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1. Cover page

THE EASTERN NEIGHBOURHOOD CIVIL SOCIETY FUND MAJOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (budget between DKK 500,000 and 2 million) Project title

Community mobilisation for conflict prevention and social cohesion in Ukraine

Danish applicant organisation Danish Red Cross E-mail: info@rodekors.dk

Other Danish partner(s), if any Danish Red Cross Youth Danish Centre for Conflict Resolution

Contact person for the intervention

Name: Astrid Elisabeth Hasselbalch Desk Officer, Europe

E-mail: astel@rodekors.dk

Local partner organisation(s) (please insert the necessary rows below)

Country(-ies)

Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) Ukraine

Commencement date:

1 July 2016

Completion date:

30 June 2019

Number of months

24

Amount applied for (DKK) 1,999,745-

Is this a re-submission? No [ ] Yes, please note the ref.no.(j.nr.):

Is this

X a new project? [ ] a project in extension of another project previously supported (by the Civil Society Fund or others)?

Do you want a response letter in (choose one) [ ] Danish or English

Do you want the Assessment Committee’s notes about the application in (choose one)

[ ] Danish or English

Synthesis (maximum 10 lines – must be written in Danish, even if the rest of the application is in English)

Med formål om at fremme tolerance og øge den sociale sammenhængskraft i udvalgte, konfliktramte lokalsamfund i Ukraine, vil det foreslåede projekt opbygge kapaciteten af civilsamfundsorganisationer til at fremme borgernes rettigheder, beskytte udsatte befolkningsgrupper og forebygge konflikter, gennem aktiv dialog og samarbejde. Engagering af unge Ukrainere er central i dette. Projektet vil støtte sociale unge-aktiviteter i 6 lokalsamfund i at øge positivt samvær og inklusion af internt fordrevne og støtte dem i at integrere sig i samfundet. Dette gøres ved at facilitere muligheder for at unge kan engagere sig i en række sociale, kunstneriske, kreative, innovative aktiviteter i deres lokalsamfund og dermed øge den sociale samhørighed mellem lokalsamfund og de internt fordrevne samt øge selvtillid og selvværd hos udsatte unge med svage sociale netværk.

31.03.2016 Date Person responsible (signature) København

ANDERS LADEKARL, GENERALSEKRETÆR, RØDE KORS I DANMARK

Place Person responsible and position (block letters)

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2. Application text

Structure: A. THE PARTNERS A.1 The Danish organisation

Danish Red Cross (DRC) has significant experience with developing enabling environments for youth and has one of the strongest and most active youth organisations of its kind. The DRC international work is based on partnerships with other Red Cross/Red Crescent (RCRC) National Societies, and a key strategic focus is to support our partners to make them stronger actors in their respective national contexts.

DRC has extensive experience in international programme management, including management of Danida, Europe Aid and ECHO projects. DRC is one of the Red Cross Movement’s leading National Societies in building capacity of local communities to advocate and initiate dialogue with local decision-makers, and has in Europe been supporting similar activities in e.g. Georgia and Belarus with significant success.

DRC has been present in in Ukraine since 2014 and remains a trusted partner of Ukraine Red Cross Society (URCS). The proposed project will strengthen the youth engagement and volunteer sector as well as the relationship and cooperation between civil society and public authorities in the social sector in Ukraine. As auxiliary to the Government of Ukraine, URCS has several years of experience in building sustained cooperation between local communities and local authorities, particularly in relation to the provisions of basic health and social services.

DRC is currently implementing a “Youth Resilience Programme” in Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia with the objective of developing social networks and creative thinking through innovative community activities among young conflict affected people. The proposed project will benefit from experiences and best practises developed in the Youth Resilience Programme, as well as from sustained international cooperation between youth from nations experiencing similar challenges. Locally, in Ukraine the methodology developed has proven to increase recruitment of youth to volunteering and engagement in meaningful, constructive social, community development work.

The proposed project approach is to a large extend based on the “Youth as Agents of Behavioural Change” (YABC) worldwide initiative of the Red Cross Red Crescent (RCRC) Movement1 and builds on the best practices and experiences from the established YABC programme including well-tested toolkits and a global network. As part of the RCRC Movement, the project’s management team will have access to support in the application of the YABC concept and will at the same time contribute to the development of the global YABC framework implemented in both the Middle Eastern and North African regions in particular. International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) will provide technical support to the project team in the application of the YABC methodology in Ukraine. A.2 Other Danish partners (to be filled in if several Danish organisations are forming an alliance)

Danish Red Cross Youth Danish Red Cross Youth (DRCY) is Denmark's largest humanitarian youth organization with more than 4,500 volunteers, more than 200 on-going projects and more than 75 local development branches throughout the country. The purpose of the DRCY is to improve the conditions and daily lives of vulnerable children and young people locally, nationally and internationally.

DRCY is an independent organization under the umbrella of the DRC and the International RCRC Movement. DRCY is governed by a national board and organized in a number of volunteer-driven

1 http://www.ifrc.org/en/what-we-do/principles-and-values/youth-as-agents-of-behavioural-change-yabc/ (March 2016)

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steering and thematic committees. The volunteer-driven activities are supported and facilitated by a secretariat, including 15 full-time advisors.

National activities include homework cafés, summer camps, mentor projects, telephone hotlines, sport and health projects, support for children at asylum and women crisis centres, clubs, study support to prisoners, simulation games and others, while the international department develops partnerships and development projects in cooperation with national RCRC societies, in collaboration with DRC, including international exchange activities. Establishing sound volunteer structures and meaningful, youth led activities is core for the approach in DRCY. Each international programme has a volunteer committee set up, to support project implementation and development, assisted by the secretariat. Relevant peer to peer activities between Danish and international youth volunteers is integrated in the work of DRCY. DRCY will based on their experiences from both national and international activities provide peer-support to URCS in developing empowering, structured and sustainable youth and volunteer management systems in target regions, focusing on capacity development of URCS at national, regional, and district levels with emphasis on expanding URCS volunteer base in the target regions.

Danish Centre for Conflict Resolution The Danish Centre for Conflict Resolution (DCCR) has 25 trainers/consultants who teach and actively work with conflict resolution on assignments for the centre. In addition, approximately 550 members support their work from networks of voluntary conflict advisors supported by a small administrative office. DCCR has experience from training young people from the Middle East in facilitating dialogue workshops. This includes an ongoing project “Ambassadors for Dialogue”, in which young volunteers from Jordan, Egypt and Denmark have worked on fostering understanding between youth in Denmark and the Middle East since 2009.

DCCR is also involved as trainers and supervisors in the EU funded RC Project “Palestinian Youth as Agents of Change - building capacity for conflict resolution and peace”, which is currently being implemented. DCCR has worked together with Danish Red Cross in relation to conflict resolution in everyday life, e.g. seminars and training of volunteers in Denmark and workshops for young people run by the DCCR project “Conflict Resolution in the Youth Associations in Denmark”.

DCCR will contribute with a comprehensive theoretically founded and practical hands-on oriented approach to conflict resolution in support of the project. The experiences and knowledge of DCCR will add significant value to the proposed project, more specifically, by strengthening Ukrainian civil society members targeted through the project with knowledge of the nature of conflicts, and basic and practical conflict management and conflict resolution skills. Based on the objectives and design of the project, DCCR will propose appropriate trainers qualified to facilitate sessions and supervise volunteers in developing a deeper understanding of conflict resolution and conflict management to support that the conflict affected communities in Ukraine engage in inclusive dialogue and active citizenship promoting tolerance and social cohesion.

DCCR will provide experienced and qualified trainers to help design and facilitate the trainings that will enable civil society members to better understand the conflict dynamics of the context in which they are operating, to plan and implement activities that are sensitive to this context, and to work with communities to better manage tensions and strengthen peaceful coexistence. A.3 The local organisation

URCS is present and operating in the whole country and consists of headquarters, 24 regional (Oblast) branches as well as Kyiv City branch. Under the 24 regional branches, URCS has 665 town and district branches. In total more than 800 staff work at the URCS headquarters and in the various branches, along with 3,200 visiting nurses nationwide.

URCS is an active and trusted member of regional authorities’ coordination meetings for responding to the crisis and challenges related to displacement. The meetings are typically headed by the vice governor, and are attended by emergency services, social protection, education,

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labour, volunteer organisation, international organisations, and community based organisations. This coordinating organ remains the focal forum for coordination and alignment with local authorities’ strategies in responses related to displacement. LAs participate actively in the ongoing URCS supported projects at HQ, regional and local levels, and representatives of the Ministry of Social Policy at the regional level maintain strong working relationships with senior URCS staff. Thus, the project will build on existing cooperation in provision of support and protective measures with relevant state authorities including, but not limited to; regional offices of Ministry of Social Policy, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine, State Emergency Service, Interagency Coordination Headquarters for IDPs, regional offices of the Ministry of Health, Family Service Centres, the State Employment regional office, Centre of Social Service for Families, Children and Youth, Social Protection Service, Department of Child Affairs, regional State Migration Service, Regional department of Education and Science, town administrations as well as present local NGOs. Successful engagement with local authorities in the regions will ensure correct targeting of beneficiaries and by involvement of local authorities also provide grounds for influencing and advocacy.

