Ten Cross-Sector Teams Complete the First Training Module of the “Street Law Schools 2026” Program

On April 24, the first training module of the “Street Law Schools 2026” Program came to a close in Lutsk, bringing together 10 cross-sector teams of legal clinics and civil society organizations from across Ukraine. Over four intensive days, legal clinic supervisors and students worked alongside civil society partners to master the topics that will later form the basis of legal education activities in their communities.

Strategic goal: from training to change in communities

The “Street Law Schools 2026” Program was created to strengthen legal awareness and capacity among people affected by the war and to support communities through quality legal education. The Program prepares teams to deliver training for youth, internally displaced persons, veterans, families of service members, and other groups — helping people better understand their rights and the tools available to protect them.

During the training, teams mastered the Street Law methodology (practical law), deepened their understanding of human rights, post-war recovery, social cohesion, and a trauma-informed approach. Particular attention was paid to adapting complex legal topics to the needs of specific audiences and making the training practical and accessible.

According to Yuliia Saienko, expert at the Ukrainian Network of Legal Clinics (ULCA) and coordinator of the “Street Law Schools 2026” Program, this stage helped the teams form a shared vision of how legal education can genuinely work for people in their communities.

«We want legal aid to move beyond office walls and become as accessible as possible to those who need it most. Our goal is to give teams practical tools and interactive methods that help them talk about complex legal challenges in plain language. The first module demonstrated remarkable synergy between legal clinics and the civil society sector. The teams are now ready to go into their communities, monitor real needs, and design their own legal education sessions built on trust and an understanding of people’s needs. This is only the beginning of a long journey toward strengthening the legal capacity of Ukrainians during this difficult time.»

Training content and work with trainers

The Program was divided into four thematic blocks, each addressing a key task in the teams’ future work: how to teach, what to talk about with people, how to handle sensitive topics, and how to build trust during interactions.

Street Law toolkit. Together with Yuliia Matvieieva, head of the NaUKMA Law Clinic, teams examined the Street Law methodology and learned to design sessions with active audience participation. Participants reviewed the most common interactive methods, broke down the structure of a session, and learned to factor in audience context as early as the preparation stage.

Human rights and accessibility. This block, led by Serhii Sobko-Burov, head of the Human Rights House in Chernihiv, and Yana Sobko-Burova, expert at the Human Rights House in Chernihiv, focused on the foundational principles of human rights and the methods for protecting them in wartime. Participants examined how human rights define the scope and content of state obligations, where the line lies between a permissible restriction and a violation of rights, and how to apply the three-part test to assess different situations — checking whether a restriction on human rights has a lawful basis, pursues a legitimate aim, and is necessary and proportionate. Special attention was given to Plain Language and easy-read formats as tools of accessibility that make legal information available to the widest possible audience.

Transitional justice and cohesion. Together with Olha Kotiuk, an armed conflict analyst and transitional justice specialist, teams explored the mechanisms by which societies move from war to peace, where justice includes not only punishing the guilty but also rebuilding trust, seeking truth, and working with memory. Participants learned more about the experience of countries that have gone through difficult post-conflict paths and discussed which lessons from that experience could be useful for Ukraine.

This block was complemented by a session on social cohesion, led by Aliona Matviichuk, a mediator, trainer, facilitator, and expert in community and civil society organization development. Participants gained a better understanding of what unites communities, what creates tension, how to assess people’s real needs, and how to work with sensitive topics through dialogue, cooperation, and the search for shared solutions.

Trauma-informed approach. Psychotherapist Marta Hladii spoke with the teams about how to communicate with people who have experienced loss, occupation, displacement, or other traumatic experiences without causing further harm. Participants learned to better recognize signs of trauma in behavior, build safe interactions, and care for psychological safety — both for event participants and for the trainers themselves.

The expert also held a separate session for team leaders, who will go on to work with local authorities and social service providers on implementing a trauma-informed approach within their communities.

What’s next?

The module concluded with community mapping. Participants analyzed the ecosystem of organizations and institutions in their regions and began identifying communication channels with youth, internally displaced persons, veterans, and other target audiences. Alongside this analytical work, the teams have already drawn up a list of priority topics for future legal education sessions, which they will soon bring to their communities.

The next stage is an inter-session practical period running until mid-summer 2026. During this time, teams will research the legal issues and challenges people in their communities face most often, refine the needs of their target groups, and develop their own Street Law session scenarios. In parallel, participants will take part in online sessions, receive feedback from trainers, and test their work in practice.

In September–October 2026, the teams will move into practical implementation: each will hold offline events in their communities. These will be legal education sessions for youth, internally displaced persons, veterans, families of service members, and other groups, designed around people’s real needs and local context. It is at this stage that the approaches and tools developed during the training will start working in practice — in direct interaction with people and communities.

The “Street Law Schools” Program is implemented within the framework of the “Human Rights Infrastructure for Ukraine” Program (2025–2027), funded by the Government of Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and implemented by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in partnership with the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine as an executing partner.