From destruction to creation by Golodnikova Yuliya

УДК 316.6/.7(477) ББК 60.56(4Укр) Г 61

Compiled by Yuliya Golodnikova Design: Tetyana Zabolotna, Yegor Ryabokon’ Translation: Sergii Kolomiiets Photos made by: Petro Smirnov, Sergiy Aniskov, Tetyana Popovych The handbook presents the experience of implementing cultural initiatives in the framework of the “From Destruction to Creation. Ways of Reconciliation in the Ukrainian Society” Project financed by The Federal Foreign Office of Germany. The project was implemented by Non-governmental organization “Integration and Development Center for Information and Research” in partnership with the Representative office of the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association (DVV International) in Ukraine. The initiative is based on the results and is a logical continuation of the “Mutual Future of the Ukrainian Society After Maidan. Facilitating Mutual Understanding and Cooperation in Conflict Prevention” Project and is aimed at the development of partnership and cooperation approach in local communities through the implementation of diverse cultural initiatives aimed at deconstructing stereotypes, building mutual respect and strengthening trust. The publication is financed by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany. The contents of the publication are the sole liability of the authors of articles and interviews and do not necessarily reflect the standpoint of DVV International and Non-governmental organization “Integration and Development Center for Information and Research”. The copyright to the handbook is held by DVV International and Non-governmental organization “Integration and Development Center for Information and Research”. Publication of the handbook without express permit from DVV International and Non-governmental organization “Integration and Development Center for Information and Research”. ISBN 978-617-7356-02-7

CONTENTS Oleg Smirnov: When people acknowledge the value of multiculturalism, the society starts moving forward.................................2 Yuliya Golodnikova: “Patchwork blanket” of Creative Approaches to Human Reconciliation..................................................................3 16 mini projects = 16 approaches to solving local community issues through cultural initiatives.........................................................4

Mini-Projects Replacing Walls with Open Windows: How Zhytomyr Integrates Resettlers into the Community.......................................................................................7 Seeking out Communication Platforms: How Kirovohrad Opens Itself Up to Resettlers........................................12 “ZЛАТОМІSТО”: Modern Dialog Theater as a Tool of Social Issues Solution.......................................................14 Southern Initiative: Seeing What the Community Lives with In Focus...................................................................16 Oleksandr Sliusar: About Sumy City and Its Residents.........................................................................................18 The “Living Anew. Theater as an Opportunity” Project by Dialogue NGO.............................................................21 From Ladies Singing during Handiwork to the Creation of New Community. Stitch by Stitch, Step by Step................................................................................................................................24 How Kherson Residents Shake the City with Art Interventions.............................................................................27 Open ART — the Language of Modernity, the Language of Dialogue...................................................................33 “Language without Violence”: How Should a Step into the Future Be Made?.......................................................35 Сommunication: a Pathway to Unity.......................................................................................................................37 About the City, the Community and Its Values........................................................................................................39 “Angels of Peace” Settled in Luhansk...................................................................................................................43 The Routes of the “Tolerance Bus”........................................................................................................................47 How Can You Change the Cultural Life of Your City?.............................................................................................49 From Hate Speech to Kindness Speech................................................................................................................53

Training Program The Team of Trainers.............................................................................................................................................56 Thematic Directions of Seminars and Trainings....................................................................................................58

Cultural Visit of Lviv Program The Unknown Known Lviv: the Memory of Generations and the Reconciliation of Memories.........................................................................61 What Does War Teach Us?....................................................................................................................................65 Yaroslav Hrytsak: Shifting to the Open Access Mode ..........................................................................................67 Supply Generates Demand: KLASTER Urban Initiative on the Speciﬁc Features and Challenges of the On-The-Block Culture.........................................................................................................69 The Path to Community Development Lies through the Revival of Traditions.......................................................74

Oleg Smirnov: When people acknowledge the value of multiculturalism, the society starts moving forward Today, people are more often aware that they can resolve many issues locally, that it is possible in cooperation with the local community and local government bodies. Civil society independently initiates open dialogues, thus endeavoring to remove intercultural misunderstandings and prevent social dissidences.

The “From Destruction to Creation. Ways of Reconciliation in the Ukrainian Society” Project is aimed at overcoming the many discrepancies that are manifested in the perception of today’s situation in Ukraine and the controversial vision of common future. A look at conflicts through cultural initiatives that is offered in this project places emphasis on the very value of diversity and creates conditions for promoting genuine multiculturalism. And specific practical tools in the cultural domain have been worked out that can be used in resolving conflict situations. Can it be stated that this approach is effective? Yes, it can work as a preventive one, because respect for cultural differences is one of social competences that can be cultivated. The issues communication barriers and cultural differences can be resolved in the process of a closer interaction between people. It is getting to know each other that yields an opportunity to exist in a common space, when people agree on the way of resolving problematic matters. We hope that timely and purpose-driven educational and awareness-raising efforts in Ukraine on different levels with the involvement of people espousing different views, which are aimed at encouraging tolerance in relations between the proponents of these different views, will facilitate eliminating the threat of instability and creating conditions for economic and social revival. Oleg Smirnov, Country Director DVV International in Ukraine

www.dvv-international.org.ua

Yuliya Golodnikova: “Patchwork blanket” of Creative Approaches to Human Reconciliation Resettlers. The word has turned into the topic of numerous publications by journalists, discussions by experts, monologues by politicians and everyday talks at flea markets, in trams, stores, trains… Displacement of people, borders, and institutions has become an impetus for the society to reconsider the things that hold us together, and, most importantly, to seek an answer to the question: what does our experience of “holding together” mean? Participants of the “From Destruction to Creation. Ways of Reconciliation in the Ukrainian Society” Project discovered new opportunities to build a dialogue with those who left something behind moved away, are adapting, seeking employment, housing or interlocutors, who start from scratch. 16 mini projects were dedicated to revisiting the “debris” of our recent past, barriers on the way to mutual understanding, and culture capacity building for creative works. The representatives of nongovernmental organizations, employees of libraries, museums, theaters and galleries, teachers and students of higher educational institutions, leaders of youth clubs and unions, public servants – all of them interacted while organizing art festivals, biographical cafes, craft studios, conflict prevention training sessions, movie screenings, rock festivals, performances, master classes and flash mobs. Some of them took up a brush or a camera for the first time, opened a museum door for outlandish ideas and caricatures of N.V. Gogol exhibition… Someone knocked at the doors of resettlers’ houses and invited them to a concert, gathered people for tea and offered to talk; someone bought threads and fabric. We wanted to sew together, to join, to collect a patchwork of creative approaches to the reconciliation of very diverse people. We were very happy when within the “From Destruction to Creation. Ways of Reconciliation in the Ukrainian Society” Project new unplanned initiatives sprung up, when people, getting acquainted with each other at our training sessions, found fresh ideas and launched new project topics, met likeminded people and talked about their vision of partnership on the community level. We mixed a few regions together, having invited trainers and mentors from Western Ukraine to come to the South-East. And we took the Cultural Exchange Program participants to the West. And there, in Lviv, they came across the same community issues that they faced back home… We were seeking like-minded people, realizing that in our cities it is very difficult to speak about communities, as people are only learning to interact together: to make deals, to plan, to employ peaceful methods in order to make the authorities take responsible decisions. As we were finding like-minded people, we grew aware of just how important it is for the local community to support the values of the culture of accepting those who differ. Because a meeting with resettlers may become both an opportunity for new positive development and a pretext for hostility… And most of all we strived not to let the “From Destruction to Creation. Ways of Reconciliation in the Ukrainian Society” Project participants lock in their “success zones”, but, instead, encouraged them to develop organizational capacity and cooperate with the community. Knowledge and skills that they obtained through the training program within the project will become valuable only if they are passed on to others. And this is by no means a pathetic phrase; it is the principle of efficient use of resources. Yuliya Golodnikova “From Destruction to Creation. Ways of Reconciliation in the Ukrainian Society” Project Manager