URCS has very strong networks across the country, particularly through its local branches, social medical centres and engagement of community members as volunteers, which are often the people who establish the first contact to Internally Displaced People (IDP). This provides a high level of access to information and beneficiaries, which enables validation of vulnerability and demonstrates the level of trust between both host and displaced communities and the Red Cross ‘brand’. Moreover, such access favourably positions URCS to be able to support local level civil society initiatives and successful inclusion of citizens and interest groups.

The project will be implemented in Zaporizhia (122,000 IDPs) and Dnipropetrovsk (86,000 IDPs) regions.

The Zaporizhia branch consists of 28 district branches and currently has a pool of 180 active youth volunteers who are anticipated to participate in implementation. The current chairperson of the URCS youth commission is from Zaporizhia, and project activities and successes will be disseminated through their work. The youth commission has been a strong supporter in the formulation of this project. The regional branch will cooperate with several local Community Based Organisations (CBOs) in the implementation including; “Build life”, “Smile of the Child”, “Do Good for Ukraine”, “Our Happy Life”, “Hope”, “Everything is Possible” as well as organisations operating within the regional authorities’ social service provision such as; “Regional Centre of Social Services for Families of Children and Youth”, “Urban Centre of Social Services for Families of Children and Youth”, “Regional Patriotic Educational Youth Centre”, “Regional Crisis Centre”. Moreover, the branch is implementing a psychosocial support programme with Unicef and synergies and redirection of beneficiaries will be ensured. Three districts have been selected for this project based on identified needs and comparative capacities of youth volunteers; Zaparizhia City, Melitopol, Polohu.

Dnipropetrovsk branch consists of 44 district branches and currently has 150 active youth volunteers who are anticipated to participate in implementation. The branch will work closely with current partners in the implementation including LA and NGOs /CSOs such as; “Donbas SOS”, "Help Dnipro", "We Support", “Save the Children”, “Beauty Kontekst”, “Creative People’s Group” and “Caritas”. Three districts have been selected; Dnepropetrovsk City, Pavlohrad, Dneprodzerzhinsk2.

Both regions are actively working with community based youth organisations, city administration and municipalities as well as cultural and youth departments and hold great potential for further development of a strong and active civil society in close cooperation with present CSOs. URCS has

2 See Annex 1 for Map of Intervention Area

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long-lasting active cooperation with the Ministry of Social Policy, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Emergencies, and Ministry of Regional Development.

A.4 The cooperative relationship and its prospects

DRC and URCS established the partnership in June 2014 at the initiation of crisis in Ukraine. DRC has been present in Ukraine since then, currently with a Country Coordinator offering daily support and guidance to project staff and management. The partnership has gradually developed and expanded with implemented projects centred on psychosocial support, humanitarian relief and youth engagement as well as capacity building support in project management, organisational structure and knowledge sharing.

In the spring 2015 URCS and DRC jointly formulated the five-year DRC country strategy for Ukraine, under the following overall joint vision; Vulnerable groups are protected, safe and resilient. This will be the guiding document for DRC engagement in Ukraine and consequently the partnership. Concretely, the proposed project will contribute to the following defined expected results; URCS has capacity to respond in disaster and conflict, Strong URCS branches with active and well organised volunteers, reduced tension and violence between conflicting communities in Ukraine.

The proposed project will significantly contribute to strengthening the partnership and increasing mutual capacity in responding to crisis situation and promoting youth engagement and the principles of non-violence.

For DRC and the two participating Danish partners this project offers a unique opportunity to combine core competence areas in a joint intervention, strengthening existing collaboration. DRC and DRCY have over the last years embarked on a shared and strategic journey where DRCY is managing youth components in DRC’s international programmes, based on the youth to youth approaches characteristic for DRCY, thereby building on respective comparative advantages. This project is a part of the strategic cooperative relationship, which will be consolidated and further intensified.

B. PROJECT ANALYSIS B.1 How has the project been prepared?

The proposed project is developed jointly by DRC and URCS, and URCS ensured that the proposed objectives are achievable, realistic and in line with the organisation’s priorities. URCS at national, regional and district level has provided detailed information on the current situation in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia, provided figures on presence of volunteers, potential partners, IDPs and outreach capacity of the RC branches. This information and ongoing assessments of the humanitarian situation in target regions have been consolidated jointly by the DRC country coordinator and the URCS headquarter. The local branches and headquarter have assured that branches and headquarter are willing to allocate the needed human resources for organising the proposed project and will ensure that monitoring, evaluation, ongoing management, beneficiary communication, feedback mechanisms and financial accountability are as required.

Both URCS and DRC are active in the main coordinating forum for international organisations responding to the Ukraine crisis and regularly shares assessments and priorities with relevant partners. The combined knowledge of needs, gaps and presence is invaluable and has been taken into account in the formulation process. URCS coordinators and teams have been consulted on vulnerable IDP needs and current URCS capacities. The data reflects URCS' mandate and long history of dealing with vulnerability in Ukraine. The data is: a) based on URCS activities within the social legal framework of Ukraine, b) based on monitoring systems established prior to and further developed during the crisis in response to social vulnerability, and c) continuously consulted and

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coordinated with relevant Ukrainian authorities, including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Policy and Ministry of Emergencies.

Previous youth projects of DRC and URCS have developed interactive beneficiary communication using social internet outlets and in this way included the target group in formulation and implementation of activities that are highlighted as beneficial for the target group. In the same ways, ideas, suggestions, feedback and recommendations from the youth volunteers have therefore been used to guide the formulation of activities and target groups for this proposed project.

B.2 In what context is the project placed?

The anti-government protests that began in Kyiv in late 2013 resulted in a change of government in Ukraine. With the Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014 tensions erupted. This was followed by violent conflicts between pro-Russian insurgents and Ukrainian military joined by

pro‐Ukrainian armed groups in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which are still marked by the conflict. Parts of Donetsk and Luhansk are no longer under the control of the government of Ukraine and have been declared, by the non-government forces, independent republics. Government support to services in these areas has been stopped, including schools and hospitals as well as social benefits and pensions. Despite a truce agreement in February 2015, there are sporadic daily violations of the ceasefire, which poses a significant threat to the local population. Unexploded ordnance and landmines are a major risk in areas of eastern Ukraine, restricting the movement of the population and humanitarian agencies alike. Damaged schools and infrastructure prevent essential services from operating in some areas.

The deterioration of human security has directly affected an area of 5.2 million people and has caused displacement of more than 1.5 million people within Ukraine, and more than 700,000 persons seeking asylum or other form of stay in neighboring countries, notably Russia, Belarus and Poland. While areas under opposition control and along the line of contact are suffering most profoundly from the crisis, there are considerable needs in areas of high IDP concentration in the three eastern oblasts of Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia. The target regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia are currently accommodating 86,000 and 122,000 IDPs, respectively, mostly centred in and around the main urban settlements. The burden of hosting displaced people and families affects the service delivery and economic stability of the residents. The relationship between host communities and IDPs is increasingly strained, and this is leading to tensions, divisions and accusations. The identified target regions have been selected due to high numbers of IDPs, vicinity to the conflict area, identified needs and/or tension and negative attitudes between the two parts of the conflict. To avoid a breakdown and division of the civil and social structure, a comprehensive strategy that looks to a longer-term peace and the reconciliation of society, communities and families is required. This needs to be supported with combined humanitarian recovery efforts3. URCS is distributing humanitarian aid in the affected areas, notably with the IFRC and ICRC.

The civilian population is paying the highest price in this conflict. Protection of civilians is an overarching concern: a high number of civilian casualties and injuries, breakdown of trust between communities, and displacement are all increasing as the conflict protracts. There has been a noticeable disregard of the principles of international humanitarian law: Indiscriminate shelling into residential areas resulting in deaths and injuries of civilians and destruction of property and infrastructure, including water, hospitals and schools; property unlawfully seized; and use of landmines and booby-traps.

Human rights violations continue to be recorded throughout Ukraine.

3 Humanitarian Needs Overview

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As the conflict becomes entrenched, the life and dignity of IDPs, returnees, host communities, minorities and vulnerable persons – women, children, the elderly and the disabled – are increasingly at risk. Women’s traditional role as caretakers and the role of men as providers and protectors has been disrupted, as has the prospects for the young generation looking for education and/or employment, which has led to an increase in harmful behaviour (e.g. alcohol consumption, drug abuse and high-risk sexual activity). Moreover, the conflict has undermined the ability of males to respond to societal expectations, resulting in increasing reports of domestic violence. Female-headed households – the majority of IDP families are separated with the mother being the single head of families – face particular problems and stigma and it triggers untimely and possibly unsafe returns to conflict areas4. B.3 Problem analysis

Internal displacement is a new experience for Ukrainian society. As the social fabric becomes destabilized, the influence of community leaders is altered and pressures on communities increase. Host communities face disruption to extant structures, while IDP communities suffer almost complete fragmentation and deterioration of community safety nets and increasing vulnerability. As IDP numbers increase, and tension over scarce resources builds, it is vital to develop appropriate capacities to effectively mitigate or manage tensions and conflicts.

