

Activity of this decision-making body can become an example for all Ukrainian politic, in fact for the sake of representatives of those social categories, that they presented, and the leaders of UYF deprived political interests and ambition.

The constantly operating leading body of UYF is Secretariat which in the composition was connected by bright t and active young people.

Eastern Ukrainian Union of Youth Non-Governmental Organizations (VUSMO)

was founded in February, 1996 on the initiative of the Students’ Youth Center and a number of other Gorlovka youth organizations with the aim of development of youth co-operation, establishing new relations among young people and providing help support for their activities. Activity of VUSMO covered not only the territory of Donetsk region but also many other regions of Ukraine which consequently led to foundation of All-Ukrainian Union of Youth Organizations (USMO) including at present approximately 200 member organizations from different regions of the country.
    The members of Union are 26 organizations of various types: youth and children organizations, youth political parties and NGOs working in the educational, cultural and other fields.

Aims and Objectives

• The consolidation of the youth organizations` efforts in the framework of the national youth policy
• The development of the movement in all spheres of our society
• the involving of young people in decision-making
• The incarnation of the ideas of youth to life
• The increase of public awareness about the needs and contribution of young people.

In order to make the work of our Union creative and productive the Governing Body was formed. It consists of 2 organs:
The Youth Leaders Council- the highest decision-making body. It consists of representatives of 26 member-organizations.
The Executive Сcommittee - the executive body of VUSMO with the executive secretary in its head.
In May 1999 VUSMO inaugurated the “VUSMO Resource Center” which became possible due to the support of the “Eurasia” foundation and the C. S. Mott’s foundation the activity of which is directed to the development of the infrastructure of the “3rd sector” in small communities (49) of Donetsk region. The “VUSMO Resource Center” gives training courses and consultations to non-governmental organizations and initiative groups and favors the establishment of local non-governmental organizations supports centers.
Since May 1996 VUSMO is working in close collaboration with the National Council of Youth Organizations of Sweden (LSU) within the 5 year co-operation project “Global Democratic Leadership”, the other partners of which are Nepal, Nicaragua and Zambia. 13 seven-day training courses for leaders of more that 100 youth organizations of Ukraine, 8 two-day training courses for the organizations from small communities  and 5 youth exchanges have been carried out within this project.  
Since September 1998 the “Youth Information Consultation Service” providing NGOs with different services has been functioning on the basis of VUSMO due to the support Soros Foundation in Ukraine.
In 1999 VUSMO was the co – coordinator of international child event Millennium Action Fund. This action was initiated by English Organization Peace Child International and UNEP.
In 2001 VUSMO, RADA, CNTM and LSU initiated project InterAction. In this project participate Zambia YC. This is a two level project: Regional Cooperation (Sweden, Ukraine, Zambia, Moldova, and Belarus) and Bilateral Cooperation (Sweden, Ukraine). During the project many trainings and seminars were hold, a great number of experience was exchanged, a lot of young leaders appeared in many cities of 5 countries.
In 2005 after finishing the project InterAction, a new project “The Gale” started. To some extent the project is built upon previous experience that LSU has gained from other international development projects. Most recently the Sida - supported project InterAction 2001-2004 with the aim of strengthening youth councils and youth organisations throughout the world.  Within InterAction a regional cooperation was initiated between the youth councils in Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine. In 2003 the national youth council in Georgia was invited to join the cooperation. The cooperation has passed successfully and is a unique cooperation in a region where the youth organizations have not cooperated so extensively before. Now the youth councils in Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine and Georgia, with support of LSU, intend to expand the cooperation to encompass also the youth councils in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia. As the result of the work in this year, the agreement about Eastern-European Youth Cooperation was signed. In the frames of work in 2006 are planned international seminars, study visits and exchanges.