16 mini projects = 16 approaches to solving local community issues through cultural initiatives: 1. Library as the Bridge of Cultural Integration of Internally Displaced Persons into Local Community, Parytet Zhytomyr Regional Youth Non-Governmental Organization. 2. Cultural Center: IDP Integration Into the Social Life of Kirovohrad Region, Turbota NGO. 3. Modern Dialog Theater as a Tool of Social Issues Solution, Poltatva branch of the Social Service of Ukraine. 4. Our Days in Focus, Southern Initiative Sustainable Development Club NGO, Mykolaiv. 5. The Cultural Marathon in Sumy Region, Intellect Sumshchyny Public Initiatives Center, a Sumy Regional Non-Governmental Organization. 6. Living Anew. Theater as an Opportunity, Dialog Mykolaiv Regional NonGovernmental Organization. 7. I Am Embarking on a New Path! Nove Storicchia Mykolaiv Regional Charity Fund. 8. Art Approaches to Dialogue, Zakhyst NGO, Kherson. 9. Can Action Sociocultural Project, OMC Plus NGO, Poltava. 10. Settlement of Conﬂict Situations in Youth Community. Hate Speech-Free Language, Center Youth Non-Governmental Association, Kirovohrad. 11. Historical and Cultural Heritage as the Guarantee of Unity, Cherkasy Oﬃce of the Care for the Elderly in Ukraine All-Ukrainian Charitable Organization. 12. Love for Homeland Equals Peace and Prosperity, Strategic Initiatives Center NGO, Khmelnytskyi. 13. Cultural Space: A Place for Dialogue and Mutual Understanding, Poltava Regional Organization of the Writers’ Union of Ukraine. 14. Building Tolerant Communities in the South of Kherson Region, Perspektyva Nova Kakhovka City Youth Non-Governmental Organization. 15. Unity in Diversity, Young Scientists Council NGO, Sumy. 16. From Hate Speech to Kindness Speech, Obyedineniye Kherson Regional Charity Fund. 4

www.dvv-international.org.ua

13 3

10 0

14 4

11 1

15 5

12 2

16 6

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS Mindset, values and beliefs that are often jointly attributed to “culture” play an undeniable role in the conduct and progress of humanity. This became obvious to me after I had worked in the midst of different nations and religions, in different countries and cities, in companies at different stages of development. The question is not whether culture plays a role; rather, it is about understanding its role in the context of different decisive factors of wellbeing. Michael E. Porter, The Competitive Advantage of Nations

Replacing Walls with Open Windows: How Zhytomyr Integrates Resettlers into the Community

Pictured: Olena Ostapchuk and Natalia Tarasenko

For the last three years, Parytet Youth NonGovernmental Organization has been active in Zhytomyr region implementing projects pertaining to important social issues of the region. The organization’s initiative group is made up of the members of the Gender Education Center, which has been working at the premises of I. Franko Zhytomyr State University since 2007. The activists were prodded towards going beyond the framework of the educational institution, as they themselves share, by the desire to break free from regulation, but the gender component still remains one of the focus areas for them.

However, the events of the last two years in Ukraine, in particular, the start of the mass wave of resettlement of citizens from territories that had been occupied and became crisis spots on the country’s map, impacted the focus of Parytet’s activities. This autumn, the organization initiated the project titled Library as the Bridge of Cultural Integration of Internally Displaced Persons into Local Community aimed at building relations between resettlers from Crimea and Eastern Ukraine on the one hand and the community of Zhytomyr region on the other, by way of cultural dialogue. Project manager, Olena Ostapchuk, and the manager of Parytet, Natalia Tarasenko, shared about the main needs of internally displaced persons, as well as how reconciliation is currently taking place in Zhytomyr region community. Is there any statistics concerning the number of people who resettled to Zhytomyr region from the East and Crimea? Natalia Tarasenko: To date, the approximate number is 8,000 people. Those are the people who registered officially, having obtained documents confirming the internally displaced person status. Although the unofficial figure may reach 9,000, as there are people who simply came over, who rent a residence and try to find work without the receipt of a respective certificate. How are resettlers active in the social life of the region in general? Olena Ostapchuk: It seems to me that what matters here is demonstrating to IDPs what possibilities for inclusion in social life there are in a certain region. In the context of

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS our initiative, we do not separate resettles who need to be integrated from the community that hosts displaced persons. The project rests upon the idea that it is a bilateral process. The community also has its needs and interests, in order to get to know resettlers better, to do away with own prejudices and stereotypes. Because the situation is ambiguous, and people on either side have their notions of what the residents of the East and Crimea look like and what their mindset is. Respectively, the resettlers, in their turn, have their own needs, and we talk about the fact that these people, both resettlers and host communities, can communicate in the context of a mutual activity. They discern possibilities and hear each other. And this is facilitated by cultural events that we organized at the premises of libraries. I mean, the library has become a platform where various social initiatives come to life. These include live libraries, master classes, and serious round tables likewise. They involve both the resettlers of today and those who were resettled from the alienation zone due to Chernobyl catastrophe. That is, when people gather at a round table, they realize that they themselves had faced the same issues and challenges. Natalia Tarasenko: For example, in Korosten, one of the events was recently held in the format of a live library, where live books actually were people from Eastern regions. One of them was a lady who came to Zhytomyr region with children and works as a doctor now. When she was asked how her work was going, she replied that she moved here not to receive help, but so that she herself has a chance to help others. Therefore, it is vital to give resettlers an opportunity to see where they can fulﬁll their potential in the community that they live in. 8

Olena Ostapchuk: Based on my own observations as a project coordinator, I see that the most difficult thing is to create atmosphere that would truly make people believe that they are welcome here, that they can find support here, that they will be appreciated and respected, that people here take interest in them. Because at times IDPs are skeptical; they are taken to certain events, shown something, ushered into the domain of culture. But when people remain outside of such endeavors and are not involved in the process, this is not reflected in them. For instance, we arranged one very interesting event for children in Berdychiv. One boy, who was giving an interview for the television, said it was the first time he really had fun. And I have come to understand it that he had been taken to all events, culturalized and socialized, but this was the first time the kid had fun. A participant of the card making master class

www.dvv-international.org.ua

Participants of the “Four Times Cultural, Countless Times Heartfelt City Visiting Card” seminar (Berdychiv)

Mother and her daughter – participants of the “Discovering the Pearls of the Hometown with a Book Guide: An Artistic and Local Studies Stagecoach” seminar (Zhytomyr)

