Abstract:

It has become somewhat cliche, even mythic, in recent years to say that young people are the future, but our long-running panel of youth in Ukraine brings new truth and meaning to the myth. In partnership with the Ukraine National Identity through Youth (UNITY) programme, a USAID-funded programme that supports youth leadership towards a values-based Ukrainian identity, our research with this panel seeks to gain a fuller understanding of this very particular group of young individuals. Communications agency Zinc Network, working with Bilendi and respondi?s tool Bilendi Discuss, ran a research project for USAID UNITY (the Ukraine National Identity through Youth) programme, implemented by IREX. UNITY supports youth leadership towards a values-based Ukrainian identity. Bilendi Discuss allows participants to engage with researchers via WhatsApp, while we on the back-end manage the community within a tool built specifically for the purpose of research and analysis. The insights obtained through our work inform UNITY?s programming and content, built to engage Ukraine?s youth, with a particular eye toward civic engagement in a healthy and pluralistic society. Ultimately, the more that is understood about the youth in Ukraine today, the better we can help them work towards a brighter future.