Ukrainian Youth Organization Raises Money for Civic Education

Youth CAN (Community Action Network), a youth organization that promotes civil-society development by increasing youth participation in  civic activities and grassroots community problem-solving in Ukraine, is raising money by selling a 2007 calendar. It features photographs of Ukraine, including the Carpathians, and locations in both Eastern and Western Ukraine.

Youth CAN was officially registered as a national Ukrainian non-governmental organization on March 12, 2004.  It grew from activities, starting in 1995, in the Luhansk Oblast and an English-speaking camp led by volunteers.

Since 1995, more than 2,500 young people from all oblasts of Ukraine and Crimea have been involved in Youth CAN projects through which they have learned skills necessary for becoming active citizens and for solving community problems at a local level. Some of the grassroots programs the organization has initiated include an online inter-university information website, a summer retreat for street kids in Odesa, and a student centre in Dnipropetrovsk.

Youth CAN’s partners include: Institute for Sustainable Communities–Ukraine Citizen Action Network; US Peace Corps in Ukraine; US Embassy in Ukraine; the Ukrainian Center for Common Ground; the International Republican Institute; International Organization for Migration and the Ukrainian Network of International Youth NGOs.

Fundraising calendars are available for US$15 and can be purchased online at www.ycan.org