The Association of Ukrainian Youth in Great Britain (CYM) was founded in 1948 by displaced Ukrainians who came to the UK either as part of the European Volunteer Worker (EVW) Scheme, or as Prisoners of War from Italy. First housed in hostels and refugee camps, the young Ukrainians began to organise themselves and their community as a way to maintain friendships, family links and Ukrainian customs whilst acclimatising to a new life in a new land. CYM's headquarters were initially at...

The Association of Ukrainian Youth in Great Britain (CYM) was founded in 1948 by displaced Ukrainians who came to the UK either as part of the European Volunteer Worker (EVW) Scheme, or as Prisoners of War from Italy. First housed in hostels and refugee camps, the young Ukrainians began to organise themselves and their community as a way to maintain friendships, family links and Ukrainian customs whilst acclimatising to a new life in a new land.

CYM's headquarters were initially at Tattersall camp until 1950, when they moved to the new head office purchased by the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB) at 49 Linden Gardens, London. In 1964, CYM moved its headquarters to a campsite and ex-army centre in Weston-on-Trent just outside Derby, which had been purchased to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Taras Shevchenko and was named Tarasivka in his honour. Tarasivka is still the headquarters for CYM and hosts a yearly educational and recreational summer camp and various other events and activities.

In 1950, CYM had around 2,300 members aged between 18 and 30, organised across 72 branches mainly in camps and hostels. As the Ukrainian community started to be relocated across the UK to work in agriculture and industry as part of the EVW scheme, the number of branches reduced and were located in the towns and cities with a sizeable Ukrainian community, and were often housed in the same building as the local AUGB branch. In the mid-1950s, CYM switched its focus to young people aged under 18 who had either arrived in the UK with their parents or were born in the UK. CYM membership peaked in the mid-1970s when there were around 3,600 members and 35 branches. Current membership is around 900 members and 13 branches.

CYM branches organise educational meetings for younger members which focus on Ukrainian history and culture and many branches have performing arts groups such as choirs, folk dance groups and musical groups. Before 1991, CYM was worked to advocate for the Ukrainian nation, lobbying and campaigning against the Soviet system. Some branches have active sports groups.

There are also annual regional and national rallies where the performing arts groups compete against one another. The national rallies were held at Victoria Park and De Montfort Hall in Leicester before moving to Tarasivka in the 1990s. The annual educational and recreational camps began in 1954 and were initially held at the AUGB’s Sydenhurst residential home near Godalming in Surrey before moving to Tarasivka in 1964. In the 1960s and 1970s, additional camps were held in Scotland and in northern England (at Thackley, near Bradford).

CYM is an international organisation, with branches all over the world including the large diasporas of America and Canada, as well as in Ukraine. CYM has a strong record of publishing which began in December, 1949 with a magazine called The Voice of Youth (Holos Molodi), which evolved into a regular page in the weekly Ukrainian language newspaper The Ukrainian Thought (Ukrainska Dumka) published in London. The Call of Youth (Yunastkyj Klych) was created at the summer camp for many years, and now CYM has a website and active presence on various social media channels.