Increased tension in communities: Focus group research, conversations with local RC branches and information shared from other partners indicate that the majority of host communities have accepted hosting IDPs but very little sustained interaction is occurring between the two groups. Mistrust and frustration are growing among both IDPs and host communities. The displaced population reports a feeling of being abandoned by the government, while host communities perceive that IDPs among them are increasingly favoured and receive “positive discrimination”. Political disagreement exists between the groups, with some supporting the Russian-backed opposition, and others supporting a united Ukraine and its sovereignty. Host community IDP support is mixed, with some continuing to support IDPs, while others blame them for their situation. Everyone, the host and IDP communities alike, has strong opinions about what is happening, but due to lack of trust, views are not expressed fully or openly. This is leading to negative perceptions, stereotypes and the development of a more hostile environment. General grievances from the host communities include a perception of increased lawlessness, with IDPs perceived as engaging in rule-breaking as well as criminal activity. Fear and mistrust is also frequently expressed, particularly among women in host communities.

There is a common perception among the host population that most of the IDPs blame the people who participated in the EuroMaidan5 protest movement for sparking the armed conflict in the East,

and for their subsequent displacement, and therefore look to those host communities to address their needs. Host community members also assert that IDPs are not motivated to seek employment or to generate their own independent resources and are instead content to rely on host communities.

Community engagement: It is a crucial time to build communities’ skills to mitigate conflict when and where it arises to prevent the escalation of tensions. While both IDPs and host communities groups are affected by the consequences of the ongoing armed conflict, many host communities have openly welcomed the IDPs and IDPs have appreciated the support. These positive attitudes can be a motivation for transformation if they are effectively nurtured. Engaging a variety of community actors in more community-based solutions can help bring parties together to promote mutual understanding. The URCS is uniquely positioned to facilitate such a process, because its trusted brand increases access to marginalized and affected populations, especially the IDP

4 Humanitarian Needs Overview 5 The term for the protest in Winter 2013/14, which eventually led to the removal of former President Viktor Yanukovych from office

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population. Through the global Red Cross movement, URCS has access to a proven set of global tools and approaches to address the needs of vulnerable populations.

Youth as Agents of Change: A promising potential for greater integration is to focus on youth in schools and colleges who have either effectively integrated or are accepting of IDPs. If supported adequately, youth become drivers for building tolerance and conflict mitigation. Proactive youth engagement that seeks to support community involvement and conflict mitigation results in effective programming. Youth can play a central role in mitigating conflict in Ukraine, due in part to the positive adaptions they have already made throughout displacement. IDP youth are relatively well integrated into the education system and have created new networks with host community youth who are generally demonstrating an accepting and inclusive approach. Utilizing the energy and desire of youth for a prosperous and harmonious Ukraine, the programme will mobilise and train young people and volunteers for civic engagements as well as actively work against youth being co-opted by violent and non-democratic social movements.

Civil Society: While CSOs and the general public in communities have offered the majority of humanitarian support to the affected population and have been crucial in providing IDPs with much needed humanitarian assistance, only a limited number of CSOs have been engaged in conflict resolution, reconciliation and dialogue activities. Local authorities struggle with delivering sufficient services, and the dialogue with affected communities is troubled with tensions and lack of an impartial and humanitarian platform for dialogue around social development. CSOs can play a vital role in reconciliation and restoring trust between differing groupings, and, through mutually committed and targeted engagement with local authorities, create space for joint social community development to impact social cohesion.

Vulnerability: Groups and communities that already prior to the crisis suffered from marginalisation have seen the social exclusion become more severe. Depending on the local context in selected target districts this can be women (young mothers), orphans, demobilised servicemen, clients at rehabilitation centres, and/or TB and HIV patients. The project aims to address this by simultaneously targeting the broader public in the community and the identified vulnerable groups. B.4 Stakeholder analysis

Primary Stakeholders

Involvement in the project

Interest in project

Fear of project

Strengths Weaknesses / risks

IDP youth Target Group

+ Volunteer

resources

Inclusion in

host

communities

+ possibility

to contribute

to their new

community

Challenges

changing the

status quo +

preference

for direct

humanitarian

aid

Interest in a

successful

turnout of the

project + strong

networks and

status in the

communities

Unstable

situation may

result in

frequent

movement

and

displacement

Host community youth

Target Group

+ Volunteer

resources

Avoiding

tensions and

securing

peaceful

coexistence

Battle over

scarce

resources /

jobs, political

tensions

Strong

commitment to

support affected

population +

strong networks

and status in the

communities

Local CSOs Target Group + Joint activities +

Capacity building through

Local knowledge and established

Neutrality (potential)

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Beneficiary selection and communication

involvement in trainings + Increased network and outreach

network

LA regional / district level

Beneficiary selection + Authorisation to use premises and conduct activities in public places + regular contact with local community groups

Increased service delivery

Existing cooperation with URCS

Inability / unwillingness to fulfil its role + Corruption (potential)

URCS partners

Synergies Increased capacity of URCS

Strong coordination between existing URCS partners

IFRC YABC Increased capacity of URCS

DCCR Conflict-related trainings

DRCY Volunteer management

C. PROJECT DESCRIPTION C.1 Target group and participants

The Project will strengthen community groups to enter into dialogue with local authorities and support enabling and sustainable environments for positive social interaction between host and IDP communities, while supporting concrete social development activities that showcase the positive outcomes of social cohesion and peace.

Two Primary Target Groups have been identified for this project: I) 930 youth host- and IDP community members and volunteers from Ukrainian CSOs,

including URCS, will directly benefit from participation in joint trainings, workshops, seminars, and knowledge sharing. This figure includes 450 young trained in conflict-related topics (act. 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3), YABC (act. 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3), or exchange and knowledge sharing (1.3.2, 1.3.3, 1.3.4, 1.3.5, 1.3.6). Young citizens will be trained in conflict sensitivity and enabled to develop and carry out advocacy with key influencers and implement concrete social cohesion

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activities focussing on inclusive social development. The group will be identified by project staff and URCS branches among local community youth showing willingness and commitment to engage in civil society development. Moreover, the target group will acquire capacities in community mobilisation/outreach and act as trainers in YABC tool. Community youth volunteers will be directly involved in community workshops and activities, whereby they will play an active role in analysing their local context and designing small-scale solutions to local conflict-related problems. Platforms for cooperation with decision makers will be formed. It is anticipated that at least 25% of the 450 trainees will be representatives of local partner CBOs while the remainder will be URCS youth volunteers. Up to 325 URCS staff and volunteers and 125 CBO representatives in the two regions will receive training and facilitation. The exact division will depend on specific activity, relevance and interest. In addition, 480 youth community members will directly benefit from participation in community workshops (1.1.4) or in the URCS induction course (1.3.1). The target group will be engaged in dialogue and enabled to jointly plan and carry out conflict sensitive community-designed activities.

II) 8000 community members will directly benefit from 160 YABC social activities (act 1.2.4) at community level. Young people of the host- and IDP communities will participate in joint YABC activities, which will give give youth from both groups a platform for expressing their thoughts and ideas and for contributing positively to their community. The activities will focus on co-creation by involving IDPs and host population in all aspects of conducting activities, from planning and preparing to the implementation of activities, which will promote social development, social cohesion and an open mind among youth towards others and create a broader and more tolerant outlook. Sustained inter-community contact and co-creation will lead to greater levels of mutual understanding because barriers are broken down and negative stereotypes are challenged

Non-discriminatory and all-inclusive methods are used to choose participants for all activities and workshops and the aim is to include both IDPs and host community with the former making up between 50 and 60 % of the beneficiaries across all outputs / activities. This way the project will offer concrete platforms for positive and sustained inter-community co-existence. While the population as a whole is affected either directly by displacement or indirectly by the conflict the RC branches have identified acute vulnerable groups and will direct activities towards these. It is anticipated that especially marginalised people will constitute 15 % of beneficiaries.

The project will in all activities address gender equality and will promote equal rights to participate and influence the development process. While the current crisis situation in Ukraine affects both young men and women, specific responses are needed to respond to the differing gender roles and societal expectations. Thus, the project will have activities directed towards men / women respectively if relevant. Overall, however, it is anticipated that young women will constitute 50 % of beneficiaries across all outputs.

The project’s Secondary Target Group are the 24,000 citizens in target regions who will experience the increased levels of tolerance, trust and social cohesion fostered by the project within communities in these areas. The outputs generated by the project in terms of strengthened cooperation, initiated development processes and increased capacities of civil society will improve access of all community members to partake in development and dialogue processes contributing to increased social cohesion. The experience built in the selected communities will spread and influence surrounding communities, thus multiplying the effect of the project. The improvement of interpersonal relations together with more tolerance and respect for differences in the targeted communities will serve as positive examples for surrounding populations in the longer term. The support to general strengthening of the capacity of civil society in the targeted Oblasts, will ensure

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a wide and long-lasting effect outside the direct target groups. Moreover, the project will strengthen the capacity of local authorities and civil society to provide effective recovery and peacebuilding programming that will increase trust between the state and conflict affected communities.

