INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS OF SOCIAL COHESION OF YOUTH IN TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES

Abstract

The relevance of the study is due to the sharp increase in social, humanitarian and security challenges, which significantly change the functional purpose of youth infrastructure institutions and strengthen their role in ensuring social cohesion, psychological resilience of the population and the restoration of social capital of territorial communities. The goal is a comprehensive analysis of the transformation of the network of youth centers and youth spaces in Ukraine under martial law, determining their role in strengthening social cohesion, developing social capital and ensuring social integration of youth and vulnerable groups of the population, as well as substantiating the directions for improving state and local youth policy in the conditions of a protracted war and post-war reconstruction. The methodological basis of the study is a combination of institutional, systemic and socio-economic approaches. Particular attention is paid to the inclusive dimension of the activities of youth centers, which is considered as a system-forming factor in the social integration of vulnerable groups, in particular youth with disabilities, internally displaced persons and participants in hostilities. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the conceptualization of youth centers as institutions of social cohesion and elements of the infrastructure of psychological safety of territorial communities in crisis conditions. It is proposed to consider youth spaces not only as a tool of youth policy, but as a component of the mechanism of institutional stability of communities and the restoration of the country's human potential. The practical significance of the results obtained lies in the formation of applied recommendations for state authorities and local governments regarding the strategic development of youth infrastructure, the expansion of inclusive practices, the improvement of financing mechanisms and the introduction of a system for monitoring the social impact of youth centers.