On 5 December, the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine hosted an award ceremony for the winners of the Young Diplomat Award 2025 and Future Leader Award 2025, an initiative founded by the United Youth Academy of Youth Diplomacy NGO to recognise the impact of young people on the development of diplomacy and international relations. This year, the project is being implemented in cooperation with the European Youth Ambassadors initiative in Ukraine, which operates within the framework of the European Union's regional communication programme EU NEIGHBOURS EAST.

The Young Diplomat Award 2025 was presented to Anna Kryzhanivska, a fourth-year student at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, who studies international law, works as a communications specialist and actively participates in youth projects. Her path is an example of how dedication to one's cause and belief in the effectiveness of youth diplomacy shape change here and now. 

The Future Leader Award 2025 was won by Iryna Panina, an 11th-grade student who already represents Ukraine on international platforms and implements her own initiatives. Her story is a reminder that the path to big dreams can begin even at school age. 

During the ceremony, Ihor Ostash, Director of the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine, emphasised the importance of supporting young people who are forming a new generation of Ukrainian diplomats:

"Today, Ukrainian diplomats are at the forefront of global diplomatic struggle. This is an extremely responsible mission that requires new energy, new ideas and new leaders. It is the younger generation that is becoming our strategic reinforcement, without which it is impossible to imagine modern Ukrainian diplomacy."

The panel discussion on the role of young people in bringing Ukraine closer to European integration, with the participation of Oleksandra Gusak, Director General of the Directorate for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and Galina Iordek, Head of Institutional Capacity Research in the project to support the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.

Representatives of the European Youth Ambassadors initiative also presented the Young European Integration Leader Award to four nominees for their outstanding achievements in the field of Ukraine's European integration, and the Bohdan Hawrylyshyn Family Foundation recognised the five best cases of youth diplomacy.

We would like to thank everyone who is shaping the diplomacy of the future today.