Within this project, you moved away from your main target audience and focused on a little older segment of Zhytomyr region population, didn’t you? Natalia Tarasenko: Indeed, we do have activities that are, for the most part, oriented towards adult population, for example, round tables. Yet, at the same time, we oﬀer activities targeted mainly at children and their parents as a related secondary target audience. Olena Ostapchuk: We also took into account the existing problems of displaced persons. We found out that they are diverse. As, for example, having a circle of children who will come to your birthday party. In the context of one of the events, we congratulated a resettler girl. Children united and congratulated her, made a party for her. In addition to the fact that many needs pertain to leisure, some cultural aspirations, from our experience, it is important to arrange events oﬀering master classes, with opportunities for cooperation, where resettlers

are chief actors who demonstrate that there are things that they can share. From among many other areas of cultural cooperation, why did you precisely opted for such a platform as a library? Natalia Tarasenko: We based our efforts on what could unite communities in district centers, small towns and villages. In view of the previous experience, we have arrived at the idea that the role of such a hub can be played by a library only. It is a place without politics that can truly bring people together. After conducting thematic trainings with library workers, we held a contest among them and first selected the communities that welcomed the largest number of displaced persons. In the process of that we arrived at the conclusion that a library can indeed be that resource and that institution that unites people regardless of their age, territory they come from, and religious affiliation. Because, in the first place, it meansaccess to books, and involvement in reading, and a general cultural core either in a village or a small town. Very often, librarians in such villages and towns are public opinion leaders. And if they really see and understand the needs of their

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS community, taking proper steps to meet those needs, regardless of where people come from, can be the cornerstone of success and speedy integration of internally displaced persons. Do I understand it correctly that in reality there is no such a decline of libraries as can seem to uninformed people? Olena Ostapchuk: It is not a secret that today a library is not an institution in the conventional sense that only provides books. It diversifies its forms, in order to be of interest to people, so that the community wants to maintain it with taxes that it pays in the light of decentralization. We believe such practices to be successful when a library walks away from its conventional functions and expands the scope of its activities. It all fits in very well with development perspectives that we have in our country. Natalia Tarasenko: In view of the situation in Zhytomyr region, libraries that hosted our events are not neglected. They operate actively and we attempted at demonstrating that there appeared a group of people who can share the fruit of their creativity in libraries. Among the IDPs, there are very many talented people who can sing, dance, write poetry. It is important to discern this resource, to open it up in such an informal atmosphere. How many people among displaced persons have been involved with your project? Olena Ostapchuk: With six events, we have reached out to nearly two hundred people. Half of them were resettlers, for sure. We intentionally didn’t organize activities which only internally displaced persons would participate in, because their inclusion ought to be organic, so that the local community gets involved with the project and makes a contribution towards the socialization of the people who found themselves in such difficult circumstances. Respectively, resettlers also wanted to secure mutual understanding, establish the culture of neighborliness, and find common ground in order to understand certain traditions of the region they currently reside in. 10

Were there any major issues that you encountered along the way of implementing your initiative? Olena Ostapchuk: I wouldn’t say we faced issues; rather, those were risks of fully trusting people who were to implement it all in the field. When during the instruction seminar we started discussing the needs of internally displaced persons, not all librarians could relate to them and most often they offered events within the direct possibilities of institutions – informing and leisure activities, conducting exhibitions etc. In reality, the needs of people that have the resettler status today are so diverse that there is room for creativity, if only library workers have willingness take respective steps. We supported the applications of highly motivated people, because we saw their potential. There were apprehensions about complete trust, about passing our “creation” into the hands of others, but these risks were minimized to the greatest extent possible. Within the project, you speak about reconciliation. In your opinion, how should it occur so that people may accept different cultures and not harm each other? Natalia Tarasenko: It seems to me that such integration may take place if there is perception and understanding of these cultures. But dialogue is vital for that, so that two parties are interested in finding common ground, are willing to learn about culture, for example, of the people of Crimea and the native residents of Lviv or Zhytomyr. Provision, on the state level, of everyday-life conditions is important; however, if there is no such basis through the expansion of social contracts, it seems to me that a great gap will remain between us. Olena Ostapchuk: In support of Natalia’s standpoint, I would like to give you an example of how in Berdychiv, in the framework of our project, an event for children was held. The core idea was that Berdychiv is the city of four cultures – Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, and Jewish. All of that was interpreted through

www.dvv-international.org.ua

dramatizations, jokes, folklore, including how resettlers should find their way around in the city, what streets there are, what central institutions there are, how they relate to culture and history. In the end, everyone was invited to enjoy a table that featured the cuisine of these four cultures. That is cultural integration in action, but it must not be imposing. We shouldn’t put a national costume on someone without their consent and make them love us and our patriotism. Such things should be avoided at all cost, and, instead, you should offer to people what is yours. If they like it, they will be able to get involved, but we must respect them for who they are. What was the feedback about your project, both on the part of its direct participants and the community? Olena Ostapchuk: It seems to me that the indicator of efficiency of a certain event is when people come back, when they come next week, or, for example in a day. When they stay in touch with the people they met. We have a lot of feedback when people generally stand up and thank for a good event and I want to believe that this feedback is sincere. But if people stay in touch with each other, for me it is a weightier indicator of performance than a kind word about an event. We believe in a long-term result. It is not easy to find these subtle facets, to find something to unite people around and replace the walls with open windows, or open doors – you can pick different metaphors to depict that. Natalia Tarasenko: In a similar manner, after events we get calls from librarians with whom we conduct a psychotherapy session, they are filled with emotions and sensations. Library staff says that they open new sides of themselves. I mean, they have feelings, like, for example, actors performing onstage for the first time. Olena Ostapchuk: Libraries find it easier to conduct events whereby there is a need to arrange certain concerts. More difficult

for them are such interactive forms as a live library, because it all needs to be experienced firsthand and then reflected upon. However, on the other hand, we see that it brings a more intense effect for the employees of institutions that know a thing or two about the needs of internally displaced persons. They will not be saying things like, “Alright, let us go ahead and learn Ukrainian”, with all my respect for the Ukrainian language. Because for IDPs, who have trouble finding nourishment for the day or a place to stay, or a gift for their child’s birthday, that may not be a primary need. Many resettlers are very homesick. Very much. Although, for some of them, especially parents whose children have adapted well, they attend a school or a kindergarten, it is a reason to permanently reside where they are staying at the time. We do understand that the other part of resettlers looks forward to returning home at the earliest opportunity. But today they live here and we need to work with that, because it is not quite clear where their future life will continue, and how easy the return may be. By Mariia Pedorenko Pictured: Writer, literary critic and publisher Vasyl Gabor at the “Literature Meeting” (Zhytomyr)

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS Seeking out Communication Platforms: How Kirovohrad Opens Itself Up to Resettlers

