The Ukrainian Students for Freedom team has been organising the Leadership Programme annually since 2018. Students can shape the future of the country. But to do so, we must possess leadership skills and be intelligent, strong and proactive. That is why our projects, including the Leadership Program, are aimed at developing the leadership potential of students. This mission has become even more relevant since the start of the full-scale war with russia. Without young leaders united by the idea of freedom, it is impossible to defeat the invader and, after victory, rebuild Ukraine together.

Ask yourself: «Who is a leader?» Do you have leadership qualities and want to develop them? Then the Leadership Program could be the event that radically changes your life for the better!

For the past few years, the event has been held at Medzhybizh Castle in the village of Medzhybizh in Khmelnytskyi region. There are no strategic targets near the village, but russia often attacks other settlements in the region from the air. The Program has been held at the same place for the past few years, so we have a pre-planned action plan in case of air raid alerts. In case of danger, all participants will be transferred to underground shelters located in the deep cellars of the castle, which provide reliable protection from any air threats.

Participation in the Leadership Program is free of charge. Expenses, including handouts and all basic needs during the project, are covered by our organisation. However, participants must provide their own tent, sleeping bag and sleeping mat. If you do not have a tent, you can rent one together with other participants to save money or stay with someone else. After the project, participants who need to cover additional expenses can apply for the Ludwig von Mises Scholarship, which covers the cost of travel and equipment rental. The number of scholarships is limited.

If you are between 16 and 24 years old and are in your final years of high school or studying at university, feel free to apply! We sometimes make exceptions to these criteria: what matters most to us is your desire to learn, change Ukraine for the better and understand the true value of freedom.

The Leadership Program lasts 5 days. During this time, participants go through a full cycle of events: they arrive at the venue, take part in team-building activities, attend lectures and practical classes, participate in activities specific to the USF, and finally, they undergo an initiation ceremony and become activists of the Organisation. After that, we bring the participants back to the place where we met them and continue communication through the Program’s infochannel and chats.

For all participants, a meeting point will be determined in the regional centre closest to the venue, which will be convenient for participants to reach by train or other suitable means of transport, from where we will organise a shared transfer to the venue. We will inform all selected participants of the details of the meeting point on the eve of the project.

In our experience, there have also been cases where participants travelled directly to the venue on their own: by bicycle, car, or any other means. Students from Medzhybizh itself have even participated in the Leadership Programme, which has been held several times at Medzhybizh Castle, so they did not have to worry about getting to the venue.

Participants and organisers of the Leadership Program stay in two separate tent camps on the event grounds. As space is limited, we encourage everyone to stay in large tents for 2, 3, 4 or more people. Our infrastructure team arrives a few weeks early to build showers (with a water heating system!) and washbasins on site so that participants and organisers can stay clean and feel more comfortable. We also provide three meals a day, taking into account the needs of people with special dietary requirements (vegans, vegetarians, allergies, etc).

We invite the best experts from all over Ukraine and even from abroad. In previous years, our lecturers included Volodymyr Poperechnyuk, co-founder and CEO of Nova Poshta; Pavlo Sheremeta, former Minister of Economy and Trade; Tom Palmer, American political scientist and publicist, Vice President of International Programmes at Atlas Network; Zoryana Skaletska, medical lawyer, Minister of Health 2019-2020; Dmytro Boyarchuk, Executive Director of CASE Ukraine; Mykola Malukha, Communications Specialist at CASE Ukraine, Head of the «Cost of the State» project; Natalia Melnyk, Director of the Bendukidze Free Market Centre; Serhiy Hnezdilov, USF functionary and Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman, and many others. Speakers also include USF members who are experienced in specific topics.

Of course! The Leadership Program is the only way to join us as a member of the NGO. However, not everyone can become an activist, as the selection process for the Leadership Program is quite challenging. The program’s activities are designed to help you learn as much as possible about our ideas and get to know our community from the inside in five days, so that at the end of the event, you can decide whether to become a USF activist or not.