Target groups will directly contribute to the implementation of the project. In particular, community leaders (from both host- and IDP communities) and young people will be involved in development of community-based initiatives to address the identified issues in those communities. Youth from all target regions will benefit from the project initiatives and will have the opportunity to take active part in them. C.2 The project’s objectives and success criteria (indicators)

The overall development objective of the project is to enhance the role of civil society in local development, advocacy and conflict prevention in Ukraine.

Indicator for the overall development objective of the project:

Civil Society Organisations report an increased ability to fulfil their role in local development, advocacy and conflict prevention in their communities.

The immediate objective of the project is to mobilise communities in conflict affected communities in Ukraine to engage in inclusive dialogue and active citizenship promoting tolerance and social cohesion.

Indicators for the immediate objective of the project:

70% of training participants feel capable and motivated to productively engage in conflict-related development issues and act in the interest of marginalized and vulnerable groups in their local communities.

50% of participants in community events feel that their communities are more tolerant and cohesive as a result of the Project.

Sources of information and means of verification include; monitoring reports, quarterly reports, training and activity reports, beneficiary feed-back, base-line / follow-up study and final evaluation. URCS will provide quarterly plans, budgets and expenditure statements. The Regional Managers will develop monthly branch activity reports. C.3 Outputs and activities

The project is innovative in its intentions to develop an approach and methodology that brings disparate communities together to resolve common issues. The project takes a structured approach that seeks to bring together the ‘right people at the right time’, through trainings and community activities, and to build on successful interactions between members of the host and IDP community who are already more connected and less hostile. Joint trainings of 450 selected host and community youth will ensure mobilisation for civic development work based around the principles of non-discrimination, tolerance, intercultural dialogue, social inclusion and violence mitigation.

The capacity of civil society will be built through the structures of the URCS linking to existing community structures and partnering with other CSOs and community based organisations (CBOs).

to be able to facilitate the participatory process of change at community level, which is the basic working principle of this project. Furthermore, representatives in each region will be involved in advocacy, preparation and follow-up activities, thereby also building their capacity to serve local communities.

The project makes continued efforts throughout to bring members of the host and IDP community together in such a way that barriers are broken down through sustained personal contact and joint identification of activities contributing to prevent conflict and improve the inter-community fabric through social development. Approximately 8000 community members will be engaged in 160

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community activities conducted by youth representatives to build the foundations for sustained positive interaction through the promotion of mutual understanding, trust, empathy, and resilient social ties. This aims to offset patterns of prejudice and demonising behaviours that are evident in locations with high, and increasing, numbers of IDPs, and growing resource pressures.

With the support of DRC technical advisors, DRCY and DCCR, URCS structures will be strengthened to ensure satisfactory delivery of these objectives and it is envisioned that such strengthening will benefit other areas of URCS' humanitarian and social activities thus resulting in a multiplier effect.

To achieve the Immediate Objective, the project has three Expected Outputs. The proposed activities are closely linked and complementary6. Developing capacities, dialogue, engaging

community members, and organising uniting community activities all contribute to enhancing the role and participation of CSOs in promoting social development, reducing the longer negative impact on society of the conflict and provide a venue for citizens to contribute to local development7.

Regarding objectives

Expected outputs Activities

In pursuit of objective 1 To mobilise communities in conflict affected communities in Ukraine to engage in inclusive dialogue and active citizenship promoting tolerance and social cohesion.

1.1. Capacities of civil society to identify, address, and respond to social development issues in communities affected by conflict increased

1.1.1. Conflict analysis trainings; 1.1.2. Do-no-Harm trainings; 1.1.3. Conflict mitigation trainings; 1.1.4. Community engagement

workshops;

1.2 Social cohesion in conflict-affected communities improved through dialogue and social development activities

1.2.1. YABC Contextualisation workshop;

1.2.2. Training of YABC Peer Educators;

1.2.3. YABC Trainings; 1.2.4. YABC Activities

1.3 Active citizenship promoted and sustained through URCS volunteer structures in target regions

1.3.1. Volunteer Induction Course; 1.3.2. Training in Volunteer

management; 1.3.3. Community-based initiatives

trainings; 1.3.4. National exchange meetings; 1.3.5. International exchange meetings; 1.3.6. Summer Camps

Expected Output 1.1: Capacities of civil society to identify, address, and respond to social development issues in communities affected by conflict increased

Under Expected Output 1.1, URCS staff / volunteers and representatives of civil society will benefit from increased capacity in conflict-related issues that will enable them to work more effectively to identify, address and respond to the various social development issues arising in their region. Development of advocacy and community engagement skills for civil society will improve their ability to influence and impact the broader community and stakeholders. Activities will focus on developing the capacities of CSOs to engage in positive and participatory dialogue with local authorities and community leaders in addressing the needs and protection of IDPs and marginalised groups. Drawing on URCS key competencies in social and community outreach, DRC, DCCR and URCS will strengthen accountability related to health care services, social safety nets and active participation of local communities in the design and implementation of government

6 See Annex 2 for Activity Plan 7 See Annex 3 for full LFA Matrix

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social services.

Each of the trainings will be specifically contextualized to ensure they are appropriate and conflict sensitive to specific regional situations, which is crucial to ensuring the sustainability of their impact.

Key indicators for Expected Output 1.1: 1a. Training manuals made available 1b. Average increase in knowledge/capacity of 25% (based on pre and post-tests) 1c 70% of participants reporting increased capacity based on trainings

Activities undertaken to achieve Expected Output 1.1 Description: This consists of interrelated trainings and workshops that aim to provide skills to URCS staff, volunteers and CSO/CBO members that will enable them to better understand the conflict dynamics of the context in which they are operating, to plan and implement activities that are sensitive to this context and to work with communities to better manage tensions and strengthen peaceful coexistence. Representatives of local and national CSO/CBO partners will be invited. This is to develop stronger cooperation between URCS and CSOs/CBOs in conflict related initiatives, and to strengthen the capacity of CSO/CBOs to engage in such programming independently. Trainings (act. 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3.) will be conducted together and with the same participants.

1.1.1 Conflict analysis trainings One interregional one-day training for 20 participants per year. In total 2 trainings for 40 participants. Up to five positions will be reserved for representatives of local and national CSO/CBO partners in each training. The trainings will equip participants with the appropriate knowledge regarding the purpose of conflict analysis and its application in the programme cycle, as well as the necessary skills and techniques to conduct and apply their own analyses. The trainings will increase the capacity of participants to design and implement programmes that are able to support social cohesion strengthening processes.

1.1.2 Do No Harm trainings One interregional one-day training for 20 participants per year. In total 2 trainings for 40 participants. The trainings will enhance the ability of participants to ensure that all, including non-conflict focused, programming adheres to the principles of Do No Harm, in addition to actively seeking opportunities to promote recovery and peace building. This will aid the URCS to play a role in stabilizing communities and assisting in conflict-related coping strategies.

1.1.3 Conflict mitigation trainings One interregional two-day training for 20 participants per year. In total 2 trainings for 40 participants. This training will promote the development of skills in facilitation, dialogue, negotiation, mediation and collaborative decision-making for participants to enable them to engage with communities and deliver opportunities for communal growth. In addition, it will include elements on protection and social cohesion in order to provide participants with the necessary knowledge and skills to work with communities to promote protection outcomes and foster social cohesion. Local and national authorities and CSO partners will be invited to participate in order to promote cooperation with the UCRS and co-deliver initiatives that reduce community tensions.

1.1.4 Community engagement workshops at regional level, one workshop in each region of one day per quarter (from month 3 to month 22) in total 12 workshops for 240 community members (20 in each workshop). These workshops will strive to raise interest and commitment from LA and civil society and to increase opportunities for CSOs to participate actively and resume responsibility for the development of society. Moreover, the workshops will provide the necessary opportunity for URCS staff and volunteers to effectively work with communities to facilitate community-identified key social development issues arising and to develop advocacy strategies in order that community, supported by URCS, can engage

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with duty bearers to ensure the appropriate responses are developed and implemented. CSO/CBO partners will participate in these workshops to contribute their knowledge and experience, as well as to build a more cohesive response to social development in the targeted regions. This activity will reinforce the positive achievement under output 1.2.

Justification: Conflict analysis trainings. The trainings will support localized conflict analyses in each region that will ensure the programme is appropriately informed of changes in the context throughout the life of the programme. This will enable programmatic adjustments based on anticipated and articulated need, increasing program flexibility. Moreover, they will also contribute to community awareness of the programme through the research process. Contextualized Do No Harm trainings for URCS staff and volunteers will address limited capacity and ensure that UCRS is more successful in designing, implementing and monitoring development and relief programming that adheres to principles of Do No Harm, in addition to actively seeking opportunities to promote peace building outcomes by strengthening connectors and reducing dividers in the communities. The participation of civil society will encourage the uptake of Do No Harm into their functions, increasing the potential for more effective programming. Conflict mitigation trainings will focus on building skills in facilitation, dialogue, negotiation, mediation and collaborate decision-making, and protection and social cohesion will increase the ability of participants to engage with communities experiencing tension and a break down in social cohesion. Addressing this current capacity gap in URCS staff and volunteers it is important to increase the impact staff and volunteers can have in promoting positive change and strengthening social cohesion in the community. The participation of civil society and local authorities in the training will augment collaboration with these partners. Community engagement workshops. Trust between LAs, CSOs and their communities has been undermined in conflict-affected areas as local authorities’ capacities have become stretched by increased demands. Community engagement will support and open and honest dialogue while also support a civil society capable of holding the authorities to account. Developing URCS’ community engagement capacity and their ability to adequately represent community voices and needs with local authorities and other social actors will help address the central needs of those communities and rebuild trust.