Master class on artistic plasterwork with Mykola and Nelia Firsov

For two and a half months, the activists of Turbota NGO, for the purpose of integrating the residents of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk regions into the social and, as a result, economic life of Kirovohrad region, familiarized them with cultural in historical monuments. “At first sight, the residents of Kirovohrad region and IDPs are not that different; however, even minor differences create barriers for the integration of people from Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk into the community”, shared the “Cultural Center: IDP Integration Into the Social Life of Kirovohrad Region” Project manager Olha Hridnieva. The newcomers to Kirovohrad region were granted the chance to see the beauty of the steppe hellas firsthand in the context of three excursions. At first, the events were 12

planned exclusively for the IDPs, however, after the ﬁrst trip; journalists joined the group, since such tours present a great opportunity for informal socializing between the mass media representatives and the resettlers. “Our Kirovohrad Region” Intellectual Tournament gathered the teams from diﬀerent areas of the region: Kirovohrad, Novohorodka, Oleksandriya, Znamianka, Bobrynets, Mala Vyska, Holovanivsks districts. Local resident and IDP teams participated in the tournament. The process of mutual preparation for the game, the search of information on prominent monuments, the history of Kirovohrad region united participants and facilitated the atmosphere of mutual understanding and cooperation in the community. Another event that became an excellent platform for communication and the discussion of joint projects was the masters’ fair, in which famous artists Nelia and Mykola Firsov, Olha Kolomiiets, Anatolii Kimnatnyi and others took part. During the educational events of the project, invited journalists found out about the main issues of IDPs that often remain without

www.dvv-international.org.ua

attention of the mass media. According to IDPs themselves, in addition to resolving the issues of settling in the new living space (difficulties in finding housing, problems with the possibility of official employment and tax payment, medical services, placing children with kindergartens and schools), a rather acute problem is the difference of cultures and low awareness of the internally displaced persons in respect of the specific features of the way of life, history and culture of local communities.

By all means, the cultural diﬀerences between the residents of Kirovohrad region and internally displaced persons are as essential, as, for example, in Lviv region; however, they create barriers for the integration of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk residents into the social, and, as a result, economic life of the region. Therefore, cultural initiatives become a nice way to get to know each other, to commence a conversation about main things, that is, our common things.

Master class on body art from Kirovohrad Professional Services Lyceum

Master class on plaiting with Olha Kolomiiets

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS “ZЛАТОМІSТО”: Modern Dialog Theater as a Tool of Social Issues Solution Every country in which a part of the community is forced to leave their homes behind, suffers stress. It becomes a usual thing for its residents and almost invisible to those whom it does not pertain to directly. Documentary drama that uses a verbatim format is an efficient tool to draw society’s attention to other people’s problems. In the framework of the Modern Dialog Theater as a Tool of Social Issues Solution initiative, ZЛАТОМІSТО play was produced. It builds upon the materials of interviews conducted with Poltava residents and internally displaced persons. What is the play about? According to dry official data, the play revolves around about ten real lives. Is that enough to comprehend the scope of Ukraine’s present-day tragedy? Can that be deemed indicative of the modern Ukrainian society? Involved in the work on the project were Poltava playwright Iryna Harets, Crimean director Halyna Dzhykaieva, theatrical professionals and amateurs from Poltava, Kharkiv, and Kyiv. By Hanna Starkova

www.dvv-international.org.ua

An interview with a playwright Iryna Harets

Director Halyna Dzhykaieva at a rehearsal

A documentary exhibition is a vivid example of the “new drama” style. It does not oﬀer anything unambiguous – either evil only or good only. It is about a presentday hero and our time. About his catastrophes, neuroses, about the most painful things in life and about comical things” Natalia Vorozhbyt

Zlatomisto play rehearsal

The final scene of Zlatomisto play

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS Southern Initiative: Seeing What the Community Lives with In Focus

The Southern Initiative Project of the Sustainable Development Club NGO encompasses: Expanding access of youth in rural areas to the use of modern media technology methods for the integration of local communities; The development of teambuilding and leadership skills in the young people from rural areas through participation in the creation of materials within uniting media projects: creating a video, a magazine and a poster; The consolidation of two rural communities through their participation in the creation of joint photo exhibitions and portable demo platforms; Establishing a civilly responsible and active youth group through the participation in the Creation School; Informing local communities about the possibilities of cultural initiatives in the solution of conďŹ&#x201A;ict situations; Nearly 4,000 visitors of the photo exhibition who participated in the informal discussion of problem questions; Building the culture of neighborliness among the village residents of the southern region; New opportunities for a community to use local culture development technologies. 16

www.dvv-international.org.ua

Young visitors of the Our Days in Focus exhibition

Pictured: Kateryna Halenko, project manager

A Fragment of the Our Days in Focus exhibition

Study Visit to the Photo Studio

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS Oleksandr Sliusar: About Sumy City and Its Residents

Pictured: Oleksandr Sliusar

They say that when the wind of change blows you should spread your sails. That is what Intelekt Sumshchyny Non-Governmental Organization did: its participants not only find ideas and money for projects, but also discover the community’s potential. The Cultural Marathon: what is it about and who is it for? Our idea consisted in conducting cultural events for city residents that would help them understand and cope with conflict situations at work, at home or other everyday situations. To that end, we held five events: a training session, following which social video clips were filmed; a media café; a photo exhibition; demonstration of modern Ukrainian movies; and a rock festival. In the process of

www.dvv-international.org.ua

conducting the marathon, we cooperated with an organization from Kyiv called Modern Ukrainian Cinema. They helped us involve movie directors with whom discussions were arranged after viewing. The most energetic response to a short movie in Sumy was after the movie Immigrada, in which protagonists who left the country tell about our problems and shortcomings. That was great! How did Sumy community react to your project? What was the response like? Oftentimes events like ours are visited by people whom all the organizers know; this time, however, people from the street came, they asked diﬀerent questions, showed interest in cinema. They write right to this day asking when movie demonstrations will be held again. For Sumy, it is not typical. During the project, we tried to stir people, and we managed to do that. What dies the city lack to become the cultural center of the region? In our city, there are many youth initiatives. For middle-aged and employed people, we have two theaters – they are developing slowly, but still developing. I think, we do not have enough projects like ours. It is a problem, because we do not have a clear strategy, and it turns out that for two months when marathon was being held people showed interest. And right now things are quiet around here. What is Sumy for you? People. We do not have any special architecture or nature, but simple people are only here, in Sumy. I am tied to

many of them. Like any other region of the country, Sumy has active people, passive people, and simpletons. We even had a project in the city: billboards were posted with the inscription Sumy: the City of Simpletons. At the background, there was a questions mark, which no one noticed… How long ago did the youth movement in Sumy begin? I guess everything started changing after the student revolution of 2004. It was the time when “idea generators” appeared who learned how to organize projects, to look for grants and began doing something. Sumy is a young city and now the key source for changes there is precisely the youth. For me personally, the main impetus was Euromaidan. After it, I joined Sumy movements that work towards innovations. By Petro Smirnov

The training goes on...

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS Media Café as a Successful Format of Problem Discussions Two people are looking at the same thing – a glass of water. Each one sees it differently, because they look through limpid bands of differing colors. The conclusion seems to be simple and obvious: so often we look at the same thing and see it differently. In the process of discussing and exchanging ideas, new notes sound all of a sudden. Sasha: “It does not suffice making a philosophical conclusion that we see the world differently. So what? What clearly lacks here is a constructive proposal…” Denys: “We need to swap bands, so we can look at a situation through another person’s eyes, to see things the way the other person sees them. In that way it will become possible to stop being stubborn and proving the obvious…” This dialogue took place in our media café. This format of work was borrowed for the “Cultural Marathon in Sumy Region” Project from our colleagues in Volyn region, Bohdana Stelmakh and Oksana Yarosh (Volyn Pres-Club and the Gender Center). We expanded the possibilities of the media café towards practical analysis of conflicts in groups with participants representing different generations, and the selected form received new meaning.

