Mykolaiv in the top ten of the "Youth Capital of Ukraine – 2026": now it must be proven that there are things for young people to do here

Mykolaiv entered the top 10 finalist cities of the national contest “Youth Capital of Ukraine – 2026“. The corresponding decision was made by the contest supervisory board, which the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine announced on July 27, 2026.

As a result of the first stage, the following will continue to compete for the status of youth capital:

• Vinnytsia;
• Dnipro;
• Zaporizhzhia;
• Ivano-Frankivsk;
• Kyiv;
• Kropyvnytskyi;
• Lutsk;
• Mykolaiv;
• Odesa;
• Chernivtsi.

Overall, this year the organizers received 17 applications from Ukrainian cities. In their competition materials, communities presented their achievements, successful practices and visions for further development of youth policy at the local level. Based on the evaluation results, 10 participants were admitted to the second stage.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports congratulated the teams of the finalist cities and thanked all communities that took part in the selection. Finalists are to be provided with information about the conditions, timelines and next stages of the contest in the near future. Thus, Mykolaiv‘s advancement to the final does not yet mean victory — the city must continue to compete for the honorary status.

The national contest is aimed at identifying a city that creates quality conditions for living, development, participation and self-realization of young people. The organizers assess the systematic work with youth, their involvement in decision-making, the state of youth infrastructure and the effectiveness of local programs. Among important directions are also support for young veterans, barrier-free access and availability of opportunities for different groups of youth.

For Mykolaiv, which, due to the war, security risks and population outflow is trying to retain young people, participation in the final may become not only an image achievement. The competition application should demonstrate whether the city is truly able to create conditions under which young people will want to study, work, carry out their own projects and tie their future to Mykolaiv.

Previously we wrote:

• New boats for “Olimp”: a project from the Korabelnyi district won in the youth budget
• Mykolaiv region youth received representation with the President: three delegates elected
• Mykolaiv schoolchildren went to Denmark to learn about democracy and youth leadership
• Concerts, sports and youth in courtyards: Mykolaiv seeks to revive them with cultural events
• In Mykolaiv they will give out $10,000 for youth initiatives: who will benefit from the funds this time?