YMCA Europe joined YMCA Ukraine National Training: “Empowering Youth through Cooperation and Solidarity.”
Alina Pop, Organizational Development Director, and Dragos Tarta, Advocacy Lead, visited YMCA Ukraine on behalf of YMCA Europe during their National Training, a three-day event organised in Kyiv – reuniting national and local leadership of the Ukrainian YMCA movement, exploring best practices, future projects and partnership and development opportunities.
The National Training served as a platform for organisational exchange, strategic planning, and capacity development within the Ukrainian YMCA movement.
Participants engaged in structured sessions addressing topics including organisational governance, programme delivery, and the role of the YMCA in Ukrainian civil society. The event reflected YMCA Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to strengthen coordination between its national, regional, and local structures.
Alina and Dragos delivered key sessions on development, advocacy and digital equity, all while emphasizing YMCA Europe’s continued support to YMCA Ukraine, ensuring that youth all across the country have access to safe spaces, educational and skilling opportunities, and the context in which to grow in mind, body and spirit.
Across the country, YMCA Ukraine’s work reaches thousands of young people in communities that face significant educational and economic challenges.
Local associations provide safe, inclusive environments where young people can access non-formal education, develop leadership skills, and build connections that extend well beyond their immediate circumstances. In the current context, this work carries particular urgency, and the YMCA’s ability to operate at the community level makes it uniquely positioned to respond to the needs of young people across the country.
Central to this work is a growing commitment to digital equity and skills development, advanced through a strategic partnership with HP.
Through this collaboration, YMCA Ukraine has been able to expand its digital skilling capacity significantly, providing young people, educators, and community workers with access to equipment, structured training programmes, and the practical competencies needed to participate in today’s digital economy. In 2025, local YMCAs in Ukraine have reached more than 350.000 beneficiaries through digital skilling programmes delivered through HP Hope’s device donation initiative.
Thus far, YMCAs across the country have benefitted from more than 140 devices, with the number set to reach 216 by the end of 2026.
The partnership with HP reflects a shared understanding that digital access alone is insufficient; building genuine digital confidence and capability requires sustained, structured investment in people.
This initiative spans multiple YMCA locations across Ukraine, reaching young people in both urban centres and underserved areas, including communities directly affected by conflict. Programmes under this framework address a spectrum of digital skills, from basic digital literacy and internet safety to more applied competencies such as digital communication, remote work tools, and technology-enabled civic participation. In doing so, YMCA Ukraine is not only bridging the digital divide, it is actively preparing the next generation to lead in a digital world.
In addition to the national sessions, the delegation visited local associations in Boyarka and Kyiv, both of which illustrate how YMCA principles translate into meaningful, community-based action.
In Boyarka, the team met local leaders engaged in digital skills training for young people and educators, whose initiatives have evolved into a recognised example of best practice within the national network, combining foundational digital literacy with workshops on online collaboration, content creation, and civic engagement through technology.
YMCA Kyiv shares a complementary profile, integrating digital competences into broader youth empowerment frameworks, producing socially engaged young leaders.
Our colleagues’ visit comes at an important turning point in YMCA Ukraine’s history, with the newly appointed National General Secretary, Victoria Trofimova, highlighting the importance of continuing to support youth to be changemakers in their communities.
“It’s important to plan ahead and to envision a bright future for the young people in Ukraine and for our organisation.”
Victoria’s words best express her vision for strengthening youth empowerment across the country. With passion and determination, Victoria is guiding YMCA Ukraine into its next chapter: one where empowerment, innovation, and solidarity remain at the centre of everything the organisation does. YMCA Europe warmly welcomes her leadership and looks forward to deepening cooperation in the period ahead.
The visit to Ukraine concluded with a clear sense of optimism about what lies ahead: YMCA Ukraine is actively building toward a better future for its communities. As the organization continues to grow its digital skilling programmes, strengthen their structures and welcome new leadership, the foundations are in place for the next chapter of an impactful and inspiring movement.
The work being done today is a powerful investment in tomorrow, and as the YMCA family stands together in solidarity and shared purpose, the future of Ukraine’s young people looks increasingly bright.