What is a media café? It is a discussion of problem cases in an easy atmosphere with the use of multimedia and the participation of experts and media representatives. The focus group method + involving as a moderator an experienced expert trainer in conflict management = successful work. Moreover, the selected media café format allowed fulfilling another task: the authors of demonstrated videos received feedback and were able to get their thoughts and messages across. Professional recommendations and friendly suggestions were voiced in a cozy atmosphere at a table with a cup of tea or coffee. One of the plots pertained to a father-son conflict: A father and his grownup son fell out with each other; when the father called, the son didn’t answer. This situation recurred over and over… For the father, this call was very important, he needed help. Soon after, he passed away and didn’t get to hear his son’s voice again. After the viewing of the video, participants’ reactions were different: Kyryl: It is best to express everything that’s on your heart, not in a monologue though, but in a dialogue... Dasha: You need to be able to hear what the other party has to say. Even if it is unpleasant and you know beforehand what you are going to hear. And to continue communication, not disrupt it. Katia: We aren’t always aware of just how important it is to hear out a person. Everyone knows this inside. But at times, even when listening to a person, we don’t quite hear them, rather, attributing to them characteristics that we make up ourselves, we believe a person to be of a certain kind or not of a certain kind, and we do not endeavor to discern what the person really is. Today, our communication seems to be active and intense, but it is online… It can’t always be called communication. It is somehow stereotypical. So... Two people are looking at the same thing – a glass of water. But it becomes more interesting when they change places with each other. By Yurii Petrushenko

www.dvv-international.org.ua

The “Living Anew. Theater as an Opportunity” Project by Dialogue NGO

A Scene from the play The Cardiogram of Indiﬀerence

Dialog Non-Governmental Organization worked on the implementation of the “Living Anew. Theater as an Opportunity” Project, the aim of which was to attempt at changing the attitude of Mykolaiv region residents toward internally displaced persons. For the achievement of this goal, project participants decided to employ the documentary theater method that allows receiving a ready creative product – a documentary play The Cardiogram of Indiﬀerence. This documentary performance is based on real stories of people whose life changed dramatically after the beginning of occupation and the breaking out

of the military conflict in the East of Ukraine. The idea to work with internally displaced persons through the documentary theater format belongs to the project manager, Yanina Kovalchuk, and directortrainer Larisa Kalinina. At present, there are approximately eight and a half thousand resettlers currently residing in Mykolaiv region. When the decision was made to implement for them the “Living Anew. Theater as an Opportunity” Project, an idea emerged to employ groundbreaking technologies in the work. Dialog’s previous experience came in handy, when the documentary play creation methodology was used in the work with other groups of people. The task set before us was not an easy one – helping IDPs to adapt socially, to get used, to “enter” our city space, for which reason we got acquainted and socialized with them and sounded out their issues. The creation of The Cardiogram of Indifference play was preceded by formidable preliminary work. For the implementation of the project, different people were brought together, who had been complete strangers, and many had no experience of stage activities, let along using the unknown method of documentary theater. People needed to get to know each other, find common ground, create a team that would be united with one common cause, and, most importantly, virtually all project participants needed help in resolving their inner psychological issues and changing attitude to the surrounding reality. We had many volunteers, in particular, crisis psychologists, art therapists, drama

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS therapists. Among those involved in the creation of the play, there were high schoolers, college students, middle-aged and retired people. A lot had to be done to unite them into a team that we have today. Sessions with different contents were held. Conducted at the first stage were trainings aimed at helping people get to know each other, facilitate emancipation, build trust, gain teamwork skills, discover dormant creativity reserves and so on. Helpful in this regard were sessions with psychologists, a master class on working with clay and a master class on working with a mask. Clay and mask were the tools through which participants were able to better understand other participants of the group, to cognize and accept themselves. A challenging stage of work was the choice of a topic for the future play and the interview: the most significant theme for many was human indifference. The cornerstone of the documentary play creation was work on the interview with strangers. Over the time, many participants built The Cardiogram of Indifference

their confidence in their strengths and dialogue conducting skills, developed a willingness to listen and hear. And this helped to secure a situation when in the documentary play The Cardiogram of Indifference actors weren’t presenting fictitious stories onstage; instead, they addressed the spectator in a comprehensible, plain language with regard to an inconvenient acute socially significant topic. The monologues were created from adjusted talks and interviews with a few dozens of Mykolayiv residents and internally displaced persons. Actors, project participants reconsidered and sieved through themselves monologues and stories that were incorporated into the play; frequently, at rehearsals, the eyes of many of them were brimming with tears due to empathy in respect of certain stories. The important thing was that for each project participant work on The Cardiogram of Indifference was a test of a kind to check their indifference and sympathy. Many monologs caused disputes within the crew, breaking certain life paradigms and stereotypes. The performance was going not onstage; actors were separated from spectators by a distance of approximately 1.5 - 2 meters, which erased the boundary between the scenic space and the audience. As a matter of fact, spectators became the participants of the play. We will not hide it that all actors were very worried and looked forward to play runs, especially those, who had zero experience of performing in front of an audience. All four performances were very different; however, the emotions and the perception of spectators turned out to be similar: no one left indifferent… Such reaction on the viewers’ part to The Cardiogram of Indifference serves as a proof of one of the core tenets of the documentary theater, which has it that the main thing is the transformation of the points of view of spectators who are under the influence

www.dvv-international.org.ua

A Scene from the play The Cardiogram of Indiﬀerence

of certain stereotypes. It is important to place them in the situation of a question, to arouse perturbation from getting to know unusual texts and their stage embodiment, and to give impetus tothe reconsidering of an issue. The Cardiogram of Indiﬀerence is the ﬁnal product within the project, but we set a goal before ourselves to continue exploring the theme. Today, we are asked to stage the play in city’s universities, in particular, in Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the Law Academy, the University of Culture and the College of Culture. The work of the creative team developed in the framework of the “Living Anew. Theater as an Opportunity” Project will continue, because it aroused lively interest in city residents. It is particularly noteworthy that the project performed its educational function as well, because the representatives of the young

Pictured: Stranislav Vaikert, a participant of the play The Cardiogram of Indiﬀerence

and older generations, city residents and resettlers found common language, became friends and stay in touch outside the project. The documentary play that they act in has had a positive impact on the surrounding people too, transforming their world outlook and tearing down some stereotypes. And that is but a beginning…

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS From Ladies Singing during Handiwork to the Creation of New Community. Stitch by Stitch, Step by Step... Whether an IDP family should integrate into the new community or oppose themselves to other citizens and constantly feel like a victim is always a choice that a person makes on their own. However, having received emotional and financial support from the residents of Mykolaiv region, as well as benefactors and grant donors, families that became forcefully displaced make a decision to begin life in the new city, since they have families, small children and relatives. Having joined in with local residents – the women of Mykolaiv and Pervomaisk – in the creative skills laboratories and the design studio in the context of creative activities and socializing, resettler women started feeling as a part of the local community. It turned out that they needed socializing, and in the end of the first few master classes, they eagerly exchanged phone numbers with fellow ladies from Luhansk and Donetsk regions, feeling the support of those who had experienced the same situation. According to resettler ladies themselves: “Mykolayiv Nove Storichchia Regional Charitable Fund holds a number of events with IDPs. Their main goal is helping each person willing to stop being a temporarily replaced person and simply start living. Handicraft masters will eagerly help us enjoy the world of beauty created with our own hands. The organizers offer premises and materials for the classes absolutely free of charge, as well as treat the guests to hot tea and cookies!!” The participants of creative studios were getting acquainted with the pair interview method, when future handicraft masters were eagerly sharing with the group about their new acquaintances and involved them with master 24