Expected Output 1.2: Social cohesion in conflict-affected communities improved through dialogue and social development activities

As IDP numbers increase and resource pressures grow, emerging and increasing tension between host and IDP communities over basic needs is occurring. It can be expected that as the conflict continues this tension will become greater with increased risk of conflict. Activities presented under expected output 1.2 are vital in extending the principles of non-discrimination, tolerance, intercultural dialogue, social inclusion and violence mitigation within both communities. By equipping communities with the necessary knowledge and skills and supporting activities that bring members from the two communities together in a series of interactions, the programme will promote mutual understanding, trust, empathy, and resilient social ties.

Activities under this output will focus on enabling youth and leading community members from IDP and host communities to promote a culture of non-violence and engage in positive uniting activities to counteract community division, tension and to give IDPs a possibility to contribute positively to their community. Youth and community members selected will, through their existing community engagement, enhance the role of broader civil society in the recovery process. The activities will support the successful (re-)integration of citizens into social, economic and cultural public life.

Existing global Red Cross methodologies related to behaviour and attitudinal change - Youth as Agents of Behavioural Change8 will be contextualised and used to promote humanitarian and

8 The YABC programme is rooted in a participant centred approach with a non-cognitive methodology, where young people through role-plays, simulations, storytelling etc., first explore their feelings and emotions in light of their personal experiences, before moving to a level of broader reflection, analysis and understanding together with their peers. Since its development in 2008 the YABC programme has been monitored, tested and recognized globally to be an important tool to engage and mobilise young

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democratic values as well as social cohesion. With active inclusion of representatives of local CBOs and CSOs activities hold the potential of promoting a collaborate environment in which communities work together to address common issues and find local solutions to local problems and promote the role of CSO/CBOs and communities in the recovery process.

To increase the quality of support to the target group among vulnerable citizens among IDPs, the project will put an effort into involving representatives of this target group to take active part in the planning and implementation of initiatives. At the same time the same representatives will be encouraged to become RC volunteers, to engage in local CBOs and/or to engage in a wider range of community activities and engage in the dialogue between RC and LAs.

Key indicators:

2a. # peer-educators active in project implementation 2b. # community activities take place 2c. IDPs report an increased feeling of belonging in the host communities

Activities undertaken to achieve Expected Output 1.2: Description: This cluster of activities recognises the central role youth can play in mitigating conflict in their communities. IDP youth are relatively well integrated into the education system and have created new networks with host community youth who are generally accepting of them. Utilising the energy and desire of youth for a prosperous and harmonious Ukraine, the programme will seek to mobilise young people and volunteers for civic engagement based around the principles of non-discrimination, tolerance, intercultural dialogue, social inclusion and violence mitigation by using the YABC methodology. Such engagement of youth in society will disseminate these principles throughout society leading to impacts beyond that of the trained cohort and the lifetime of the programme through promoting civic engagement and the role of Ukrainian CSO/CBOs in the recovery process.

1.2.1 YABC contextualisation workshop. One workshop with the project team and URCS headquarter staff and the YABC Master Trainer who will be working with selected youth will take place in Kyiv. An international YABC external consultant will facilitate the group sessions. The workshop will adapt the generic YABC modules to fit the context appropriately with a focus on training curriculum and materials and ensure broader support and knowledge.

1.2.2 Training of YABC Peer Educators, One YABC Peer Educators 5-day training will be conducted in Ukraine in Russian with 20 youth participants – 9 from each target region and 2 from URCS headquarter. This provides the initial training for young Ukrainians to become YABC peer educators and work in their communities on activities promoting the practice of non-violent conflict resolution and peace. Thematic areas youth will be trained in include non-discrimination and respect for diversity; intercultural dialogue; social inclusion; gender; violence prevention, mitigation and response; and international humanitarian law. Participants in the training will be selected based on a demonstrated commitment to contributing positively to their local community and civically minded youth who have demonstrated a desire to promote the role of civil society in the recovery process. Trainings will include five days of training on the culture of non-violence and peace and will consist of a combination of games, role play, simulations and visualization exercises and will address issues such as non-violence, non-discrimination, and respect for diversity, gender equality, international humanitarian law and social inclusion. Communication and volunteerism will also be part of the training agenda.

1.2.3 YABC trainings. At the regional level, four trainings in each region. In total 8 trainings for

people. According to the findings from a global YABC impact study: 97% of the respondents reported that the YABC programme had impacted them positively at the individual level; 95% had engaged in role-modelling for a culture of non-violence and peace after completing the training of YABC peer-educators, and 89% had noticed positive change in others they had inspired.

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160 youth participants (20 per training). Qualified peer educators will train youth volunteers in the following thematic areas: non-discrimination and respect for diversity; intercultural dialogue; social inclusion; gender; violence prevention, mitigation and response; and international humanitarian law. This training will support the development of youth leadership skills, civic education and a commitment to a culture of non-violence and peace, enabling those trained to conduct community activities that strengthen social cohesion in the community. This will also create and strengthen social development platforms around the country led by youth and enable their increase role in the recovery process.

1.2.4 YABC activities. The total number of YABC activities implemented will number 160. From month 3 to month 22 (total 20 month) four YABC activities in each target region will take place per month totalling 8 activities per month. Each activity will engage/benefit at least 50 people leading to a total of 8000 participants over the programme period. Host and IDP youths will collaborate to plan and implement YABC activities around visual arts, theatre, music, dance and sport and volunteer social activities in their communities that promote mutual understanding, tolerance, trust, empathy and resilient social ties. YABC community activities will be developed and led by male and female youth from both the host and IDP community, thus increasing the involvement of both men and women in the each community. Given women represent a much larger proportion of the IDP community in each of the target oblasts it is vital that they are fully engaged in the programme. YABC training includes a specific component on gender and youth planning and those implementing YABC activities will be mentored on strategies for maximising women’s participation in conflict mitigation programming, which will also be in line with the Security Council Resolution 1325 Women, Peace and Security agenda.

Justification: YABC contextualisation Workshop. The YABC toolkit will be the main tool used by the Master Trainer and peer-educators in this work package, but it will need to be adapted to fit with the Ukrainian context and realities. YABC Peer Educator training. This training will develop a cohort of URCS volunteers who are training YABC peer educators and are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to both plan and implement YABC activities and to train other youth volunteers to also do so. YABC Training. Training in IFRC’s YABC toolkit will enhance youth’s understanding of how to practically live by and implement the principles of non-discrimination, tolerance, intercultural dialogue, social inclusion and violence mitigation as they pertain to their specific context. Furthermore, such training will enable youth to identify the challenges and opportunities associated with the promotion of these principles in their communities, as well as equipping them with the skills to do so. YABC activities. Youth led community YABC activities, planned and implemented in collaboration with the youth and communities, will take place to promote important principles, including non-discrimination and tolerance, that will encourage increased willingness for different communities to engage in joint group activities. Bringing members from the two communities together in a series of interaction will promote mutual understanding, trust, empathy, and resilient social ties. Activities will foster the inclusion of IDPs in fun, creative and innovative activities aiming at increasing their social well-being and skills by giving young IDPs a platform for expressing their thoughts and ideas and to contribute positively to their new community. The activities will focus on co-creation by involving IDPs and host population in all aspects of conducting activities, from planning and preparing to the implementation of activities, which should have a clear aim of providing support to vulnerable. The activities will give young IDPs a voice with increased self-esteem that will be inspiring for their peers.

Expected Output 1.3: Empowering, structured and sustainable youth and volunteer management systems in place in target regions

This output focuses on capacity development of URCS at national, regional, and district levels with emphasis on expanding URCS volunteer base in the target regions and to ensure community members are engaged in addressing vulnerability and social tension in their communities. The two

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target regions will be pilots for developing effective structures for management of voluntary civic engagement and provide valuable experiences to be replicated by other regions.

The project targets – among others - up to 240 new RC volunteers recruited among citizens in Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk regions. In addition, more than 200 volunteers will receive capacity building trainings or benefit from knowledge sharing (as detailed below). A model for volunteer management, which has been developed in Belarus by DRC and Belarus RC over the past 6 years with support from DRC, will be utilized, as it has shown to increase the limited opportunities for citizens, and youth in particular, to raise their voice and engage in dialogue with local authorities

Staff and volunteer development is necessary to ensure the URCS has an appropriate pool of skilled trainers and competent volunteers in all their core activities. This is part of strengthening URCS at organisational level and supporting the overall capacity of URCS to secure an even quality in all its activities. Specifically for this project the trained skills trainers will in turn train volunteer groups, who are participating in the implementation of community-based initiatives and activities. DRCY will offer assistance, guidance and peer-support to URCS in effective volunteer management.

Key indicators: 3a. Basic volunteer training manuals available 3b. Annual volunteer drop-out rate is less than 20% in targeted regions.

