In June, officially registered members of Foundations for Freedom had the opportunity to complete the “Getting to know the Community” survey. The process was initiated by our working group on behalf of the organisation's board in order to take into account data in strategic planning and to interact more effectively with the community during events and other activities. The main principles we followed when creating the questionnaire were confidentiality and free will. On the one hand, it was important for us that everyone in the community is confident that individual answers would not be made public, and on the other hand, to provide a choice to answer the questions or not [except a few mandatory ones]. We received answers from 35 out of 105 officially registered members: in the application form in Ukrainian [26] and English [9] which means 33.3% of community involvement. The questionnaire consisted of three parts. The sociological portrait allowed us to create a collective visualisation of what Foundations for Freedom [F4F] as a community is. The majority of respondents are Ukrainians [54.3%] by nationality. This monolith is diluted by a fairly wide range of representatives of other nationalities, significantly less in number to the majority group: Russians [8.6%], Poles [5.2%], French, British, Swiss, Swedish-Germans, Australians, Moldovans [3.5% each]. It is noteworthy that 5 people did not answer the question. This figure is the highest among non-answers to all other questions. The fact could be interesting to researchers studying identity issues.
Almost a third of respondents [68.6%] live in Ukraine [including Crimea – (2 persons)]. Other countries: England, Netherlands/Tel Aviv, Poland, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, Moldova. In most cases, the country of residence corresponds to the specified nationality. However, none of the Russians live in Russia, and there are noticeable signs of minor migration
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movements, as there are countries that do not correspond to these nationalities, in particular Netherlands / Tel Aviv.
As for residents of Ukraine, most people live in the central part of the country [Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava regions].
Women [68.6%], middle-aged people 35-44 [40%], and Christians by religion [62.9%] dominate among the respondents. The older generation 65+ is represented by friends of Ukraine from Western Europe. All of them also declared themselves as Christians. At the national level, there are no people of this age among the respondents. There are also no representatives of other religious denominations [Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, etc.] among the respondents. Instead, it is noticeable that 21% of the respondents don’t count themselves in the main religious denominations: 11.4% of respondents did not want to answer, it is complicated to answer – 8.6%.
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The majority of respondents are fluent in Ukrainian and English [65.7% and 48.8% respectively]. There is a percentage of foreigners who do not know Ukrainian [5.7%], and, conversely,
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Ukrainians who do not know English [11.4%]. However, communication from the organisation in two languages: Ukrainian and English would cover all respondents.
Most respondents work in the non-governmental sector. There is a significant part of those who are self-employed. As this question allowed for multiple answers, many respondents chose two options: the non-governmental sector and self-employment.
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Fields of activities in which the respondents work are diverse, but relate to the humanitarian field. These are ecology, journalism, education, culture, international development, community service, urban planning, architecture, participation, psychology, science, services, facilitation, communications, dialogue, project management, identity conflicts, humanitarian aid, conflict prevention and transformation, agriculture, peacebuilding, child protection. "Education" dominates – 13 mentions in 33 answers. The second block of questions was about needs. The answers to these questions helped us to understand how long people from the community have been familiar with the Initiatives of Change [IofC] and Foundations for Freedom, in which events they were involved, and what they expect.
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Slightly more than half of respondents [51.4%] have been familiar with IofC for more than 10 years. Three times less than those who know IofC 1-5 years [20%] or 5-10 years [17.1%]. One person has not yet had the opportunity to interact.
The most popular events organized by IofC: conferences, trainings and other similar events; the Human Security Forum at Caux; internship programs.
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Slightly more than half of the community [among the respondents] have been familiar with F4F for over 10 years [51.4%]. Minor quantitative differences are observed in other time frames. Those who filled out the questionnaire in English [almost all of them are foreigners from Western Europe] have known the organisation for at least 5 years.
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The most popular programs and events in which community members participated: conferences, workshops and other similar events; Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past programme, visiting courses, Dialogues in Ukrainian society, House in Baranivka, Club of Young Leaders and Week of Trust in Ukraine. It is also worth noting that among the programs from IofC and F4F, one person could take part in several events. And, accordingly, choose several answers from those suggested.
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We also learned about the values with which the community associates the organisation. Top 8 values: freedom, empathy, honesty, care, love, unselfishness, synergy, purity. All others received less than 10 votes. Among those suggested additionally were values such as: respect for the opinion of others, respect, the value of a peaceful way of interaction over violent ways, diversity, practice orientation, spirituality in its broadest sense, learning about neighbors.
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Respondents are most interested in the opportunity to participate in events and activities, meet other members of the community, and get involved in the activities of the organisation.
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Most often they receive information about the organisation via e-mail and from friends and colleagues. Email is also the most convenient channel of communication for the majority.
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If we describe the detailed answers to the questions about involvement or communication of F4F briefly, they all have the character of "time will tell" or "continue in the same spirit". This indicates that the community has no prejudices or specific expectations concerning F4F activity. Contributions. The analysis of the answers to the questions in this block helped us to understand what expertise and specialisations our community has. In this way we will be able to more actively involve those who are interested in the development of F4F and promote their personal development. Most respondents have not decided yet and are still thinking about which role they are ready to play. However, there is a significant proportion of those who can become a pro bono expert or a volunteer, a participant in events on a paid basis.
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Facilitation, organisation of events, project management and translation are the top areas in which the respondents specialise and want to invest this knowledge in F4F’s development. There is, however, a gap in the field of multimedia and design. There are no respondents who have such competencies. And, bingo! Almost all respondents are ready to invest their time for the development of the organisation. Yes, it can be an hour, five or ten, but the community's willingness to help grow the organisation motivates the board to move in that direction.
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All respondents answered almost all questions. This testifies to the spirit of openness of the community. We take this openness and the solid foundation of getting to know the community into the future, where we are already planning new meetings with you. Prepared by Liudmyla Levcheniuk Editing by Alex Azarov
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