On May 22,2025 Lviv will host the second Ministerial Social Policy Summit

On May 22, 2025, Lviv will host the second Ministerial Social Policy Summit. This year’s theme: "Building Resilient Societies: Innovative Solutions for Demographic Change."

The summit will bring together more than 20 high-level representatives, including ministers from EU Member States, officials from the European Commission, international organizations, leading experts, and policymakers. They will discuss the current demographic challenges facing most European countries.

Russia’s full-scale aggression has significantly deepened Ukraine’s demographic crisis. According to the Institute for Demography and Life Quality of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, as of 2024, Ukraine’s population is estimated at 31 million. Around 4.6 million are internally displaced, and another 5 million remain abroad.

Declining birth rates, large-scale migration, and population ageing are challenges for Ukraine and Europe as a whole. This is why we are initiating this international summit — to unite countries searching for shared solutions.

The summit's goal is to strengthen strategic partnerships between the social policy ministries of participating countries, enhance international cooperation in social policy, and continue the global dialogue on supporting Ukraine’s and Moldova’s integration into the European Union.

Key topics to be discussed during the summit include:

Current demographic challenges and Europe’s future

Birth rates are falling, and populations are aging. Ukraine’s birth rate has dropped to a historic low — only 187,000 children were born in 2023. This is alarmingly low for a country of Ukraine’s size.

Another critical fact: over 25% of Ukrainians are over 60, meaning every fourth person is a pensioner.

These demographic imbalances, particularly the growing disparity between the working-age population and those requiring social support, burden the economy and pension and social protection systems and pose a long-term challenge to sustainable development.

Ukraine is adapting its social policy system to these challenges, notably through implementing the Demographic Development Strategy of Ukraine until 2040.

Its primary goals include increasing birth rates, reducing premature mortality, and ensuring population growth through migration.

Innovative approaches to overcoming demographic challenges

Supporting families with children

Integrating persons with disabilities into the labor market — enabling companies to implement full-cycle support, from employment to creating inclusive work environments and on-the-job assistance

Active aging and expanding opportunities for older people to participate in the labor market

A shared vision for future actions

The summit will highlight reform priorities in Ukraine and Moldova’s social policy sectors and outline the investment needed to implement them.

Special attention will be given to platforms for the development of joint projects such as Twinning (an EU institutional cooperation instrument aimed at strengthening administrative capacity for implementing EU law) and TAIEX (a technical assistance instrument of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement, supporting alignment and implementation of EU legislation).

The summit is organized by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova, in co-organization with the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of Sweden, and the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania, with the support of UNICEF in Ukraine.

Venue: The event will take place in Lviv (exact location will be announced on May 21 for security reasons).

Date: May 22, 2025

Start time: 10:00

Press briefing: 11:00

Please note: national TV crews will be allowed to record remarks from the opening panel participants. A press briefing will follow immediately after the panel.

To ensure safety and proper organization, we kindly ask all media outlets not to publish any content before 18:00. The organizers and summit participants will also refrain from sharing any information. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

Media accreditation is required to attend the event.

Please register by May 21, 11:00 using the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfapChiOur-xoz0nIskUYZNj3eeOn7JRoy69Yh9_YE5HTBWmA/viewform?usp=header

The Summit is organized at the initiative of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova, in co-organization with the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of Sweden and the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania, with the support of UNICEF in Ukraine.

Contacts:

Project Communications Manager: Darynа Skydan dashaskydan@gmail.com +380634165756

Head of Communications, Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine: Margaryta Chymyrys +38 050 27 88 742