On 14 November, Vinnytsia hosted a public discussion of the specialised secondary education reform, which provides for students to choose a study profile and subjects according to their interests and future plans. The main goal of such meetings is to involve communities in the development of legislative changes and jointly determine what the network of institutions of specialised secondary education in the region should look like. The discussion was attended by representative

Within the framework of the «Culinary Hubs. Training of Master Trainers» Initiative, the DECIDE Project supports many activities, one of which is the Culinary Battle in the Project's partner regions. So far, the battle has involved 8-9th grade pupils from Ivano-Frankivsk as well as Kyiv region, Lviv region and the city of Lviv. In total, almost 100 teenagers from these regions took part in the battle! Overall, the Culinary Battle involved teenagers from Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Pol

On 12-13 November 2024, the first European Regional School Meals Summit was held in Kyiv, where representatives of governments, international and non-governmental organisations, experts, and representatives of Ukrainian territorial communities joined the discussion of the progress and challenges in the school meals reform launched in 2020 at the initiative of First Lady Olena Zelenska. The event brought together abound 500 participants, including Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal

The Swiss-Ukrainian project DECIDE brought together teachers, researchers and academic staff of postgraduate teacher education institutions in the partner regions, as well as representatives of partner communities for a three-day training in Lviv. The topic of the training was «Piloting and implementing a system of career guidance for pupils». On the first day of the training, the participants exchanged experiences and expectations from the implementation of career guidance l

Despite the challenges of the war, Ukrainian educators continue seeking ways to improve the educational process in communities. The delegation, consisting of DECIDE Project experts, heads and representatives of local authorities of DECIDE Project partner communities, visited Switzerland to learn how education is organised in this country, how education is managed at the local level to ensure that it is of high quality, modern and truly democratic. The visit was organised on t

The Tereshky territorial community in Poltava region has renovated a school shelter, creating a modern and comfortable space for learning. According to the head of the community, Vitaliy Turpitko, the conditions in the shelter were critical before the work began: «There were piles of rubbish, the floor was not even poured concrete, there was no lighting or proper toilets. So, we had to take out all the rubbish, pour the floor, and set up toilets. But still there were problems

In the framework of supporting career guidance for young people, a youth forum «VIBE» was held in Lviv, with the Swiss-Ukrainian project DECIDE as a partner. The forum, in particular, became a platform for sharing experiences and establishing contacts between the main participants in the career guidance system: authorities, educational institutions and businesses. The event brought together around 4000 participants. Valentyna Poltorak, Project Manager of the Swiss-Ukrainian D

The team of the Swiss-Ukrainian project DECIDE joined a press tour for the national and regional media to learn about the success of the school meals reform initiated by First Lady Olena Zelenska. «We have a lot to share, because no one has implemented such a reform during the war. That's why every feedback we get - from children, parents, cooks, and everyone who cares about children - is so important to us. Because now we have to be especially diligent in protecting their re

On 11 October 2024, public discussions were held in Lutsk to discuss further steps in the implementation of the specialised education reform. Heads, deputy heads and directors of educational authorities of all 54 territorial communities of Volyn region joined the discussion of key issues of the reform implementation. The officials of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the DECIDE project experts answered the questions of the communities. The discussion was al

On October 1-2, 2024, Kyiv hosted a workshop «Development of Education in Territorial Communities» which finalized a series of events as part of special training programs for local government officials. The workshop hosted 57 participants, including heads and deputy heads of territorial communities, members of local councils, and heads of education authorities from 33 communities in the Chernihiv Region. Special advanced training programs are being implemented by the Swiss-Uk