Problem addressed

The project addresses the risks faced by displaced Ukrainian youth during their transition into adulthood, including limited access to reliable information, fragmented support systems, and heightened vulnerability to exploitation and exclusion. By understanding their specific needs and tailoring solutions through safe digital tools, dialogue with local stakeholders, and awareness raising, the project seeks to close critical gaps in integration and ensure that young people can access the rights and opportunities essential for their well-being and future.

Innovative solution

The You Decide project introduces a digital “one-stop shop” app that provides displaced youth with safe, localised, and multilingual access to services and support systems in their place of residence. What makes this approach innovative is its participatory design: Ukrainian youth are directly engaged in co-developing project tools, ensuring that the solutions are relevant, user-friendly, and truly meet the needs of the target group. This combination of technology and youth-led design bridges existing gaps in information access and integration support.

Key results and benefits

1) Development of a multilingual digital app providing displaced youth with safe, localised access to information on available services tailored to their needs (education, employment, health, and social services).

2)Mapping of at least 145 services a across three capital regions of Prague, Warsaw and Budapest to improve coordination and reduce service gaps.

3) Establishment of Local Youth Integration Hubs, fostering dialogue and cooperation between young people, service providers, and authorities.

4) Increased awareness among youth of their rights and available support, reducing risks of exploitation, trafficking, and exclusion.

5) Policy recommendations and best practices disseminated at national and EU levels, strengthening long-term integration frameworks.

6) Empowerment of displaced Ukrainian youth through participation in co-design, ensuring that solutions are relevant, trusted, and sustainable.

 

Potential for mainstreaming

The project will produce publicly available guidance, templates, research tools, and a methodology for Local Youth Integration Hubs, together forming a practical toolbox for replication. This toolbox can be applied not only in other countries but also across different youth displacement contexts. In addition, the Miniila app can be further expanded with new services and geographies. By documenting best practices and engaging policymakers, the project ensures its approach can be mainstreamed into broader European integration frameworks, creating lasting impact beyond the pilot locations.