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Center for Dialogue and Reconciliation “Iskra” (Ukraine)

Center for Dialogue and Reconciliation “Iskra” is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 2008 in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine. It serves as a platform for young people interested in the building of a multicultural, tolerant, and diverse society. Now it's one of the biggest organisations working with Erasmus+ Programme and reaching over 19,000 active Ukrainian youth through main social networks. It has 7 paid staff plus volunteers in specific projects.


Iskra’s aim is to involve young people into volunteering on local, national and international levels, to promote youth mobility and non-formal education. Iskra has been a Sending Organisation for over 200 EVS volunteers and a partner in dozens of youth exchanges and training courses.


Iskra’s principal goal is to improve the competences of young people and widen their personal and professional horizons. We aim to reach that goal by increasing mobility of young people through involving them in training courses, youth exchanges and voluntary service abroad, thus offering an invaluable experience of living and working in a multicultural environment.


Iskra is active in the field of conflict resolution and reconciliation. It has co-organised several academic summer schools on conflict analysis together with the University of Marburg (sponsored by DAAD and German Foreign Ministry), three Ukrainian-Russian-German youth exchanges (Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility, and Future”), and a row of workshops on conflict resolution with Crisis Simulation for Peace (CRISP).


Youth NGO Iskra is a member organisation of UNITED for Intercultural Action (a European network against nationalism, racism, fascism and in support of migrants and refugees) and the IDA Network (International Development Alliance).

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Center for Dialogue and Reconciliation “Iskra” has a large experience of acting as a partner organisation in youth exchanges, trainings, seminars, and study visits. It has sent groups to over 50 international events in the past two years.

Projects included:

  • YE “Move for health” (Turkey)

  • YE “Stories from my neighborhood” (Moldova)

  • YE "AgriCULTURE for Young Entrepreneurs" (Armenia)

  • TC “Step Forward Toward Peace – SteP” (Lithuania)

  • YE “Healthy Body Healthy Mind” (Lithuania)

  • “Local in Global 2018”: TC “Prosperity Without Growth?” (Germany) and YE “Welcome to Krapowa” (Poland)

  • TC “No Hate Embassy 2.0.” (Georgia)

  • YE "The School is finished! What's next?" (Turkey)

  • TC “Conflict management tools to promote peace education” (Spain)

  • YE “Don’t fear the refugee” (Portugal), YE “The World from different perspective” (Turkey)

  • YE “Be2IN ​​Generation” (Spain)

  • TC “Youth Empowerment” (Portugal)

  • TC “No hate embassy” (France)

  • YE “Value and Values” (Italy)

  • YE "Global Rulez" (Czech Republic)

  • TC "Games to reinforce adult learning" (Georgia)

  • YE "Healthy Life Style" (Great Britain)

  • YE 'Krapowa" Local in Global (Poland)

  • TC "Peace from the grassroots" (Armenia) and more.

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Iskra has organized three summer schools on conflict analysis, a row of trainings on conflict management, and a long-term history&art&IT project “Hidden Memories” (www.hidden-memories.org). We are active in community-building and peacebuilding on the local level, both of which are impossible without the understanding of the core ideas of active citizenship.

Iskra has three staff members working in the International Exchange department (including Erasmus+ youth exchanges). Their names are Liudmyla Kutserei, Olena Manko and Alina Kalmykova. All of them have an experience being EVS volunteers and participating in a number of trainings and youth exchanges as trainers, youth leaders, facilitators or participants. These staff members are trained to create calls for applications, select participants by reviewing application documents and conducting a Skype interview, in supporting the participants throughout the process of making travel arrangements and applying for the visa. They work in a precise and personalised way and are ready to support the applying project partner. They will have the task of selecting Ukrainian participants.

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Overseeing the efforts of the Ukrainian team is Iryna Lysenko, Founder and Head of the Board of Center for Dialogue and Reconciliation “Iskra”. Iryna has an undergraduate degree in Education, a Master’s in Peace and Conflict Resolution, and is working on her PhD. She has 14 years of experience in voluntary activities including 10 years of leading an NGO. She also works as a freelance project manager for a number of educational projects in Ukraine sponsored by the government of Germany. Iryna will provide administrative support, consult the participants on preparation and on visa-related issues.

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