We are sharing an important event within the two-year Erasmus+ project INSIGHT, which aims to support journalists, representatives of the penitentiary system, and (former) prisoners.
On April 25, 2025, the first lesson for minors was held at the Kyiv Pretrial Detention Center, which the team of trainers successfully conducted in an atmosphere of open dialogue and mutual respect.
The event was aimed at developing life skills and raising legal awareness among adolescents in detention. The teenagers showed great interest and involvement! Their thirst for knowledge and sincere desire to understand their rights confirm how important such initiatives are.
The trainers were clinicians from the legal clinic of the Penitentiary Academy of Ukraine, who worked under a specially prepared program.
The main focus was on:
the rights of the child in conditions of deprivation of liberty,
key provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
the right to dignified treatment, protection from violence, access to education, medical care and legal support.
The experts also explained to the participants:
how SIZOs differ from penal colonies;
how prolonged detention in a pre-trial detention center affects the psychological state;
what rights minors have to privacy, communication with relatives, and protection from isolation.
“We want young people to feel heard, to have knowledge of their rights and resources for their future life after release, even in such difficult circumstances,” the trainers emphasized.
The open dialogue format allowed minors not only to listen, but also to actively interact – to ask questions, share their experiences, and receive moral and legal support.
Together we create conditions for new chances and new life stories. 
The INSIGHT project is being implemented by Young Agents of Change (Ukraine) in cooperation with AY Institute and Prirašytos rankos (Lithuania), Scambieuropei (Italy) and Brodoto (Croatia) and is funded by the European Union.
