On 10 May 2024, the Head of the High School, Yuliia Lykhach, took part in a mentoring meeting with civil servants, representatives of NGOs and community leaders from Chernihiv Oblast.

The topic “Leadership in Time of War” was not chosen by chance, as in the context of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the state needs relevant experts for the long term for smooth and successful integration into the EU. The meeting was attended by 54 representatives.

The event explored mentoring and leadership in the public service, the impact of European integration processes on inclusive recovery and human capital development, the gender dimension of leadership, the role of media education and media literacy, methods of countering disinformation, and psycho-emotional challenges in times of war.

The speakers of the Mentoring Programme were Natalia Oksha, Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Public Relations of the CMU Secretariat, Iryna Subota, an analyst in the field of information security and countering disinformation, a lecturer at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and Inna Sytnyk, a psychologist, trainer, and member of the International Association of Psychologists and Expert Trainers.

It should be noted that the Mentoring for Leaders programme is implemented with the support of the USAID Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative (UCBI). The aim of this project is to strengthen the role, capacity, engagement and practical contribution of young people, local government representatives and civil society leaders to Ukraine’s integration with the EU, preparation for negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU, and the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.

We would also like to remind you that the first meeting of the Leadership for EU Accession project took place on 26 April for civil servants and community leaders from Mykolaiv Oblast. In general, the project structure includes 5 sessions for leading Ukrainian universities and 3 mentoring meetings.

As part of the mentoring meetings, the university has developed a general short-term training programme “Mentoring for Leaders: European Integration and Recovery of Ukraine” for public servants of categories B and C and local government officials. The aim of the programme is to raise awareness of mentoring and leadership in the public service, expand knowledge of the gender dimension of leadership and its role in providing psycho-emotional support in times of war, mastering tools for self-regulation and prevention of professional burnout, etc.