The power of Ukrainian youth

Photo: Orest lyzhechka / Shutterstock

By focusing on the younger generation of Ukrainians we want to show that we are not solely interested in political and economic development, but primarily  the country’s human and social capital. We have opted for this approach to better understand how, in the last number of years, young Ukrainians were shaped by experiencing life in a new Ukraine. Have they adopted a stronger sense of national identity, have they become more Europeans? Are they closer to the European Union or Russia? These are the questions we sought to answer.

New national and civic education

Since the early 1990s Ukraine, undergoing a system transformation, has been going through a process of a national awaking. Yet, a lot of research into the dynamics of the public’s attitude towards independence, which overlapped with economic change, military activity, and, of course, the Kremlin’s aggressive foreign policy, show that Ukrainians are still in the process of building their sense of national and civic identity. In other words, they are still determining the directions of these changes.

It should be remembered that Ukraine is a multi-ethnic and very diverse state, which does not help in the process of creating one common national or European identity. The future of the development of the Ukrainian nation will depend on the readiness of society to self-organise. Young people will be an important element in this development by participating in the process of state-building and developing relations with the neighbours from the East and West.

It is also important to recall that the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence in 1991 led to many reforms, including in education. While analysing this process, the authors of the report titled “Society and culture: A quarter century of changes (1991-2016)” wrote: “The process of establishing a new system of education [was] subordinate to the idea of building a civil society and closely linked with the implementation of European standards in the area of the protection of human rights and liberties.” Indeed, this new Ukrainian education system was meant to shape young people’s national identity and worldviews, and prepare them for active and creative life as well as self-fulfilment and civic responsibility.

Consequently, the ideas of democratic and humanistic education became popular slogans. To introduce these new ideas, it was necessary to establish new forms of teaching and teacher trainings, also in informal methods. In the view of many scholars, these goals have not been fully realised, and the authors of the abovementioned report stress that such goals are only practically true, as the so-called Revolution of Dignity saw thousands of people come to the streets and the majority were born and educated in independent Ukraine. These people are fully aware of their civic responsibility, know the price of freedom and want to take matters into their own hands. They also understand their historical role and how to act for the greater good of the state.

The views and attitudes of the Ukrainian youth have also been influenced during the All-Ukrainian Children and Youth Festival. This cultural event was established in 1996 with the goal of the socialisation of its participants. Initially, it was a small, local event, which in the 25 years of its existence has turned into a mainstream social project, whose aim is not only the promotion of artistic development of talented children, but – above all – the promotion of moral values and a platform where young people can discuss important topics. As a result, it has become a place for dialogue with the country’s youth.

While looking at the festival’s 25-year history, we can also see the changes that have taken place among young Ukrainians. Just as the formula of this event has been changing over the years, young Ukrainians youth has been changing, too. In the 1990s and early 2000s the cornerstone of the programme was Ukrainian folk traditions and their presentation to younger generations. These early editions aimed to increase a sense of patriotism among the youth, teaching them love towards the motherland as well as friendship and co-operation between different ethnic groups. Lastly, the festival focused on the rebirth of peaceful youth groups and the promotion of universal values, including tolerance, and children’s rights. 

Larger community

Year after year, the youth showed more interest in the topics that the festival was trying to promote. In time the participants became more active in discussions and more open in expressing their views on what constitutes modern Ukrainian identity. They were more interested in contemporary matters and trying to solve the most pressing issues through art. They were drawing, singing, performing onstage and dancing.

Since 2005 the goal of the festival has been to show young Ukrainians that they, too, can be members of the larger community: Europe. Thus, the theme of the 10th edition of the festival was European integration. It was titled “Europe is our common house”. The European Union was also an important theme in subsequent editions: it was the leading theme of the 11th edition – which was titled “My homeland on Europe’s map” – and the 12th edition – titled “We are Europeans”. Clearly, the festival’s organisers wanted their event to reflect the direction of Ukrainian foreign policy, which was aimed at European integration. That is why, young people who attended the event in those years focused on questions as: What does it mean to be European? What is European education all about? And what is the path to the future?

In the years 2008-2015 festival topics focused on the environment and the well-being of the planet. Additionally, they also touched upon the role youth plays in today’s world. Through that angle, the organisers wanted to draw attention not only to the environment, but also issues of social responsibility. As we found out through our research, the intention of the organisers was not only to draw the participants’ attention to the then rising authoritarianism in Ukraine, but also to the need of greater democratisation in decision-making processes.

When the festival started to focus more on young people’s problems, the outbreak of the EuroMaidan and the Revolution of Dignity (winter of 2013 and 2014) made other topics seem more relevant. These events as well as the annexation of Crimea, the war in eastern Ukraine, the mass display of patriotism and courage of the Ukrainian people, inspired the organisers to opt for “Ukraine is my country” as the motto of the festival from 2016 till 2020.

In this way, the themes of the festival corresponded with the events actually happening. The 21st edition focused on what constitutes the Ukrainian nation, the topic of the 22nd edition was the traditional Ukrainian family, while the 23rd edition in 2018 focussed on civic activism among contemporary Ukrainian artists. The 24th edition concentrated on bullying among children, the inclusion of the disabled, and intercultural dialogue. Reflecting on this, one of our interviewees, Tatiana Gladchenko, who is the head of the Chair of Folk Art, stressed that: “If we analyse the work of all participants, from all of Ukraine, in the last 25 years, we can see changes. The pride of Ukraine, which was born during the Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity is on the rise, as well as is the pain of the price that is being paid in war-torn eastern Ukraine. There is joy from Jamala’s victory in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest and concern for the future of the country. Young artists feel, through their soul and artistic means of expression, the presence and pass on their life experiences to others”.

