Adolescents from the Kharkiv and Chernivtsi regions learned how to transform their ideas into real initiatives for their communities. As part of the project “Beyond Trauma: Scaling Up Community Mental Health Care for Children and Youth at Risk in Ukraine’s Conflict Affected Communities,” they participated in an online course titled “Communication Campaigns: From Idea to Implementation.”
The course aimed to develop skills in creating communication initiatives and preparing quality applications for adolescent mini-grants. These grants enable adolescents to implement the information campaigns, events, or materials they develop, aimed at supporting mental health and raising awareness about sexual and reproductive health among their peers.
The training took place online and consisted of five sessions lasting 1.5 hours each. A total of 22 adolescents participated in the program, of whom 14 received certificates after meeting the attendance requirements (at least 80% of the sessions) and completing the homework assignments.
During the course, participants learned how to identify issues that truly concern adolescents, formulate the goals of their future initiatives, and transform ideas into realistic action plans.
Special attention was given to how to communicate about mental and sexual and reproductive health without stigma, moralizing, or a “lecture-style” tone — using language that is clear and supportive for a teenage audience.
The sessions were conducted in the format of discussions, practical exercises, and teamwork. Adolescents analyzed situations from everyday life, shared their own observations, and jointly searched for ideas for future communication campaigns.
As a result of the training, the adolescents:
formulated the problems and goals of their future initiatives;
practiced approaches to communicating about mental and sexual and reproductive health without stigma;
developed creative concepts for communication campaigns and the first drafts of materials and audience engagement mechanisms;
learned what a project proposal looks like — how to plan activities, prepare a budget, define expected results, and assess potential risks.
As one of the course participants noted:
“I would like to sincerely thank you for this course! The sessions were interesting and had a very warm atmosphere; it was nice to communicate and share thoughts. I especially remember the homework assignment about observing how people behave and avoid certain topics — it made me think more broadly and notice the world around me more. I also really liked the teamwork — the discussions, listening to others, and the feeling that you are part of a team. Overall, I gained a lot of valuable experience and I’m grateful for these trainings.”
The program consisted of five thematic sessions covering the main stages of creating a communication campaign.
“What Everyone Keeps Silent About”
Participants learned how to identify topics that truly concern adolescents and how to formulate a clear problem and the goal of a future project or campaign. The practical part included analyzing situations from everyday life and from the participants’ own environments.
“Not Lectures, but Human Language”
This session focused on ethical and accessible communication on mental and sexual and reproductive health topics. Participants reformulated typical “lecturing” messages into more neutral, supportive, and adolescent-friendly communication.
“Ideas Don’t Come From Thin Air”
The third session focused on the process of generating creative ideas — from observations and insights to the concept of a communication campaign. Participants analyzed examples of successful campaigns and discussed how to test ideas for relevance to their audience.
“So That You Are Heard”
Adolescents learned how to choose effective communication formats and channels — both online and offline. They worked on key messages, visual solutions, audience engagement mechanisms, and principles of safe interaction with their audience.
“From Idea to Application”
The final session was dedicated to preparing a project proposal. Participants learned the basics of activity planning, role distribution within a team, budget preparation, defining indicators, risk assessment, and basic reporting principles.
Preparing for the Implementation of Adolescent Initiatives
The next step for participants will be preparing their own applications for the adolescent mini-grant competition. The best ideas will receive support for implementation, meaning that adolescents will be able to create change in their own communities and raise important issues for young people — mental health, sexual and reproductive health, peer support, and responsible attitudes toward their own health.
The mini-grant competitions will be announced and implemented by AFEW-Ukraine partner organizations:
- Charitable Organisation “Kharkiv charitable fund “Blago” plans to announce the competition in early April in the Kharkiv region.
Charitable Foundation “New Family” will announce the competition from the end of March to early May in the Chernivtsi region.
The training program became one of the stages in preparing adolescents to participate in the mini-grant competitions implemented within the project “Beyond Trauma: Scaling Up Community Mental Health Care for Children and Youth at Risk in Ukraine’s Conflict Affected Communities,” which aims to support young people and develop adolescent initiatives in communities.
