Youth Leadership Forum 2026: Leadership, Values, and Communities

The Youth Leadership Forum 2026 took place in Ivano-Frankivsk from 12 to 14 February, bringing together 60 students, intern doctors and professionals from various regions of Ukraine. Over three days of sessions, nine speakers and ten moderators came together to create an inspiring environment. 

The event was opened by Mariia Karchevych, Deputy Minister of Health for Digital Development; Olena Ihnashchuk, our Project’s Medical Education Coordinator; Nataliia Melnychenko, Deputy Head of Rehabilitation for Ukraine, and Matviy Khrenov, co-founder of the Ukrainian Health Centre (UHC). 

The programme was structured around several major topics. On the first day, Matviy Khrenov spoke about leadership, power and ethics and immediately offered a different perspective on a concept that is often viewed negatively: 

“True leadership is the exact opposite of what is now called Machiavellianism. Because power must be based on trust, the ability to negotiate and communicate.” 

Over the next days, the programme delved deeper. Military officer and combat medic Viktoria Kovach spoke about the context in which we live and make decisions, and about how important it is to see reality for what it is.  

Pavlo Kovtoniuk, co-founder of UHC and former Deputy Minister of Health, shared his thoughts on life and resilience in times of crisis. Olga Romanchuk worked with the participants on the topic of digital identity exploring who we are beyond our professional roles and how this shapes trust and influence. 

The participants moved through three themed stations in turn — on career, community and personal development. Each group was facilitated by moderators that ensured deeper discussion and building interdisciplinary connections. 

A separate session focused on values: young professionals did not only discuss what had positively influenced their professional development, but also what had had a destructive impact, i.e., attitudes and practices that take shape still at university and which are worth re-evaluating. 

Between lectures, there was also time for a book club: Matviy Khrenov moderated a discussion on the book Call Sign Chaos: Leadership Lessons from Former Pentagon Chief Jim Mattis.  

The Forum was organised by the Ukrainian Health Centre (UHC) with the support and funding of the Ukrainian-Swiss Project “Medical Education Development” and Rehabilitation for Ukraine and was made possible thanks to the generous support of the American people. The Forum’s educational partners were the Global Medical Knowledge Alliance and OncoHub. The communications partner was Medixy.