USPS History - Українська школа політичних студій

Ukraine's accession to the Council of Europe

In the autumn of 1995, Ukraine joined the Council of Europe. It was a difficult diplomatic journey that began in 1992. Only three years later, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe unanimously adopted a resolution inviting Ukraine to become a member of the organisation. This event declared the importance and inevitability of democratic transformations in Ukraine and enabled the establishment of the Ukrainian School of Political Studies in the future.

1995

Establishment of USPS

In 2004, Ukraine was shaken by the Orange Revolution, and the desire for democratisation reached unprecedented proportions. Therefore, by the 10th anniversary of Ukraine's accession to the Council of Europe, in 2005, a joint project of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives and the Council of Europe – the Ukrainian School of Political Studies – was established. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted this decision.

2005

First USPS Alumni

In the first year of the School's existence, 32 people were selected for the programme. This is how the formation of the USPS community began. The School's first Alumni participated in three national training sessions and then went to the Summer University of Democracy in Strasbourg, France. This format of training has been established in the School to this day. The USPS Club was created in the same year. It became an intellectual platform for meetings with unique personalities and discussions of current social and political processes.

2006

Belarusian school

Belarus is the only territorially European country that is not a member of the Council of Europe. The country's authoritarian modernity makes the development of civil society and the formation of a new generation of democratic leaders impossible. In order to raise the level of political culture and involve active youth in social and political life, USPS helped establish the East-European School of Political Studies for Belarus. It still exists, although its events are held outside of authoritarian Belarus.

2007

Cooperation with Japan

This year, USPS strengthened its cooperation with Japan. This country contributed to the creation of the School and consistently supported its activities. With the participation of the Embassy of Japan in Ukraine, the School held training sessions with leading Japanese specialists. Alumni of the School were invited to Japan for internships.

2008

School of Professional Journalism "New Ukraine"

Being aware of the unique role of mass media in a democratic society, USPS launched the "New Ukraine" School of Professional Journalism in 2009. This project became a platform for professional journalists to communicate, exchange knowledge, experience, ideas, and initiatives. During its existence (from 2009 to 2012), more than 80 journalists from all over Ukraine became alumni of this programme.

2009

"Flag of Europe"

USPS alumni advocated the need for a pro-European course for Ukraine before it was enshrined in the Constitution. In the spring of 2013, USPS initiated the symbolic project "Flag of Europe". In the same year, the initiative united Sumy, Volochysk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Illintsi, Kobeliaki, Koryukivka, Kremenchuk, Lviv, Lutsk, Mena, Mostyska, Ostroh, Rivne, Sarny, Chernihiv, and Trostianets (pictured), and later spread out to the whole country.

2013

The South-Eastern programme of USPS

The Russian Federation started the war, attacking both the territories of Ukraine and people's minds. That year Ukraine needed unity more than ever. The School gathered an additional group and created the South-Eastern programme, which was trained together with the main group of USPS. The 2014 programme was special for the School because it united more than 60 people at a critical moment for Ukraine.

2014

First School of Community Leaders

Ukraine needs not only a professional parliament – the country needs to be strengthened at the local level. With the beginning of the decentralisation reform, USPS launched the School of Community Leaders, which over the past 8 years, has united more than 300 active representatives of local self-government and civil society.

2015

Ukrainian Regional Civil Servants Section

Ukrainian Regional Civil Servants Section, initiated by USPS and the Yalta European Strategy (YES), became a platform for cooperation and exchange of experience for leaders from the regions. Starting from 2016, 100 participants from different parts of Ukraine come to the Forum annually.

2016

Party Innovation Hub

To develop political parties and party democracy in Ukraine, we created the Party Innovation Hub, in which more than 200 representatives of 25 political parties received training over three years. Different activities were held for female politicians and public figures to encourage women's participation in political life.

2017

"New leaders"

USPS participated in the creation of the national television project "New Leaders". This project was designed to find proactive, energetic, and ambitious leaders who know how to change Ukraine and are ready to undertake the implementation of these changes. Since 2018, 2 seasons of "New Leaders" have appeared on TV screens. The winner of the "New Leaders" in 2019 was Volodymyr Shmatko, an Alumnus of the USPS and the mayor of Chortkiv city.

2018

Parliamentary programme

After the 2019 elections, more than 80% of newly elected MPs entered the Verkhovna Rada for the first time. Therefore, the School decided to continue the practice of seminars for parliamentarians, started in 2014, and launched a new project – the Parliamentary programme. More than 30 members of Ukrainian parliament from various parties, factions and groups were selected for training. In 2019, MPs attended two seminars, which deepened their knowledge about reforms and value dimensions.

2019

The first online project

In the year of the beginning of the pandemic, we developed our web platform to conduct the School of Community Leaders online. Thanks to this, more than 200 people were selected and joined the programme to gain the necessary knowledge and skills before the 2020 local elections, held for the first time under the new Electoral Code.

2020

USPS Alumni Programme

To strengthen cooperation with alumni and respond to the growing demand for quality education in our Community, we launched the USPS Alumni Programme – educational modules developed by experts from various fields specifically for USPS. In 2021, we held four courses for alumni – in literature, economics, political theory, and philosophy. The USPS Alumni Programme will later expand to other topics.

2021