A conscious choice. How the youth in Ukraine changed during the war and what teenagers aspire to

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How the attitudes of young people in Ukraine changed during the full-scale war, what makes them become bolder and quickly define their aspirations and what kind of support young people seek – more details in the material. The charitable foundation “Klub Dobrodiyiv” presented the results of the all-Ukrainian sociological study “Teenagers and their life during the war: attitudes, values, future”. The research was carried out with the support of the humanitarian organization Plan International. The Kantar company interviewed teenagers aged 13-19 from all over Ukraine. “This study is a chance to see from the inside what the youth’s request is to the rest of Ukrainian society today. What challenges are faced by teenagers today, what changes the war has brought to their lives and views,” Maria Artemenko, the founder and head of the “Klubu Dobrodiyiv” foundation, is convinced. Despite the full-scale invasion and difficult times. What Ukrainian youth want The war changed Ukrainian youth much more than the coronavirus pandemic that shook the world. According to the results of the survey, 87% of teenagers experienced the biggest changes in their lives precisely during a full-scale war, while during the COVID-19 pandemic – 13%. Almost 40% of young people in connection with the war feel fear for life and health – their own and their loved ones. Many of them report anxiety due to the uncertainty of the future, moving to other countries and cities, as well as due to power outages and the lack of an opportunity to have a stable connection (the study was conducted in early February 2022, when blackouts were still relevant). Explosions, sirens, alarms, curfew restrictions – all this also has its negative impact. “Many young people have a relative who has joined the ranks of the Armed Forces. This also changes life. The war directly affects all of us in one way or another. And this simply cannot help but worry teenagers,” says 12-year-old journalist Kyrylo Peredriy from Pokrovsk. Most teenagers note that music, communication, social networks and walks help them to distract themselves from their fears and worries the most. And also sports and computer games. The biggest change during the war. Examples for teenagers are soldiers and volunteers. Children during wartime are especially eager for support. They want to feel that someone is nearby, can give advice, praise when something is successful. In general, 89% of Ukrainian teenagers now feel support from their relatives, and a quarter find support in themselves. “I tell myself that everything will be fine – and we will win. That’s how I support myself.” “I feel strong when I can defend my own point of view, my own boundaries,” say teenagers who took part in the qualitative phase of the research – in focus groups. At the same time, almost 60% of respondents seek to receive even more support in their endeavors from parents, friends, and teachers. 83% of teenagers want to know how they can support themselves in difficult times. In particular, they noted that they want to talk more about self-support even in the educational institution. “Adults are not used to saying that it is difficult for them, they often pretend that everything is fine. But in reality, teachers and parents are also having a hard time right now. I would like adults to be more open, because we, teenagers, can also be a support for them,” – shares 17-year-old Anya Yatsyuk. The circle of role models is one of the biggest changes in the outlook of teenagers in Ukraine during the war. Yes, parents, soldiers and volunteers are examples of role models for young people today. 81% feel that today they can rely on their parents, 38% – on friends, 28% – on the military. The latter became a role model for 51% of teenagers, and volunteers – for a quarter (25%). Young people compare bloggers and celebrities the least – only 2% of respondents called them their support, and 10% – an example of a role model. Brave teenagers. Young people volunteer and believe in their own strength. During the war, young people gained confidence in themselves and their country. Despite the fact that the war is the biggest focus of teenagers’ experiences, and 87% do not understand how to plan for the long term – 93% of young people believe in their own strength and are convinced that they are making efforts for self-realization. Interestingly, even in times of complete instability, almost 70% know what they want to be in the future, and almost a quarter (23%) finally found what they want to do during a full-scale war. “I am very glad to see the results of this study. I am convinced that the obtained data should be taken into account in international discussions, which are devoted to plans for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. We should also listen to the youth and find out what they want. The voice of the youth is important, because it is the voice of the future of Ukraine “, Mia Haglund Hylas, head of the Plan International mission in Ukraine, is confident. According to the study, teenagers who are currently staying in Ukraine make this choice quite consciously. Even if their experience today is extremely difficult. Even those 33% who are ready to go abroad to study due to uncertainty, declare their readiness to return to Ukraine. At the same time, young people already want to be part of the reconstruction of Ukraine – 90% of teenagers said that they want to be useful during the post-war reconstruction of the country. In particular, they seek to participate in the development of the economy and infrastructure and see their benefits, in particular, through volunteering. At most, they are already making personal efforts for this: 43% of those surveyed already participated in volunteering during the war. Some collected money for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, others prepared food for those who needed it, or wove camouflage nets. A 12-year-old journalist from Pokrovsk, Kyrylo Peredriy, is convinced that now is the time when everyone, to the best of their ability and strength, should join the changes in the country and work for our common victory. Regardless of age or geography of residence. “Everyone who is forced to build a new life in difficult conditions must understand: everything you do now, you do for the future. And understand: what you yourselves will be, so will our common future be. And, of course, you must set yourself up for the good “, – advises Kyrylo. Fascinated by the country. How the research will be useful in the future “The war became the starting point for changes in people’s consciousness. Today, the biggest fear related to our future is that society will not draw conclusions, and in some half a century it may happen again,” says 16-year-old Alina Shevchenko . We often treat teenagers as if they were children, but the results of the study actually illustrate that today’s youth declare their readiness to become a part of the common future and take responsibility, Maria Artemenko is convinced. “We see that young people are reassessing their values, reassessing life. They have become bolder. They are quicker to define who they want to be and what they want to do. They are more free to declare certain factors that are beyond their control. And we must state that the war changed the youth. And it also changed the way they will express themselves in the future. Currently, of course, this is a very inspiring result – the youth is on a patriotic, victorious vibe,” says the head of the “Klub Dobrodiyiv”. According to Maria Artemenko, it is now important to monitor these sentiments dynamically. The current wave of experiences and hopes of teenagers looks very bright now, but it is important that there is no further setback and disappointment. So that this does not happen, when it will hurt both the youth and the whole society. “Therefore, we should both rejoice in such results now and observe the context of this study in the future. The youth, like all of us, are now fascinated by the country. Like all of us, they are working to win. And we must make efforts to there was no disappointment. This is exactly what the “Klub Dobrodiyiv” Foundation does – we conduct various offline activities for young people. After all, we see that communication, interaction, and direct contact are very important for children,” the interlocutor notes. 12-year-old Kyrylo also notes the importance of live communication, he says that now it is especially important for young people to join events that can unite people, where they can communicate and exchange ideas. Communication is extremely important for young people, especially in such a difficult time, the young man is convinced. The boy is just one of those teenagers who realized what they wanted to do during a full-scale war. He created his own channel on YouTube and has already conducted more than 120 interviews with famous people. Among them are politicians, athletes, TV presenters and musicians. Now the boy works with a teacher to hone his journalistic skills. He says that his parents support him in all his endeavors. Self-determination of youth is exactly what resonates with the philosophy of the “Klub Dobrodiyiv”. “I always say that apart from the teenagers themselves, no one knows what path will be the best for them. We can support them on this path, hold their hand. Give them tools and knowledge. But they should feel for themselves what they want and dream about . We want them to be proactive, to feel responsible for their lives, to accept defeats and victories. After all, we live in such a fast-changing world, and no one knows what skills will need to be mastered, or where we will be tomorrow,” Maria shares her thoughts Artemenko.

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