Draft:Foundation of Regional Initiatives

The All-Ukrainian Youth NGO Foundation of Regional Initiatives (FRI), established in 2002, is a center for building social youth movement and training leaders of a new generation in Ukraine. FRI works all over Ukraine with the goal of strengthening youth movement institutions, training and supporting the active members of youth associations and supporting the development of student and youth initiatives in general. It unites active Ukrainian youth which ensures that proactive positions in the sphere of youth policy and human rights in Ukraine are maintained. FRI was established with the aim of strengthening the institutions of youth movements. It provides active Ukrainian youth with information on educational programs and trainings and contributes to the personal and professional development of youth. FRI provides support to overall regional youth initiatives.

As of 2023 it consists of 17 regional centres and more than 500 activists.

Mission of FRI: to educate leaders and changemakers by promoting proactivity, civiс consciousness, and realisation of youth initiatives.

Activities of FRI include protection of rights, non-formal education, culture and art, charity, eco-awareness, international opportunities, youth activism.

History
Before 1997, youth activists in Ukraine were mainly associations, scouting organisations, or political party youth wings. There were also groups fighting for Ukraine's establishment as an independent state.

However, there was a need for youth groups that were independent, not associated with political parties, and could actively participate in public life and carry out social projects.

On July 28, 2002, activists of the youth social movement founded FRI in Uzhhorod. Most of the organisation's members were students. On October 16, the first FRI Conference was held, and the organisation's leadership was elected.

FRI's alumni receive different high positions in the Ukrainian Government and business: members of parliament Solomiia Bobrovska, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, Yaroslav Hinka, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Tamila Tasheva, anticorruption activists Daria Kaleniuk, Vitalii Shabunin.

FRI participated in many advocacy campaigns. Some of them are "No to police state" (against police brutality), Against degradation of education.

Projects and campaigns

 * The campaign "No to Police State" (Ні поліцейській державі, Russian: Нет полицейскому государству) – demanded impartial investigation and worthy punishment of those, as well as an identification and prosecution of those guilty in the case of the student Ihor Indylo’s death, in other cases and against police abuse.
 * A campaign against the “2450” bill, which would significantly decrease the freedom of peaceful assembly, and for protection of the right to peaceful protest.
 * The campaign "Against degradation of education" (Проти деградації освіти, Russian: Против деградации образования) - sought to prevent the adoption of the Bill “On Higher Education”" (#7486-1, #9655 and else), which would have lowered the civil liberties of students, as well as reducing their social protection.

FRI organises several educational projects:


 * Summer camps : FRI members organise up to 20 educational and motivational FRI camps each summer in the format of tent town. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, several summers were missed, but in 2022-2023 FRI resumed the tradition despite the challenges of full-scale war. FRI camps promote civic activism and competency among youth for them to understand and exercise their rights in a democracy, participate actively in socio-political processes, and ensure the development of democracy consciously.
 * Project "Eurobus": The project aimed to engage rural Ukrainian youth, foster European integration, and promote intercultural exchange and cooperation.
 * The All-Ukrainian "Tvoya Krayina" (Your Country) movement organises multi-day visits to different cities, breaking stereotypes about our country. Participants can enjoy extraordinary excursions, training sessions, and meetings with famous journalists, artists, and businessmen. Street universities — interactive outdoor lectures for everyone, exploring ways to tackle modern challenges and biases beyond curricula.
 * "Dopomohty mozhe kozhen" (Anyone Can Help) was a nationwide initiative that aimed to raise awareness about the significance of voluntary blood donation in saving lives, in observance of World Blood Donor Day. The project successfully gathered 247 donors who donated a total of 98.9 litres of blood, which helped save 297 lives.
 * "INSHA" (Innovative informal school of an activist) – mini course project management that teaches you the skills which can help to make an own project. These include lectures and workshops on SMM, finances, design thinking, project management and so on.
 * !AT TIME! – a range of live videos, during which participants work on different topics of crucial social and political spheres. E.g. They talked about results of local elections, key components of successful protest and assessed its effectiveness. In 2022 the experienced speakers investigated the following topics: donations to militaries and civic people, humanitarian help, evacuation, country's policy before and during the warfare.
 * Ladder – art project, where you can demonstrate your creativity rising on a ladder. Arranged by different FRI branches.
 * "Step to leadership" – FRI camp that raises new Ukrainian leaders, shares vital knowledge and skills on the way to becoming a leader. Traditionally, the camp is taking place offline, but in 2020 due to the lockdown there was an exception.
 * "The new citizen" – All Ukrainian informal community that unites 51 Ukrainian civic organisations. Founded in November, 2009 to control the elections of the President of Ukraine which took place in 2010. Since April 2010 it has existed as a Partnership that has long term goals. Represented by Tamila Tasheva.

International cooperation
FRI has participated in various international projects, specifically Erasmus+ exchanges, and organized them as well in cooperation with foreign NGOs. Here are the most recent examples of such:


 * "Media pressure"– a youth exchange made in cooperation with Slovak NGO "Brno for you". They held a follow-up training "Let's talk about mental health!" presenting the joint results of it.
 * "Together Against Discrimination" – the project held in order to empower young individuals with a deeper understanding of how to overcome exclusion based on various characteristics. The preparatory visit in Grudziądz, Poland has also been held and described.