Lena Bondarenko and Alesia are creating a new masterpiece – a poppy hair ornament

classes. Sometimes, children and husbands partook in these meetings. A few young mothers had never doneany handiwork before and were inhibited at first, however, the spirit of mutual help and friendly support allowed them to make their first decorations – bracelets of bead and bands, brooches and ampyx wreaths. For example, Olena Pashchenko from Luhansk was very happy to meet new people, as she came with her five-year-old daughter (she had no one to leave the child with), and the daughter was also making adornments with delight. Some of young craftswomen went home adorned with decorations that they themselves had made, being proud of their first work, and began establishing their groups in social networks to continue staying in touch and talking on the topics of master classes outside the creative laboratory.

www.dvv-international.org.ua

“My first little angel”

Project Coordinator, Valentyna Makarova: “During one of the master classes, resettler ladies asked to teach them to sing Ukrainian songs that accompany the handiwork process. I believe it to be a step toward dialogue, since “acute” questions of language and politics shifted to the background, and cultural roots of the nation united participants for cooperation.” Valentyna Makarova deems this instant to be one of the key moments in the project. Having charged themselves with positive emotions during the master classes of the Cultural Skills Laboratory, having united, IDP ladies and local volunteers exchanged ideas for future meetings and imperceptibly became friends. In the end of the project, a decision was made to meet in groups in the future and further hone handicraft skills; the

ladies themselves started collecting money for further purchase of materials for creative work and their distribution among group members, discussed the design of future presents for relatives from Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as for the making of some adornments for a selling exhibition in order to raise funds for materials to be used in future creative endeavors. The work of the studio had a nice therapeutic effect: women from Donetsk, Luhansk, Mykolaiv and Pervomaisk started discussing the question of ways to make life in cities easier, of child-rearing, and employment. Interestingly, some IDP participants agreed to participate in selling exhibitions of creative works of local craftswomen, and some of them sold their first creations to local residents that same day. This was an incentive to continue creative effort and added more faith in one’s own strengths. Moreover, some resettler women, together with local volunteers, united into a small group that began in October 2015 and meets every Sunday to visit the children of Mykolaiv orphanage and play with them, to give them warmth, participation and faith in the future. “But our project hasn’t come to an end with the project implementation deadline! It is only a beginning! It was a powerful impetus for the integration of displaced persons into our local communities. Both small achievements – new decorations made by each participant, new acquaintances, new groups in social networks, new contacts; and large ones – new handicraft skills, new forms of employment, new sources of financing for families, new acquaintances and unions, new leaders and forms of IDP support, inclusion of IDP representatives in the intersectoral working group of the Social Security Department of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration and in the regional

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS office for IDP affairs in Mykolaiv region. Many cultural and integratory achievements in the region lie ahead of us”, Valentyna Makarova believes. “All participants of public and civil sectors, and IDP leaders, are interested in the intensification of their activities aimed at speedy response to social, economic and legal issues of internally displaced persons in Mykolaiv region, as well as at the improvement of mechanisms of internally displaced persons adaptation; creating new workplaces and providing qualified primary legal support to internally displaced persons, so that they truly become an inalienable part of our local communities.”

Making brooches is great

Master class participants

www.dvv-international.org.ua

How Kherson Residents Shake the City with Art Interventions

Рictured: Yulia Lohachova. Performance Volodiushka (social horror)

Totem Youth Initiatives Center members, Sergii Diachenko and Yulia Manukian, are conﬁdent that the level of proneness to conﬂict in the society can be reduced with the help of modern art tools. For almost 20 years, they have been implementing projects in Kherson

pertaining to the cultural development of the city, involving into such activities both people partaking in art and those for whom this area of life remains the dark side of the moon so far. This time, in association with the Zakhyst Kherson City Community Fund and the initiative group of SOUS. Kultura Yuga Ukrainy Project, they launched the Art Approach to Dialogue Project aimed at the reconciliation of the Kherson region residents, disunited over sociopolitical issues. The organizers of the initiative shared about what impedes every city in the country to become a cultural capital, whether it is necessary to battle sharovarshchyna (“superﬁcial pseudo patriotism”), and what power culture possesses in respect of conﬂict resolution. Serhii Diachenko: Prior to this project, another one, a very large and powerful project

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS

Opening of the (SUPER) HEROES: Reload exhibition

connected to the development of museology, was implemented. Project program was developed to work with creative youth that represented three countries – Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia. All participants were divided into groups, took a trip to a particular museum, developed ideas over a week and organized an exhibition. This time, we opted for the same format of work, but for a diﬀerent cause – art approaches to dialogue, reconciliation. We gathered a group of young people, took them to a diﬀerent city not far from Kherson, where they were preparing an exhibition that would be hosted in an air-raid shelter afterwards. All works pertain to the topic one way or another. There were photo projects, video art, installations and land art (installations in the nature – note) in the form of photographs. It is very interesting in the sense that the youth demonstrated their attitude to what is going on, 28

to the topic of reconciliation, as they perceive it. Of course, not in a direct manner, because it is modern art. How did you generally recruit the young people who partook in projects? Who are they? Where from? Serhii Diachenko: All of them are people with a certain background in art or design. We were building the project in a way that one group contained so-called experienced artists, while in the second group we brought together the representatives of a technical university, the design department, and in the third, those who felt like joining the implementation process. It should be said that response followed immediately. We have posted info on the program and its preview on the web, set up a Facebook group, as it is always the case with us, and people started joining in. It was respectively easy, because it wasn’t our ﬁrst time. People knew already what kind of project it was and oﬀered each other to participate,

www.dvv-international.org.ua

because it was interesting for them. However, it was a sort of a zeroing in; our goal is to extend the program a little, perhaps for the entire season or maybe to the entire Ukrainian territory or to involve Eastern Neighborhood States, because we have partners in Georgia, Armenia and Moldova. All these countries have almost the same issues, and the theme of reconciliation will be important for all. The project bears the name of Art Approach to Dialogue. Dialogue between whom? Serhii Diachenko: It is very diﬃcult when you are dealing with a topic that does not unite, but vice versa. War. Grudges against each other. Art approaches always work better, because that is a third thing that does not directly pertain to the issue. It is modern art, not ethnography; therefore, there is no vividly expressed certain national side in it. It is something international that draws attention. And it is an international language, the language of art, which is understandable to those who do not understand another language. In the project, there are many levels of direct dialogue. Firstly, these are painters. We cooperated, in particular, with painters who remained in Crimea, worked with displaced persons. Secondly, it is a dialogue between the painter and the community. The exhibition was held in an air-raid shelter. For us, it was important how the project was perceived by Kherson residents, or even the inhabitants of this building that houses the air-raid shelter. They were interested in the project, because they had never seen an air-raid shelter from this perspective, that it can be used to perform such acts of art or to hold a discussion of such complicated topics. Thirdly, it is a dialogue with the authorities. We had that experience while looking for premises for the exhibition. All municipal utility facilities are owned by the Department of Housing and Utilities Services and its representatives were looking for a venue for us. I liked it that they were so zealous about it. They did not know what