Activities undertaken to achieve Expected output 1.3. Description: Activities include trainings which aim to provide skills to URCS staff and volunteers enabling them to develop and carry out their activities and give staff and volunteers a common RC platform to build on. Moreover, the output will focus on exchange, knowledge sharing and dissemination of best-practises, both nationally and internationally.

1.3.1 Volunteer induction courses at regional level, one one-day course per region per quarter anticipated (20 months), in total 12 courses for 240 new RC volunteers. These courses will be facilitated by the local focal point volunteers and RC branch staff, with support from and under coaching by regional volunteer trainers. These courses will provide new volunteers with grounding in RC humanitarian principles, values and functions, as well as building the self-confidence of new volunteers and strengthening their capacities to support and participate in RC activities.

1.3.2 Training in volunteer management is undertaken at the regional level, two trainings of three days per region, in total 4 trainings for 80 participants (20 participants per training). This training supports the successful achievement of Expected Outputs 1.1 and 1.2 and will build the capacity of the RC at the region and district levels in planning of volunteer activities as well as in recruitment, training, coordination, motivation and care and retention of volunteers. The training will also expand the existing pool of trainers for the volunteer induction courses and contribute to increasing the coverage of RC activities. RC regional trainers will facilitate the training with support and supervision from the RC HQ project coordinator and under coaching by DRCY and the DRC country coordinator. DRCY will in particular add its voluntary youth to youth approach and experience, as a youth led organisation, for inspiration.

1.3.3 Community-based initiatives training is undertaken at the regional level, two trainings of two days per region, in total 4 trainings for 80 participants (20 participants per training). Up to five positions will be reserved for CSO/CBO partners in each training. This training will utilise an established Red Cross’ ‘Community Mobilisation Framework’ to provide guidance for participants in the mobilisation of communities around social development activities, the development and implementation of community-based initiatives and the mobilisation of local resources. RC branch and HQ staff will facilitate the training and the outcome is monitored for progress.

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1.3.4 National exchange meetings. Volunteers and staff participate in exchange visits at regional and international levels, 1 regional visit per year for 10 participants in total 2 visits for 20 participants. Representatives of volunteer groups and RC branches visit other districts and regions to share experiences and learn about the work of others on development of volunteering and support to vulnerable citizens. Members of URCS youth commission will be invited to take part.

1.3.5 International exchange meetings. One international visit for three participants per year, six participants in total. For the international travels volunteers and youth are invited to participate in summer camps outside Ukraine both in neighbouring countries and in Denmark, while URCS at the same time invites participants to their annual summer camp to enable international networking. DRCY organises an annual Youth Leadership Academy in Denmark and the project will support participation from URCS youth volunteers to participate in this.

1.3.6 Annual summer camps. One camp during the project period. Summer camps last five days (four nights) for 40 participants and are conducted in order to train and motivate new volunteers, share experience, develop new strategies and methods of work. URCS will invite international participants to these camps hereby providing URCS volunteers an opportunity to exchange ideas and views with peers from abroad. Two volunteers from DRCY volunteer group on the Ukraine project will participate in the summer camp, as part of a monitoring exercise. This project contributes to the annual summer camp, but does not cover the full cost and URCS will co-fund together with other donors.

Justification: Volunteer induction courses. Induction and preparing for volunteering is one of the core elements of becoming a RC volunteer. The course is needed to ensure that volunteers are aware of their role, of what is expected from them and what they can expect from RC and to provide the new volunteers with necessary knowledge of the RC movement and its humanitarian principles. This kind of trainings will ensure that volunteers and branches and continue to act as an impartial intermediary and actor in local humanitarian project. Training of staff and volunteers in volunteer management. RC as an organization that develops volunteer activities is responsible for provision of sufficient support to volunteers, and volunteer management is a key function of the local branches. The training strengthens the competences of both RC staff and volunteer leaders in mobilization, motivation and retention of volunteers and also to organise youth led volunteer activities as well as evaluate volunteer programmes and activities. In addition, the trainings are important forums for knowledge exchange and mutual inspiration between RC staff and volunteers. Community-based initiatives training. Community-based initiatives form a core element of RC working practice with volunteers being central to the success of such initiatives. The trainings encourage and equip volunteers with the necessary knowledge and skills to mobilise their communities and work with them to identify, plan and implement community-based initiatives. In addition, the trainings contribute to build communication lines and initiate partnerships and experience exchange between different volunteer groups and support promotion of a strong civil society, which can stimulate inclusiveness and cohesion. Exchange meetings. The intention is to allow direct exchange of experiences and good practices between the participants, contribute to identifying gaps in their work and provide inspiration to learn and apply successful methods and practices (multiplier effect). This will contribute to establish communities of volunteers supporting retention and strengthening links between regions and improve communication and motivation between volunteers and to secure alignment of the RC approach to all regions. The Annual summer camp contributes to identifying gaps in volunteer activities and to provide inspiration. It is organised by the URCS youth commission and also a forum for international exchange through the participation of volunteers from other RC Societies in Europe.

C.4 Strategy: how does the project cohere?

Through capacity development, community mobilisation, and democratic youth initiatives as well as advocacy, dialogue and awareness raising, the proposed project will contribute to the long-term

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priorities put forward in the Eastern Neighbourhood Civil Society Fund and the Strategy for the Danish Neighbourhood Programme. The capacity of Ukrainian CSOs in policy dialogue will be strengthened, fostering a conductive environment for civil society. The role and participation of URCS headquarter and local branches in stop-gap service delivery for disenfranchised groups will be increased, the cooperation between CSOs, authorities and other stakeholders will be strengthened and civil society will have a strong role in conflict prevention, humanitarian work and post-conflict recovery.

The proposed project will also support the implementation of the EU Human Rights Guidelines, particularly those related to children and armed conflict, promotion and protection of the rights of the child by having an explicit focus on engaging youth in conflict prevention and social cohesion as active agents of change. DRC and URCS will take a conflict sensitive approach to the design of the project and will actively work to ensure a protective environment for women and children thereby also contributing to the EU Guidelines on addressing violence against women and girls.

Methodology Overall, the project will be implemented through joint management by DRC and URCS. The decentralised units of URCS at branch and community level will ensure the daily implementation, and this will be supervised and monitored by URCS HQ and the DRC country coordinator. The ideas, commitment, existing structures, capacities and resources of the URCS are the basis of the project. DRC plays a supportive role in the implementation, and provide URCS with technical advice and supervision on crucial aspects. This ensures the effectiveness and sustainability of the project. The DRC country coordinator will play a more direct role in developing the various training concepts together with technical staff of URCS HQ, with advice and input from DRC technical advisors and from the associates to the project.

The main approaches employed for designing and implementing this project are:

Community-based: DRC and URCS work through inclusive methods in order to ensure community engagement. Volunteers are central as they are both the target of activities as well as actors in implementing activities and mobilizing the community. This ‘bottom-up’ approach to designing and planning the project promotes participation in working directly with rights and development in the communities. This contributes to ownership, effectiveness and sustainability. The main component of the project is trainings in conflict- and social cohesion-related skills and workshops for community members to analyse their local context. The workshops will identify concerns and provide the basis for community engagement in addressing them.

Community workshops: Facilitating community workshops will be a methodology used throughout the project. When using the term “workshops” it is an indication of a participatory and exploratory approach directly involving community members rather than conducting trainings or lectures on selected topics. That means facilitating a learning process where the participants are supported to arrive at their own conclusions or conduct their own analyses. Workshops will bring together different aspects of the context making it possible to create a more comprehensive understanding of the local context. Moreover, learning from active participation lasts longer and more profoundly than passive learning.

Local ownership: A number of the activities are designed for promoting social cohesion in each community with technical support and coaching from programme staff and specialised branch volunteers. These activities have a participatory focus as target groups will use community-driven advocacy and dialogue to address social development issues towards decision-makers.

Capacity building: Development of individual, organisational and institutional skills to empower the target groups to resolve and address their own needs and challenges, as well as to support others. Building capacities and increasing awareness and knowledge improves the capability of communities to work actively with their own rights, adding to the sustainability of the project.

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Humanitarian diplomacy: The RCRC definition of humanitarian diplomacy (HD) is "persuading decision makers and opinion leaders to act at all times in the interests of vulnerable people". This includes confidential or private dialogue with decision makers and providing evidence-based data and case stories for public campaigns. Under HD-related activities, URCS will utilise their role as auxiliary to the government to influence in favour of the beneficiaries. In HD, advocacy is used as a process of honest dialogue and persuasion rather than confrontation and denunciation. DRC and participating organisations are inspired by the rights-based approach by focusing on power relations, structural causes for non-realization of rights, participation, accountability, non-discrimination and transparency.

Attitude and behavioural change: The attitude and behavioural change methodology was developed by IFRC as a way to give mainly young people personal experiences with the core humanitarian principles. The YABC methodology instils values such as respect for diversity, equality, inclusiveness, compassion, mutual understanding, cooperation, equality and peace. In addition, it enables the development of interpersonal skills such as empathy, active listening, non-violent communication and peaceful resolution of tensions. This type of education is ‘peer to peer’ and stimulates critical thinking and independence. It puts those involved at an equal level, where both learners and facilitators learn from each other.

