UKRAINIAN YOUTH AND CIVIL SOCIETY UNDER CONDITIONS OF MODERN CHALLENGES

In: Ukrai͏̈noznavčyj alʹmanach, Heft 27, S. 22-28

Abstract

The article is devoted to the outline and research of several topical critical questions related to the study of the role of the Ukrainian youth in the development of civil society in terms of the undeclared Russian-Ukrainian war and global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the influence of the civilization borderland factor on the mentality and behavior of borderland residents. The article focuses on the fact that the concurrently multidirectional influences, such as geopolitical, cultural, religious and others, make the borderland a zone of attraction and rejection, as well as the space for large-scale manipulations. The formation of civil society in the borderland area has its own specifics, yet scantily explored in the academic research. Special attention is paid to the increase of the civil society's significance in various spheres from the promotion of reforms at the state level to the voluntary assistance provided to the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the "Joint Forces Operation", internally displaced persons, and other segments of the population. To successfully solve the problem of building the Ukrainian civil society, it is necessary to fundamentally comprehend the youth's participation in the solution of various problems of modern Ukraine. Thus, it is important that young citizens be ready for active cooperation with the state and public organizations. The research emphasizes one of the popular ways to transform young people into active citizens of Ukraine, which consists in their encouragement to participate in the process of building civil society at all levels of the educational process in the educational establishments of our state, Ukrainian weekend schools abroad; involvement in the work of the Young Scholars' Council and various public organizations. This all caused the need to search for fundamentally new approaches to preparing youth for an active life in the Ukrainian society. The author of the article has elucidated the work experience of the scholars of the Research Institute of Ukrainian Studies regarding the effective forms and methods of increasing young people's activity through the prism of academic, cultural, and educational work.