My name is Anton Trofimchuk and when I was 15, I founded my own youth platform. I think this is my greatest feat. I sincerely hope that my statement will inspire people who are still contemplating their role in civil society. In Ukraine, the issue of social activity is very relevant. While in big cities like Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv, events and forums are not uncommon, then in smaller cities, the situation is terrible. At TEDxYouth I would like to tell how teenagers have been able to set up their own youth NGO in 2015 (we were 14-15 y.o). Many people complain of insufficient amount of time, resources, and many other factors of rejection, so as not to be socially active citizens. Especially this problem is felt in the post-Soviet space. The mentality of Eastern European countries is still conservative. That is why we, as young people, must make progress and move the paradigms. Being the leader of one of the most progressive youth platforms in my city, I understand the importance of spreading the idea of social engagement: If the teenagers were able to hold about 40 events and projects, they themselves were looking for funding, they themselves began to talk about urgent social problems such as ecology, inclusion, equality, then adult person can do it. If to take a more detailed look on our projects, there are fan-meetings on any topics, workshops, literary evening, sport events, citywide picnics, volounteer activities, printing youth magazine, discussing clubs.