would be featured at the exhibition. They took the risk. They didn’t believe that people would come, that some feedback would appear and that they would also be commended for the fact that the city got involved with this matter. So, in your opinion, is reconciliation, which is a theme in your project, only possible through dialogue? Serhii Diachenko: Yes. Whatever the form, but this dialogue has to be there. For instance, a photo project was presented at the exhibition that was dedicated to the city of Skadovsk. What can prod people that are totally different toward reconciliation – someone works at a store, someone else, in the construction sector. They may have different points of view with regard to what is going on in Ukraine, but they are all united by one thing – love for their home town. A young lady photographer offered everyone to try on the sumptuous mustache of the founder of Skadovsk. And from the people’s faces in the photos one could tell how glad they were to dive into a topic that unites everyone. Whatever they may be elsewhere, here they all stand as one in respect of their town. Involvement is very important for modern art. How big is the share of work on path of reconciliation that of reconciliation that is commissioned to culture? Serhii Diachenko: As I have mentioned, it is a universal language. By all means, it is possible to regain Crimea and Donbass not by war, not by casting stones at each other and seeking out the guilty party, but by a third approach. It could be the economic rise of Ukraine. However, from our perspective, we say that culture is also a means that can come in handy here. It unites, it beguiles from many problems, it captivates completely. I know of no other language that is more universal than culture. You are saying that you place emphasis on modern art; it is your focus area. However, its audience is rather specific, not all people embrace it. If we talk, in particular, about a dialogue between the city community and

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS resettlers, is modern art potent enough a tool to reconcile such audiences? Serhii Diachenko: Yes, the question is difficult. By all means, it [art] is not understood by everyone. But those who do not understand it, perhaps, are not even trying to grasp this problem. In reality, I do not know how to work with such group of people. They already have their own viewpoint that is difficult to change. We orient toward people who are able to reason, but perhaps, got confused somewhere along the way. But they have a desire to sort things out in that regard, to do something, to ponder the issue. We work with young people whose [creative] language has not been formed yet. I mean, these are reflections that are understandable, primarily, to their peers. We are more oriented toward students. What is the essential difference between this project and its forerunner? What was innovative this time? Serhii Diachenko: Firstly, it is the topic. It is much more complicated than it was. In the first was, everything was clear; we would allow the participants into the museum space where they could somehow advance it, make it more attractive. And here, our entire country becomes that museum. We were a bit stagnated in our thoughts and relations, but, the truth is, both the country and the people are more dynamic, they develop without cease. And what was yesterday is not what will come tomorrow. The youth senses it in a special way. The innovative thing was that we developed a special program for a workshop that was conducted, in fact, over a four-day period. We introduced the topics of reconciliation and peaceful dialogue to participants, cited examples of how such issues were resolved in other countries, what is more, with a focus on art – how painters treated certain events, how they depicted them. For me, the development of a program for work with young people was the most difficult and the 30

most interesting thing in this project. It can now be expanded, multiplied, implemented further, and it will work. You could introduce certain changes, add something, but it works, there is a workable mechanism to it. Generally, what are the specific features of culture in the South? Does the fact that Kherson is formerly an industrial city play its role? Serhii Diachenko: Kherson isn’t a big city, and it is not as industrial as it used to be back in the soviet times – the largest shipyard, the largest cotton production factory. Today, the city is reorienting towards the development of tourism – seas, woods, sands, natural reserves, the Dnipro delta with canoes and other attractions. There are two constituents that impact [the culture]. Firstly, a significant role is vested in the fact that it is a steppe zone, and historically, it is a resettlement area. One people replaced the other and the attitude to the land is instable, because there are no graves of great-grandfathers on it. On the other hand, the proximity to the sea plays its role. The culture of the South of Ukraine does not rest upon ethnographic traditions. Because such traditions, even if they exist with us, are very diverse. There are Boiky villages, there are Polish villages, there is a Swedish village, there are German colonies, Moldovan and Bulgarian villages. And in this tangle, modern art became most developed. Perhaps it is not accidental that the city of Kherson is the motherland of avant-garde in Ukraine. Burliuk brothers established their band, Gilea, Vsevolod Meierhold created the first avantgarde theater here; cinema was developing. It is also a universal culture, although detached from ethnography, but it was created by people who are connected to this land. Lviv is unofficially deemed to be the cultural capital of Ukraine. In your opinion, what should be changed in cities so that each regional center becomes the cultural capital of its region?

www.dvv-international.org.ua

Project expert, Totem Organization member, Yulia Manukian, joins the conversation Yulia Manukian: There is a lot of art in any city; each has its artistic centers, encompassing dancing, singing and theatrical activities. For instance, in the context of a recent discussion, we heard an idea that Lviv’s theater is in decline. But that is traditional theater. Oh well, it will find a way to develop further without us; we are the proponents of experimental forms, of the new drama, documentary drama. It all comes down to the question of money. When we win a grant, undertake a project, things are going well. Rehearsals are held, playwrights work, and plays are in production. Everything is in place, everything is very well, but it is a rather discontinuous process. Because we cannot secure ongoing financial support. And this problem exists in all cities. Traditional theater is financed from the city budget, whereas all experimental theaters are the initiatives of people who want something different. The same is true of art. There is a need to be in constant search of donors in order to arrange everything. Such [similar initiatives] cannot be covered by the public budget; the state will not take care of them. Can they not be financed from the public budget at all, or only in the presentday conditions? Yulia Manukian: With us, they cannot. We tried to bring projects before the Department of Culture. This was not about money; we asked to be provided with any assistance – premises, transportation or printing services. No. Because they are not interested. It is easier for us to apply for a program, to develop a project. Because, globally, culture does receive support, and Europe, in particular, is aware that without culture not a single country, not a single nation will survive. We say all the time that culture at present is the only kind of diplomacy, because in these endless geopolitical collapses, figures of the

culture domain can come to an agreement. Modern art is interesting because it is a reflection of what is happening now. And it seems to me that not geography is important here, but people who understand how this can be done, how enthusiastic individuals can be united and how the spectator can step-bystep be accustomed to nonconventional and very shocking things. And when such people gather in any city, when they know what they want, one can speak about a cultural capital. In your opinion, how should the cultural process be built in Ukraine today in order to simultaneously walk away from the socalled “sharovarshchyna” and shift to new and up-to-date things, and not lose the national idea along the way? Serhii Diachenko: This is not about shutting something down or not developing something. Easter egg painting art, coiled dolls – all such things should be present, but in addition to that, modern art should also develop. We need to make sure that everyone is satisfied, that everyone finds their stage, and that each stage finds its spectator, so that there is diversity, so that development occurs in different directions. All of us ought to find ourselves here, in this country; therefore, by all means, traditions should not be forgotten. However, this should be undertaken by those who are knowledgeable about it, and we want to be doing our thing, and we don’t want any such conflicts with traditional culture. We have our own audience that appreciates what we do, those, for whom it is important. It is modern art that demonstrates the cultural level of our country. If it is absent, there is no country – both on the map and in the virtual space. Take Albania. People know little about it because even if there is some traditional culture, the country doesn’t have modern art. But in that case, should such art become popular or remain in shadows? Serhii Diachenko: It has never been popular. Even art that we today look upon as traditional, it wasn’t popular at a certain point in the past. Most

