Last week from 20 to 22 July a three-day study visit to Ukraine was held in order to exchange experience between Russian and Ukrainian non-governmental organizations working with most-at-risk adolescents.

The objective of the visit was sharing the experience of youth-friendly service delivery and engagement of young key populations into projects’ activities among Ukrainian NGOs and partners from Russian NOGs during a 3-days visit to Ukraine.

The participants of the visit were representatives of Russian organizations “Focus-Media”, “AFEW Russia” and the Coalition “Outreach”. Our colleagues from AFEW International (Amsterdam, Netherlands) also joined the meetings during the visit. The participants visited the youth center Street Power of the NGO “Convictus-Ukraine” in Kyiv and the Day Center for most-at-risk adolescents “Compass” of the NGO “Blago” in Kharkiv. The staff of the centers gladly shared with the study tour participants their unique interactive preventive methods for adolescents, such as the prevention quest “Drugs are not my thing”, harm reduction lessons for young people, a volunteering school for teenagers and others. In addition, in the evening, during their free time in Kharkiv, the study tour group visited the Scientific and Educational Museum of Sexual Cultures of the World, which also consists of an exposition on contraception and STI prevention for adolescents.

As a result of the visit, colleagues from Russia and Ukraine decided to plan some joint activities, in particular, to hold a series of online webinars for professionals on how to use some presented practical tools for working with most at-risk adolescents.

The exchange visit took place within the framework of the project “Bridging the Gaps Flexible Fund: Young, Wild … and Free?” with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.