The Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Charitable Organization “Charity Foundation “Stabilization Support Services” present the educational series “IDP Councils: From Adaptation to Impact”, designed to support the development of IDP Councils.
What are the powers and mission of IDP Councils? How can they influence regional policies to improve the lives of displaced persons, and what tools and skills are necessary to achieve this? These and other questions are thoroughly explored by the experts featured in the series. Over eight episodes, they share insights to help IDP Councils operate more effectively: facilitating the adaptation of displaced persons into new communities and enhancing their influence by advocating for rights and interests at the local level.
“The mission of IDP Councils is to advocate for the rights and interests of internally displaced people at the local level. The educational series for IDP Councils will be a useful tool for improving the knowledge and skills necessary for their effective work: from assessing the needs of IDPs to changing local policies. Thanks to specialized training, they will be able to build their capacity faster, to become increasingly powerful supporters of displaced people and help them fully integrate into new communities,” said Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
“IDP Councils serve as a link between displaced people and the local authorities in the communities that have provided safety and a new home. By equipping IDP Councils with the necessary tools and knowledge, like through this educational series, we hope to further strengthen their capacity to participate actively in shaping policies and programmes at local level, and ensure these take the specific needs, interests and capacities of internally displaced persons into consideration. This will facilitate the inclusion of IDPs into their new home communities and their ability to contribute to as full-fledged members of the society,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.
“Empowering IDP Councils is not just about providing knowledge, it’s about equipping them with tools to create meaningful change. This educational series marks a significant step in strengthening the ability of displaced communities to influence local policies, advocate for their rights, and contribute to the development of their new home hromadas. By fostering local democracy, collaboration and strategic planning, we aim to ensure that displaced people are not just beneficiaries of support, but active participants in shaping a resilient and inclusive society,” noted Valeriia Vershynina, the Executive Director of the Charitable Foundation “Stabilization Support Services”.
“Since 2019, we have been building a convenient digital state in Ukraine, creating understandable and accessible services. Thanks to the Diia.Education platform, Ukrainians have the opportunity to easily improve digital skills and develop new ones thanks to innovative educational products. Over the five years of Diia.Education’s work, more than 200 educational series have been created, and we are proud of this new product, which will provide internally displaced persons with basic knowledge and skills for integration into new communities and help strengthen the economic potential of Ukraine. We believe that mastering modern skills is easy, especially when new opportunities are created on Diia.Osvita,” said Valeriya Ionan, Deputy Minister for Eurointegration at the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.
The series is available on the Diia.Education platform via this link.
In the course of the series, you will learn how to:
- Coordinate and document the work of an IDP Council;
- Develop operational and strategic plans;
- Collect and analyze data;
- Establish effective external communication, including managing social media and other information resources of the IDP Council;
- Build partnerships and expand contact networks;
- Monitor local programs and develop them independently;
- Implement advocacy campaigns;
- Assess the effectiveness of the IDP Council’s work.
Upon completing the final test, participants can obtain a certificate.
As of early 2025, Ukraine is home to 4,622,761 internally displaced persons. The concept of IDP Councils was developed by the CO “CF “Stabilization Support Services” team in 2019. Today, more than 800 IDP Councils operate across Ukraine.
The series was created by the Stabilization Support Services Charitable Foundation with the support of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in Ukraine, for the Diia.Education platform.