“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
If it were necessary to select an epigraph for our programme, it would be these words of Mahatma Gandhi.
On 11 May in Lviv, a joint study programme called “Strengthening Youth Engagement in Local Governance” was launched together with our partners. These partners include Centre for Perspective Initiatives and Studies, DESPRO, Lviv Regional Council and Lviv Regional State Administration.
The programme provides an opportunity for young people to participate in the change-making processes in the Lviv region. Each participant will be trained in various Lviv Regional Council and Lviv Regional State Administration departments for four months. During these four months, the participants will attend training sessions that cover diverse and, more importantly, practical components of the civil service in Ukraine and abroad.
All our participants have different types of experience with government agencies: some have previously participated in civil service internships whereas others are newer to the field. Several participants have even had negative experiences with the civil service in the past but were not discouraged. These participants have chosen not to abandon their efforts to make changes in their country and decided to join our programme.
As shown by the participants in the programme, it is true that people with absolutely different backgrounds and education can become actors of change. In our programme there are lawyers, journalists, public activists and PR managers among the participants. All of them have a common motivation, which was successfully deduced by one of the participants: “I want to be useful for my small homeland.”
We are pleased to announce that over the next four months we will be providing updates and coverage of our programme participants during their internships. This will include details on the participants impressions, experiences, achievements and the potential difficulties of working in government agencies. We hope to convey to society what the civil service really is and how it welcomes fresh faces.
Some more information about our programme can be found in this video from a local TV channel. The clip about our programme begins at 8:15.