The 2020 edition of the festival was organised online. It gathered 500 participants from 13 regions of Ukraine. Its participants discussed topics such as e-government, ethical leadership, and fighting corruption in Ukraine. During the discussions young people also referred to the results of research on public opinion  which was carried out among the Ukrainian youth in 2017 by the New Europe Centre and Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung in co-operation with GfK Ukraine. It was titled “Ukrainian generation Z: values and directives”. The findings indicate that today’s Ukrainian youth feel disoriented, but not lost. They also show that Ukrainian’s youth is politically apathetic, which indicatively is not only a Ukrainian feature. Interestingly, young Ukrainians, if they are interested in politics, focus on the relations between Ukraine and the European Union or Russia. They are not as interested in domestic politics as much as they are about its relations with the outside world.

Europe is not a wall

The research we have conducted with participants of the last festival show that Ukrainian’s youth in all regions are more pro-European than older generations. This finding, to be sure, comes as no surprise. Pro-EU attitudes among young people (age 15 to 24) have certainly been detected in recent years. Research from 2017 showed that 60 per cent of young respondents believed Ukraine should join the European Union. This is possibly related to an idealistic image of the European community that they hold. We could clearly see it in the submissions which were awarded by the EU Representation to Ukraine in the competition it organised in 2015 titled “Being a European”. These artistic works show that for young Ukrainians, the EU is a community (“Europe is not a wall” was one of the slogans used) where everyone is treated equal, with dignity, equality and justice. Everyone has a right to express themselves and independently define and manifest their identity. This vision, however, does not translate into broad trust for European structures. Only one-third of young Ukrainians trust the EU, for example.

In our view, it is difficult to use these attitudes of young Ukrainians  for the thesis that they have become European citizens. However, young people certainly favour  Ukraine becoming more pro-EU. As many as 71 per cent of the respondents in our research think  that Ukraine should aim to become a member of the EU, and its citizens should actively support this process. Young people believe that the public should contribute to the development of the country and should want to be a part of the state-building process.

Young people have also become more courageous and are no longer afraid to speak up and defend their views. In this way, they feel responsible for the future of the state. As one of our interviewees, Larisa Sivokon (head of the Organisational and Mass Work division and the director of the Earth Day Festival), said: “After 26 years of celebrating the Earth Day we can say that only at the first glance the youth has not changed and, no matter what decade, when they are at the same age they are interested in similar problems, regardless of which part of Ukraine they come from. They have also similar ideas as how to solve today’s problems. Having said that, I also want to add that today’s youth are different and they have become quite different. They have been changed by these extreme transformation years as a result of which they are more brave and do not hesitate to say what they really think. What is more, these words are followed by actions – I think that, thanks to this change, their work in different fields is more interesting, original and courageous.”

Their vigour can be seen not only in their statements, but also in their art. Of a similar opinion is Halina Chaykovska, the head choreographer of the Earth Day Festival, who said that “the qualitative changes have become quite visible over the years of the festival … the topics discussed have become deeper and with more meaning, while the selection of words and movement techniques more complex and expressive … At the moment, the choreographic compositions of the groups show diverse borrowings, combinations of different styles and schools of dance art and their brave, but successful combinations – and this is indeed very spectacular, clear and exciting.”

Responsible for the future

Overall, young Ukrainians tend to put the values related to their lives at the centre. These include family, health, well-being and love. They also value clear conscious, service to the homeland, and debates on current social topics. Over half declare that they feel responsible for the future of the state and want to contribute to it. They are aware that their positions and that today’s choices will have an impact on the future of the planet. Younger respondents feel the need to express their thoughts and fears regarding the future through different creative means, as in this way they have a chance to show the truth that is dear to their hearts. The generational change has been taking place among the festival’s participants. We can see how the selection of groups participating has changed and the Ukrainian-language content has increased. In addition, the patriotically-oriented activities, prepared by the adults, have become replaced by the sincere patriotic activities of the youth themselves.  Young people are no longer interested in simple forms of art. They want to metaphorically express themselves and depart from realism. They are attracted to philosophical debates related to searching the meaning of life.

Young Ukrainians, who are aware of their own identity and the impact they can have on the world, cannot be called Homo sovieticus. Nor even Homo post-sovieticus,in the meaning of the term that was assigned by the Russian philosopher Alexander Zinoviev. They feel they are responsible and unique. They are willing to manifest their individuality and feel no entitlement to a better world. Instead, they want to create it anew. They are not indifferent to social problems, but want to undertake discussions about them. These are sensitive and independent individuals, and courageous in expressing their views.

Russian sociologist, Yuri Levada, claimed that more than one generation needs to pass for Homo sovieticus to go into oblivion. If we put aside the desire to have social safety nets or some other provisions from the state, we can say that, in Ukraine, only one generation was needed for that change to take place. This was caused not only by a natural demographic generational change, but by the introduction of civil liberties, consent to individualism and its artistic expression.

Translated by Iwona Reichardt

Natalia Dolgopolova is the main director of the festival; Anna Surkova is the director of the regional centre for children and youth, which is the organiser and initiator of the festival. Kinga Anna Gajda and Alina Meheda were experts involved in the project research.

Art, Culture, festival, Ukraine, Youth