Empowerment of women: Empowerment of women and focus on gender is an important angle of this project. Experience, however, shows that such a heads-on approach will create more tension and problems for the involved women at community level than empowerment. The project will take special measures, where necessary to ensure female participation – e.g. in trainings, workshops and meetings outside the communities – and generate an inclusive approach towards women. Gender roles and opportunities will be addressed through the YABC sessions, and the sessions will also provide important life skills for both young women and men.

The project will also address the role of men by encouraging them to become agents of change – also when it comes to the empowerment of women. The YABC methodology has already been used in several male-dominated contexts such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central America and across the Middle East with a clear positive impact on how men and boys view issues of equality, discrimination and violence in relation to women.

Coordination and synergies with other programmes or initiatives The project’s activities will be integrated with the various URCS programmes already in place in order to improve the understanding of humanitarian principles and putting them into practice in URCS’ general volunteer work in the field. Moreover, activities under Output 1.3 will strengthen the organisational capacity of URCS and improve their work in other programmes. The integration aspects of the project will primarily involve the local branches and peer educators. YABC trainings or workshops will be staged by the local URCS branches, either as stand-alone initiatives for youth volunteers or as integrated into training elements of URCS programmes. Moreover, the project will contribute to empowering youth as Change Agents to assume leadership roles in URCS and in society.

This project forms part of the global RCRC YABC initiative. It allows youth to exchange experiences and share best practices through different platforms, including through the IFRC YABC network, regional youth network, national and international exchanges (like the Leadership Academy in Denmark) and the annual summer camps that will be organised in Ukraine as part of the project.

DRC's Strategic Plan for 2015-2020 emphasizes the promotion of social cohesion and protection, and this project will provide important learning that can inform the global implementation of the DRC Strategy. Furthermore, the focus on strengthening monitoring, evaluation and learning around social cohesion and peace activities will be important learning opportunities for DRC and the RCRC Movement as peace building and conflict resolution become a larger part of RCRC projects around the world.

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Phases for proceeding:

Phase A: Start-up The proposed project will have an inception phase of 2 months, with activities including staff recruitment, conclusion of Memorandums of Understanding with partners, preparation of monitoring and evaluation plan, detailed work and training plan, development of visibility plan, conduction of baseline study and preparation for follow-up survey.

The partners will meet to develop detailed work plans for the first part of the implementation period. This will also include a participatory planning process of the monitoring and evaluation framework of the project and will secure clarity. A baseline will establish the indicators according to the log frame at the start of the project. The baseline will contribute to documentation of project impact. As part of the baseline the monitoring and evaluation plan will be developed, which will describe the responsibilities of the partner and the applicant, and how and when to collect data related to the indicators specified in the log frame. The monitoring and evaluation plan will ensure an annual internal review of the project and document the implementation progress against objectives, expected results and indicators.

Project specific coordination meetings for all project staff will be held locally in Kyiv or in regions, in total of 3 meetings during project period. One during inception (start-up), one during implementation (monitoring and management) and one during finalisation (phase out and evaluation).

DRC will facilitate and lead the process of developing detailed work plans, based on the input from URCS. In the development of a training plan DRC will support with identifying training facilitators to ensure that the content is in line with best practices and the needs and priorities of the proposed project. Further, DRC will support URCS in development of the baseline study.

Phase B. Monitoring and Evaluation The monitoring and evaluation system that will be developed as part of the baseline will include a description of requirements both to narrative reporting on implementation and to financial reporting. DRC will use the reports, together with monitoring visits, to continuously review existing implementation plans and assess if revisions are necessary. URCS and DRC will conduct the annual reviews. After the main implementation period, and during the last 2 months (phase out, including transfer and handover), there will be an evaluation, assessing the overall project design, implementation and outcome of the project. The evaluation will address aspects such as relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the project, and will also be used for documenting good practices and giving recommendations. DRC and URCS will in consultation with key stakeholders jointly develop the Terms of Reference for the evaluation. The evaluation will be facilitated by an external consultant. DRC will disseminate the final report among key stakeholders.

Phase C. Expenditure Verification An Expenditure Verification will be carried out by the DRCs external auditor after the completion of the project. The Expenditure Verification will be carried out in Denmark and Ukraine to verify field expenses.

C.5 Phase-out and sustainability

Capacity building and inclusion of community youth in project activities are imperative in this project. This way beneficiaries are not just passive receivers of support, but rather themselves active contributors to project objectives, enabling them to involve community stakeholders in continuing social activities beyond the scope of the project. Through national trainings of youth, volunteers and stakeholder representatives, and the regular sharing of best practices and experiences, other URCS programmes and other civil society actors will be invited to learn and get inspiration from this proposed project, which can be applied in existing or developments of new

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programmes. The very nature of the YABC promotes multiplying effects, as the results of this will contribute to bringing new organizations and youth to join the YABC projects.

Expected impact after the project phase

Technical level: At a technical level, the project will result in a substantial strengthening of URCS’ and CBO’s ability to conduct sustainable community activities related to dialogue, non-violent conflict resolution and social cohesion and an expanded pool of committed volunteers (from both host and IDP communities) and trainers. This pool of volunteers will sustain a level of quality activities for different target groups as part of the branch activities. URCS HQ and regional branches will have developed managerial skills to supervise, train and support youth volunteer-based activities in accordance with URCS’s national standards, as well as some technical skills in advocacy, conflict-related skills, community mobilisation and organisational skills in monitoring and evaluation. This focus on institutional capacity will have substantial impact on the longer term and on a range of interventions made by URCS. At the community level, individuals, particularly community leaders, representatives from CBO’s and youth, will have developed new skills for engaging in dialogue as well as planning and organising skills in support of their engagement. Moreover, timely and detailed analysis relating to changing conflict dynamics will be developed and will be available for external actors and stakeholders.

Economic level: Increased interaction with LA and increased capacity of communities to address the lack of compliance with basic rights will enable discussions on how resources are spent to promote greater transparency, responsiveness and accountability in public decision-making. Community activities will include proposing initiatives that respond to the needs of vulnerable groups in terms of protection, social inclusion and gender equality, plan budgets accordingly and advocate for partners to invest in them. Cooperation with LA will also enable youth and community members (host and IDP) to discuss how local policies can help shape a better environment for youth, and promote democratic engagement between citizens and LA.

Social level: Impact at this level is closely linked to the capacity building and empowerment of community volunteers and community members. This empowerment will develop the communities’ skills in analysing conflict and capacity to engage in diplomatic dialogue with relevant decision makers. Furthermore, this project aims at enhancing social inclusion, equal opportunities, tolerance and acceptance, which is expected to have an impact on the social cohesion of the communities. Youth involved in the project will increase their knowledge and awareness concerning conflict related issues, and will be mobilized to take an active role in promoting change of behaviour, and will be able to engage in conflict resolution in their own and other communities. It is expected that participants in this project will influence their peers in the region.

Policy level: Communities will have a stronger voice than before and will work in cooperation with URCS and the local authorities to identify joint solutions to commonly defined goals through the proactive and strategic use of humanitarian diplomacy. The project is expected to offer a platform in UCRS for volunteers to engage in civil society based activities and support vulnerable communities. This high profile project will be an important opportunity to firmly establish youth as not only an activist resource, but also as an important group of community constituents that have the ability to engage in political affairs. With a strengthened youth profile, URCS’s senior management will together with other youth organizations in the country be empowered to influence the development of national youth policy, recognising youth as agents of change. Lastly, the URCS branches and other stakeholders will have a platform to advocate for non-violent conflict resolution and peace, especially among a people that are exposed to violence and/or prone to take part in violent actions.

Moreover, improved regional and international cooperation and collaboration between RCRC national societies and YABC networks will facilitate replication and possible extension of the project. Dissemination/replication activities may include: Sharing/presentations of Project experience and outcomes during URCS staff and volunteer meetings and thematic workshops,

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planning meetings and internal and external trainings, presenting Project outcomes and learnings during URCS partnership meetings with the various Partner National Societies working with URCS and/or the global network of RCRC National Societies organised under the IFRC. Successful modalities could be replicated by other RCRC National Societies, local and state ministries, the UN and potential donors. Project outcomes will be extended by inviting local press to meetings, workshops, trainings and other programme activities, and by circulating the internal mid-term and external evaluation reports within URCS and with key stakeholders including Local and State Ministries, Cluster meetings the UN and potential donors, and other CBOs as well as other Partner National Societies. DRC will use the experience in Ukraine when planning interventions in other countries, and will look for funding possibilities to expand and/or replicate the project in other fragile environments.

Sustainability of the project Financial sustainability will be secured through ensuring substantial impact of the proposed project and thereby securing the partners’ and stakeholders’ interest in the continuation of similar activities. It is expected that the positive outcomes of this project will be used as a basis for scaling up of activities. The project builds the institutional capacities of URCS and its volunteers to source domestic and other funding potentials. By linking the Project to existing programmes of the URCS, lessons, experiences, methodology, approaches and capacities from this project will remain and be integrated in the URCS’ on-going activities. The establishment of volunteer induction, training packages and cooperation with the URCS youth commission will engage in improved community mobilisation capacity, and the project also involves senior management of partners, which is considered key to ensure effective advocacy for access to target groups during and after this project.

