June concludes the 2023/2024 academic year for students of IFES’ civic education courses, “Democracy: From Theory to Practice” and “Democracy: Ideas in Action.” The courses are offered at over 80 universities and vocational colleges across Ukraine and since 2018, more than 18,000 students successfully completed the courses while working on a capstone civic action project. Through these projects, students identify challenges in their communities and remedy them outside the classroom.

On June 28, IFES hosted its annual 2024 nationwide DemVision competition of student civic action projects. The top four projects will receive mentoring and resource support from IFES to further develop their initiatives.

This year’s projects embraced initiatives focused on education, human rights, mental health, the environment, digital literacy, and culture. This focus demonstrates students’ comprehensive understanding of civic issues and their commitment to making a difference in their communities.

“This year, despite the war, approximately 4,500 students enrolled in civic education courses and designed hundreds of projects, the best of which are presented at this competition,” said Yuriy Piskalyuk, IFES Ukraine Head of Programs, in his welcoming speech on June 28. “It is very meaningful that this year’s competition is taking place on Constitution Day of Ukraine because the Constitution is the document that protects and ensures the balance between freedom, equality and order so that people and citizens can live in safety.”

The 2024 DemVision jury board included representatives of IFES, civil society organizations, the Central Election Commission, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, and American House in Lviv.

“If we all continue to implement projects as actively as we do, our country has a prosperous future,” said CEC member Andrii Yevstihnieiev during the awards ceremony. “It’s important, especially in this difficult time, to feel that there is a future and there are opportunities.”

Winners

The student team from the University of Customs and Finance won the Audience Award with their project, “Save Your Space,” which raises awareness about protecting digital assets.

Other winners include:

• Student project, “Thinking about Crimea”, by Ivan Franko National University of Lviv in the Ukrainian Dream category which highlights violations of international law during Russia’s annexation of the peninsula, promotes civic engagement in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and supports the cultural heritage of the Crimean Tatar people.
• Student project, “Compass for the Brave”, by Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University in the Vision of the Year category, focusing on military veterans’ integration into civilian life.
• Student project, “Book Mail”, by Odesa State University of Internal Affairs in the Vision of the Year category aimed at collecting books for our defenders in hospitals to improve their emotional state.
• Student project, “Lack of Awareness of Ukrainian Culture Among Young People in Sumy”, from Sumy State University in the Perspective of the Year category, which was created to unite people around common values and traditions while preserving the uniqueness of Ukraine’s cultural heritage.

IFES will provide resources and mentoring support for implementation of the four projects. All DemVision 2024 projects will be published on the DemMap of student action projects.

Click here to watch the full recording of DemVision 2024.

DemVision 2024 is an IFES-supported competition of action projects created by students of IFES’ civic education courses, “Democracy: From Theory to Practice” and “Democracy: Ideas in Action”, in the academic year 2023-2024. IFES has been organizing DemVision since 2021. This year’s event consisted of three parts: Workshops on project pitching and presentation design, project presentations and an educational program from the Youth Democratic Association – “Yoda” – nongovernmental organization. The award ceremony took place on June 28, 2024.