During the “Serpneva-2026” Education Conference “Education in Kyiv Region: Sustainability, Partnership, Development”, which was held on 27 August in Kyiv, discussions focused on how Kyiv region is preparing for the new academic year and the implementation of key education reforms.

The event was organised by the Kyiv Regional State Administration and the Department of Education and Science of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, with the support of the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project.

The conference brought together more than 220 participants, including heads of education authorities in communities and district military administrations, principals of general secondary, vocational, and pre-higher vocational education institutions, teaching staff, representatives of state and regional authorities, and international partners.

The following joined the conference::

• Tymur Tkachenko, Head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration;
• Philippe Brügger, Deputy Head of Cooperation at the Swiss Embassy in Ukraine;
• Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager;
• Anastasiia Konovalova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine;
• Tetiana Semenova, Deputy Head of the Kyiv Regional Council;
• Zhanna Osypenko, Deputy Head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration;
• Yaroslava Trostianska, Director of the Department of Education and Science at the Regional State Administration;
• DECIDE National Experts – Mariia Drobot, Serhii Yatskovskyi, and Nadiia Balabust.

The project team joined the discussion on topics that require practical solutions at regional and community levels:

• preparation for the implementation of the reform of specialised secondary schools and the establishment of a capable network of academic lyceums;
• the development of a career guidance system for children and adolescents, as well as partnerships between the education sector, communities, and businesses;
• strategic planning for the development of education in Kyiv region and ongoing work on the Strategy for the Development of Education of the Region until 2034;
• the specifics of implementing financial autonomy for general secondary education institutions;
• key legislative changes regarding investment projects, as well as data management and reporting using the modernised AIKOM 2 system.

Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager, spoke in more detail about the activities of DECIDE Project in Kyiv region. She shared the results of the work, as well as plans for further cooperation aimed at the recovery and development of education in Kyiv region and the continued implementation of education reforms.

Our cooperation with Kyiv region has been very effective:

• 16 communities in Kyiv region are involved in the National Pilot Scheme for the Career Guidance of Children and Adolescents; in the previous academic year alone, more than 7,500 schoolchildren in Grades 8 and 9 participated in vocational and career guidance activities, including visits to businesses;
• we also launched two DECIDE career guidance hubs – at the Brovary Vocational Lyceum and the Vasylkiv Vocational College – within the framework of developing the career guidance system, in cooperation with the Kyiv State Regional Administration.  Vasylkivska and Brovarska communities joined the pilot project of the career guidance system, with more than 6,000 children and teenagers taking part in the activities;
• expert teams provided support to 36 communities in Kyiv region on the formation of a network of academic lyceums and a wide range of matters related to the implementation of the reform of specialised secondary schools;
• DECIDE Summer Clubs “We are at home – in Ukraine” also worked in the region: in 2022–2024, summer educational activities in eight communities in Kyiv region reached more than 1,500 children and involved nearly 180 teachers. And in 2026, DECIDE Summer Clubs were held in three communities of Kyiv region and involved more than 600 children and 100 teaching staff, who participated in the activities as mentors;
• we have recently selected four partner communities with which the Project will work more closely on ten initiatives: Brovarska, Tarashchanska, Bilohorodska, and Rzhyshchivska communities.