Policy level sustainability will be modestly enhanced through the capacity development of the URCS, of which the experiences and lessons learned will be applicable at national level – among other things through national networking, partnerships and cooperation with relevant CSOs and Ministries.

C.6 Assumptions and risks

Detailed risk analysis and contingency plan

Main assumptions (A) and preconditions (PC) during and after the implementation phase include:

A1: Conflict levels experienced in the Donbass do not spread to programme areas

A2: Project staff, volunteers, trainers and consultants are not prevented from travelling to and inside Ukraine.

A3; Community members are committed to take an active role in addressing needs of vulnerable people.

A4: Changes in Government political administration might cause changed attitudes towards programme objectives.

A5: There are no extensive periods or long-term student strikes.

A6: Internet connection and mobile activity is available for the majority of the "Change Agents".

A7: The conflict situation does not deteriorate to a level where targeted community members become too politicized to engage in neutral project activities

Most of these assumptions will not completely hold back the implementation of the Project if they are not fulfilled, but they will affect the Project and possibly the reaching of the expected outputs and objectives. All of the assumptions are external factors and outside the scope of what DRC and URCS can control, but with the contingency measures in place to mitigate the effects and secure continuation of the planned activities, effects are minimised.

PC1: Community members are committed to take an active role in programme activities

PC2: Local authorities are willing to engage with programme activities

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D. PROJECT ORGANISATION AND FOLLOW-UP D.1 Division of roles in project implementation

The division of the responsibilities between partners is based on the experience of the long-term partnership between URCS and DRC, and DRC’s documented capacity to manage international projects.

DRC will take responsibility for overall programme management and quality assurance, as well as the provision of technical assistance and expertise-building capacities with respect to capacity building, community mobilisation, YABC/community activities, advocacy, identification of good practices and sustainability. DRC has strong competencies in the areas of advocacy, communication and organisational development and will utilise them to strengthen URCS’s capacity. DRC will remain responsible for the successful implementation of YABC (output 1.2) with technical assistance from the IFRC.

URCS will be responsible for the annual planning, implementation, on-going monitoring and progress reporting on activities. The financial management of day-to-day activities as well as dissemination and advocacy of project outcomes and liaison with stakeholders will be the responsibility of URCS branches under supervision by URCS’s headquarters. URCS assumes the

Risk Contingency plan / mitigation measures

The political and security/conflict situation in target regions deteriorate to such a level where youth (male and female) will not be able to engage in planned activities or travels could be restricted.

The on-going conflict could deteriorate to a level where youth (male and female) would be prevented from engaging in project activities due to security. While it is the inherent ambition of the project to organise some national activities and trainings in order to build bridges and nurture network and experience exchange, the project is designed in such a way that it is also possible to hold most activities locally, without jeopardising the overall objectives of the project. Equally, the decentralised placement of peer-trainers will allow for activities even when HQ staff has limited movement.

Probability of risk: low Impact of risk: medium

The socio-political situation becomes so politicised that peer educators are prevented from engaging in neutral and impartial activities promoting non-violence and peace.

Continued focus and emphasis on the neutral, impartial and independent nature of the RCRC and the project as such, is a core element in the trainings and preparation of peer educators. This will help ensure that involved youth remain unbiased and objective to the on-going conflict when engaging in project activities and are perceived and acknowledged as such by active parties to the conflict.

Probability of risk: medium Impact of risk: medium/high

Lack of interest and commitment from youth reduces the impact of the training.

Special attention will be given to the selection of youth as well as to facilitating regular feedback and support from community members, trainers and URCS staff to ensure interest and commitment.

Probability of risk: low Impact of risk: high

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role of an auxiliary body to the Ukraine government, mandated to provide services to the Ukrainian population, and the proposed project will be implemented in accordance with this role.

DCCR will, together with DRC, be responsible for designing and conducting conflict-related skills trainings under output 1.1

DRCY will support output 1.3. URCS designs and facilitates the planned activities according to the developed modules and ensures follow-up. DRCY supports with advice to the specific training modules and with the identification of a facilitator in case URCS do not have a facilitator.

The project is under the overall supervision of the DRC Head of Region and URCS Secretary-General. The URCS senior management and the DRC country coordinator will be responsible for the institutional advocacy of the project to other programmes of the URCS, ministries and other partners, as well as for the overall monitoring and quality assurance. Organisational structure and team member functions/task descriptions:

International Staff National Staff/volunteers

Danish Red Cross

DRC Country Coordinator based in Kiev provides managerial and technical support and supervision to URCS in implementation of the project9

DRC Finance Officer, will provide support in financial quality assurance

DRC Head of Region Europe and DRC Desk Officer will be responsible for the overall implementation and reporting to CISU (no salary included)

DRCY consultant will pay biannual visits to Ukraine to support the implementation of the project10

DCCR experts will facilitate conflict related trainings in Ukraine

YABC Master Trainers will provide training for the YABC Peer Educators, held at the URCS HQ (no salary involved, but travel costs etc. are covered).

Ukrainian Red Cross Society

URCS Programme Manager (100%) based in Kiev. Responsible for overall management of the programme, task management of all programme staff, preparing quarterly plans and budgets, and overseeing implementation of activities by liaising with the branch offices, local authorities, and providing technical advice, incl. training development.

URCS Regional Managers (100%) covering Zaporizhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions (based in regional HQ). Providing support to the daily management of activities related to capacity building, community activities and volunteers and peer educators.

URCS Finance/Admin Manager (100%) based in Kiev. Responsible for all fiscal oversight, production of financial reports and liaison with URCS Programme Manager and DRC country coordinator

URCS Regional Finance/Admin Managers (50%) covering Zaporizhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions (based in regional HQ). Responsible for fiscal oversight in the region, production of regional financial reports and liaison with HQ finance and admin manager

DRC‘s country coordinator based in Kiev will be responsible for implementation, coordination, monitoring and continuous review of plans and budgets. Day to day implementation of the proposed project, monitoring and narrative and financial reporting at programme level will be the responsibility of the URCS project coordinator with support from URCS regional staff, the headquarter staff and the DRC country coordinator. D.2 Monitoring and evaluation in project implementation

The URCS Regional Managers will monitor implementation at community and regional level with support and supervision from the URCS Programme Manager to ensure that activities are implemented as planned and to liaise with local authorities. The Regional Managers will ensure

9 See Annex 5 for Country Coordinator CV and Annex 6 for Job Description 10 See Annex 4 for DRCY Consultant CV

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that monthly progress and financial reports are submitted to the URCS HQ. In each region there will be a finance/admin manager to provide the financial reports and verify expenditure. Information on activities is collected from reports from project managers and leaders of volunteer groups and cross-checked, from relevant documents (minutes of meetings, media reports) and from meeting with stakeholders and observation of activities in the field.

The URCS Programme Manager will be responsible for carrying out the overall monitoring of the project against the implementation plan, budget, log frame indicators and managerial requirements. The Programme Manager will provide quarterly consolidated narrative reports on programme progress to DRC. The Programme Manager will, furthermore, ensure that consolidated quarterly financial reports are submitted to DRC. The sources of data for monitoring will be: monthly narrative and financial reports from branch, relevant documents (including training materials, participants’ questionnaires and reports, publications), meetings with stakeholders and observation through field visits and participation records.

An external evaluation will be held at the end of the programme in line with developed and approved Terms of Reference.

3. Budget summary

Budget summary Currency

Indicate the total cost (i.e. including contributions from the Eastern Neighbourhood Civil Society Fund as well as other sources)

1,999,745

DKK

Of this, the Eastern Neighbourhood Civil Society Fund is to contribute

1,999,745 DKK

Of this, indicate the amount to be contributed by other sources of finance, including self-funding by the Danish organisation or its local partner, if any

0 DKK

Indicate total cost in local currency 8.034.793 UAH

Indicate exchange rate applied 4.02

Main budget items: Financing plan

Full amount DKK Of this, from the Fund

Of this, from other financial sources

1. Activities 683,230 683,230 0

2. Investments 15,500 15,500 0

3. Expatriate staff 240,000 240,000 0

4. Local staff 570,800 570,800 0

5. Local administration 72,770 72,770 0

6. Project monitoring 34,750 34,750 0

7. External evaluation 100,800 100,800 0

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8. Information in Denmark (max 3 % of 1-7) 0 0 0

9. Budget margin (min 6 % and max 10 % of 1-8) 103,071 103,071 0

10. Project expenses in total (1-9) 1,820,921 1,820,921 0

11. Auditing in Denmark 48,000 48,000 0

12. Subtotal (10 + 11) 1,868,921 1,868,921 0

13. Administration in Denmark (max 7 % of 12) 130,824 130,824 0

14. Total 1,999,745 1,999,745 0

4. ANNEXES SUPPLEMENTARY ANNEXES

Annex no. Annex title

Annex 1 Map of Intervention Areas

Annex 2 Activity Plan

Annex 3 LFA Matrix

Annex 4 Camilla Nielsen-Englyst CV

Annex 5 Mads Østergaard CV

Annex 6 Job Description Country Coordinator