What Can Youth Work Look Like in Villages Without a School? The Experience of Mizoch Hromada

Small communities do not always have the resources to set up a dedicated youth centre with a large space, a full renovation and new equipment. But that does not mean youth work cannot happen.

In Mizoch Hromada, they are making the most of what they already have: a network of cultural institutions, local staff, libraries and culture centres. The “Tsvit” Youth Space operates as part of the local culture centre, while its team travels to remote villages where teenagers often have few, if any, other places to meet, learn and connect.

Nataliia Vlasiuk, Head of the Rivne Regional Branch of the Association of Ukrainian Youth Centers, Secretary of the Rivne NUMO Coalition, Acting Director of the Municipal Institution “Mizoch Centre for Culture, Leisure and Tourism”, youth worker and coordinator of the “Tsvit” Youth Space, shares how cultural institutions can become part of a community’s youth infrastructure.

For young people, there is no line between “culture” and “youth policy”

Our municipal institution currently runs a network of 18 active facilities: one main culture centre, seven club facilities in rural settlements and ten library branches. Each has a staff member and operates as a local community space. The “Tsvit” Youth Space was established by a decision of the Mizoch Settlement Council as a structural unit of the culture centre. A dedicated youth worker position was also created. The space itself is located in the Culture Centre in Mizoch. It is quite small, so we designed it to be multifunctional and easy to adapt to different needs — whether we are hosting an event, training session or educational activity.

The idea of bringing cultural and youth work together grew out of practical realities. In a small community and its villages, one thing quickly becomes clear: when a young person is interested in something, they are usually involved in several things at once. Almost all of the young people who volunteer at our youth space are also active in cultural projects, attend music school, take additional classes or find other ways to develop their skills and interests. There is no distinction for them between “this is culture” and “this is youth policy”. It is all one space where they can spend their time, connect and develop.

The biggest advantage of the existing network of clubs and culture centres? The spaces are already there

There is no need to create a new place from scratch every time. In a remote village, there is already a building, a local staff member and people who understand the community. If a local worker does not have the specific skills needed to organise youth activities, a team of volunteers and a youth worker can travel there and run a meaningful, well-organised event. For small communities, this can be a way to invest in youth work without putting all their resources into creating separate infrastructure.

From my own experience, I know many cases where separate youth centres were set up with grant, sponsorship or public funding. Staff positions were created, but eventually the buildings stood empty. The money had been invested, but there was little actual activity because a nice renovation or new equipment does not create engagement on its own. Our model is almost the opposite. You do not need a major renovation, perfect conditions or expensive equipment to do meaningful work with young people. What matters most is showing young people that they matter, that their ideas are valued and that they have the opportunity to actually make those ideas happen.

In villages without schools, cultural institutions can become a point of contact

As I mentioned, our community has 18 cultural facilities, while there are only seven schools. This becomes especially important during the summer holidays, when schools are closed, teachers are away and the usual ways of reaching children are no longer available. When an invitation to a meeting or activity comes from a cultural worker or librarian rather than a teacher, it feels completely different. It is no longer a compulsory school activity. It becomes a voluntary space where young people can pursue their interests without being graded or assessed. This kind of work starts with direct conversations with young people. At the same time, we stay in touch with adults in the villages — cultural workers, librarians and schools, where there are schools nearby. We ask what kind of activities young people need, whether the topics we are planning are relevant to them and whether local staff are ready to get involved. Life in remote villages has a very different rhythm from life in the centre of the community. Everything is slower and quieter. That is why when our team arrives, it can become a real event for the whole village.

In practice, mobile youth work is a huge challenge, and it comes down to two things: the cost of fuel and the poor condition of the roads in our community.

We first got to know most of the villages thanks to my own initiative: I drove there in my personal car. But once I calculated the costs, it became clear that this was not sustainable without regular support — at one point, almost my entire salary was going towards fuel. Now, whenever we apply for project funding, we include mobile youth work in our plans. This year, we have already secured two grants that cover several series of trips, allowing us to bring quality activities, mini-trainings, games and interactive sessions to young people.

But we do not want this work to depend on whether we manage to secure another grant. We are actively advocating for an official youth support programme that would provide stable, long-term funding for mobile youth work rather than making it dependent on one grant or project after another.

A recent trip to the village of Stupno is a good example. Stupno is one of the largest and, at the same time, most remote villages in the community. It is surrounded by smaller settlements where schools are no longer operating. The event took place during the summer holidays, when the school was closed. We worked directly with cultural workers and librarians from Stupno and neighbouring villages. They helped organise transport so that young people could get to the local culture centre. The teenagers not only met each other but also connected with our team within just a few hours. The best feedback came at the end of the day, when they told us: “Come again. Even without food — just come and do something with us.”

For me, this is a clear sign that young people in villages need more than organised entertainment. They need practical skills, creativity, new knowledge and opportunities to connect with others.

Another important change we are seeing is that young people are gradually moving from being participants to becoming organisers. During our first trips, I gave volunteers only occasional tasks. In our latest projects, they have become a full training and organising team, while I simply coordinate the process. They prepare and lead the educational sessions themselves, run interactive activities, create presentations and communicate with their peers in the villages on an equal footing. When young people see others their age coming to their village, sharing their skills and leading activities, it creates a completely different level of trust and motivates them to take initiative themselves. Today, we have teenagers who become full-fledged event organisers as young as 13 or 14.

If a community already has a network of clubs or culture centres, I would start with two things: securing the support of local authorities and talking to the people who work on the ground.

Key stakeholders in local government need to understand why supporting young people in remote villages matters. Without the understanding and political will of community leadership, initiatives like these risk remaining isolated volunteer efforts. At the same time, it is essential to talk with staff at local clubs and libraries. They need to understand what is expected of them and why their involvement matters.

If I had to prioritise resources, the first thing I would look for is a person who is truly passionate about the work — a leader, coordinator or someone who can drive the process forward. Next comes the people and the volunteer team. When you have people who share your vision, with whom you can discuss ideas, get a fresh perspective and share responsibility, the quality of any activity improves significantly. Financial resources matter too. They cover fuel, basic materials and other essential costs. But for me, they come second or third, after the energy and commitment of people and the team.

It is important to me that young people are not treated simply as spectators or a passive audience for the sake of ticking a box, but as equal partners.

When teenagers feel that they matter, that they are needed and that their opinions are taken seriously, they develop a very different connection with the place they call home. If a young person is involved in real change, decision-making and creating projects from an early age, there is a much greater chance that this connection will stay with them in the future. For me, the real sign that our model is working is not the number of events we have organised. What matters most is the change in young people themselves. They are becoming much more actively involved because they understand what youth work is and what it can give them. And there is another important result: young people from remote villages now know each other and have built friendships with young people from the centre of the community.

From the outside, it may look like we have come a long way. But I feel that we are only at the beginning. And perhaps that is exactly what youth work in a community should look like: small, confident steps towards a system where young people have a place and a voice, regardless of whether they live in the centre of the community or in a remote village.