UzhNU students learnt the basics of youth rights
On Thursday, 27 February, the YouthHub Youth Centre hosted a training on Youth Rights and Council of Europe Standards.The workshop was organised by the Centre for Innovation and Development of UzhNU, and the trainer was Maryna Stashina-Neymet, a leading specialist of the unit.
Everyone knows that our future depends on young people. In order to promote the productivity and proper development of young people, it is necessary to ensure that their rights are respected. But do they know what their responsibilities and privileges are? This is the purpose of the training - to inform young people and give them opportunities for further in-depth study.
The meeting began with a speech by Alyona Almashiy, Director of the Centre for Innovation and Development at UzhNU, who spoke about the work of the unit. In particular, she spoke about volunteering. She noted that the centre actively helps orphans, visits animal shelters, participates in city initiatives and organises fundraising for treatment, rehabilitation and the purchase of medical equipment for orphanages. ‘In addition, we run various simulation games, workshops and trainings. The initiatives are focused on inclusion, tolerance and volunteering,’ adds Aliona. She also shared that this is not the first time such an event has been held, and its format is one of the most accessible and practical ways to work with young people in the field of barrier-free access.
Maryna Stashina-Neymet was the next to speak: ‘Today we are going to talk about what the Council of Europe offers to young people in the areas of education, employment and mobility. In my opinion, these are the key topics that concern the new generation. And, of course, it is very important to show the regulatory framework for youth rights in the Council of Europe and in the European Union in general. The slides will also contain a list of these documents so that you can read them in more detail at your leisure.’The training was attended by students from various faculties, including Economics, Information Technology and Mathematics and Digital Technologies. Immediately after a brief introduction to each other, they tried to formulate what the concept of human rights meant to them.
The trainer pointed out that when we talk about rights, we cannot ignore responsibilities and obligations. Because our responsibility is not only awareness of our rights, but also control over their observance. Neglect of this principle, as a rule, often causes their violation.
After that, an interactive game ‘Take a step if...’ took place. Each participant received a piece of paper with an assigned role, then the presenter announced a question, and the player had to take a step if, according to his or her position, he or she received such privileges and vice versa - to stay put when the announced question was not available to him or her.
During the event, the participants also discussed the topic ‘How to defend your rights and values?’, examined the rights of young people and the standards of the Council of Europe and the rights of young people in various fields. In addition, the conversation touched on what the Council of Europe offers to young people in areas such as education, employment and mobility. Finally, a list of key international human rights documents was displayed on a slide.
The event ended with a reflection session, during which participants were happy to share their impressions of the training.