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS people didn’t understand it back then. We too are revolutionaries who beat their own track. It is hard, but it is important, because we are starting to be noticed. When it is interesting, when it hits the bull’s eye at international festivals, the level of the country rises. In your project, you say that you implement your concepts in the form of art intervention. Do you think that changes in culture are possible only through this “forceful” option, the option of intervention? Serhii Diachenko: Yes. In this case, however, it is an intervention in the form of getting out of halls into the streets, out into the urban environment, so that this modern art does not hide in some air-raid shelter, so that it is visible, so that it is beheld. At times, perhaps, eyes don’t understand, but it gives food for thought. This is what we call art intervention. Recently, there was a discussion about traditional monuments. Why has a monument to Shevchenko become something ordinary for us, so commonplace that it is not perceived as relevant anymore? Well, something is placed there, so let it be. And, for instance, painter Mykhailo Dzyndra created a sculpture of a Cossack that resembles Shevchenko a lot. It is

a modern form, if Shevchenko were depicted that way everything would be totally diﬀerent. It would be a manifestation of reverence, and it seems to me that many people would want to read about what he did. This we lack. We are so caught up in the things that many people call sharovarshchyna today and nobody likes it anymore. Do you mean that traditional culture needs a certain status, should it be brought up to date? Serhii Diachenko: Let traditional art exist the way it is. But culture requires constant shakes. Like Maidan shook us, so art should be shaken, so that it doesn’t get stuck in something, doesn’t drown in a swamp, so that it moves forward one way or another. We have an idea of making it constructive in order to further spread it to the city planning domain. To bring these interventions to abandoned industrial sites, facilities, plants, and parks that are not interesting to anyone, in order to draw attention to these issues. When something interesting emerges there, local residents start joining in, they start putting the neighborhood in order through their own eﬀorts. It is a dialogue too.

The (SUPER) HEROES: Reload exhibition has a controversial element and, at the same time, oﬀers an ironical view on stereotypes, which frees the spectator from vulgar pathos and the impact of propaganda: the exhibition was arranged in an air-raid shelter, which is another reason to ponder what peace is for us.

www.dvv-international.org.ua

Open ART — the Language of Modernity, the Language of Dialogue amateurs and professionals. But people came who had never drawn or done sculpture before. They were very interested”, artist Daria Halych relates.

Pictured: Artist Nato Mikеladze is coloring a bird at the Open ART Modern Art Festival

Opposite to collages and monotype works are the images of Mykola Hohol. In these caricatures, the writer is depicted as a footballer, a teacher, and even a superhero. Such an endeavor of collective rethinking of the classic writer makes his ﬁgure modern and more understandable to the representatives of the new wave generation. Painter Nato Mikeladze commented that as follows: “I chose Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol, because, ﬁrstly, he is a writer who wrote about Ukraine in Russia, wrote about Ukraine in Russian. This actually should unite our nations, not separate them. And, secondly, he had a very characteristic appearance, the type that is easy to make a caricature of.”

At ﬁrst, master classes were held, in which local painters shared with all the participants their knowledge and artistic skills pertaining to diﬀerent techniques. The fruit of their mutual work adorned Vasyl Krychevskyi Poltava Regional Studies Museum.

According to artists, it is very interesting to participate in this project. The visitors of the exposition also deem such exhibitions and master classes to be useful. Among them was Andrii Sokolov, the deputy of the 6th convocation of Poltava City Council, who said, “We have witnessed how the renewal of culture, the dissemination of experience and the development of our Poltava people’s talents takes place. Personally I was impressed by how in-demand it is… People are willing to do something together, and they want to learn how to do this.”

“We conducted master classes “The Basics of a Drawing” and “The Basics of Sculpture” for

The people of Poltava enjoyed the Open ART festival for three days; it was a

Art unites – such is the core idea of the Open ART modern art festival. Poltava residents organized it in the framework of a Can Action sociocultural project initiated by RYC PLUS Nongovernmental Organization.

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS

Master class The Basics of Drawing The final part of the Open ART Modern Art Festival

lively, fun and vivid event. All those willing got involved in the painting of a large canvas (2 x 2 meters) instrumental music in modern adaptation was played, master classes for children and adult art amateurs were held. The goal of the event was getting across the message about the ways of ﬁnding 34

solutions of conﬂicts, overcoming stress through the means of art, developing cultural dialogue between diﬀerent generations and nationalities. Can Action, the project’s organizer, promised to present the canvas to the Regional Studies Museum.

www.dvv-international.org.ua

“Language without Violence”: How Should a Step into the Future Be Made? to sharing the common space. Therefore, there have emerged no conﬂict situations on this basis for a long time; however, when it comes to politics, the situation changes.

Pictured: Olena Arutiunian, Project Manager

Can you teach people to communicate without aggression and demonstrate that securing progress takes mutual respect? You can, if you believe in it and promote the idea of “non-violent communications step by step”. How is that done? Let us hear what the Language Without Violence Project manager, deputy head of the Center Non-Governmental Organization and head of the Euro club Council, Olena Arutiunian, has to share in that regard. Kirovohrad is a multicultural and multinational city in the central Ukraine that was founded in the 18th century. For many years, it has been home to diﬀerent ethnic minorities who are used

Olena Arutiunian: “The most recent serious conflicts emerged in the city over renaming. [On May 21, the Supreme Council of Ukraine passed the law of decommunization, pursuant to which such cities as Kirovohrad must have their soviet name changed]. By all means, during our project, we tried to teach people to communicate adequately with the authorities with regard to such complicated questions. The mission of the Language Without Violence Project was to teach Kirovohrad residents to communicate without hostility and help them realize that the future they dream of is tied to the overcoming of stereotypes and prejudices, which, unfortunately, flourish in the society and pave way for discrimination. Alongside the Center organization, other activists were involved in the project, who conducted trainings and master classes. What was most difficult? Age differences: unfortunately, there exists a stereotype in the society that young people are less intelligent and less experienced than older people. However, during the project, mentors who worked in groups saw that working side-by-side with them were active and intelligent young people. In their turn, young people were pleased that their opinion was regarded. We were impressed with the sincere desire of young ladies and gentlemen to position themselves in the country in a way that differs from what we are used to.

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS the project, when participants discussed cultural differences, they acted out theatrical miniatures directed at the solution of conflicts and made social video clips that later were broadcasted on television. Olena Arutiunian: “At the outset of the project, we dreamt about the spreading of information and activation of population, so that people understand that no one except them will change anything and will build a different life. We wanted to show that dialogue is the only way to reconciliation. Dialogue took place. Therefore, it seems to me that we succeeded.”

Participants of the master class

Over 70 people gathered in Kirovohrad to learn language without violence. Realizing that in the big cities people perceive easier the difference of others, project organizers tried to spread the project to remote areas of the region. People came to us from different districts and said they had heard about our project. The representatives of other regions – Dnipropetrovsk, Khmelnytskyi, and Zaporizhzhia – were interested in the project. Actually, people realize the importance of such a matter and support the idea of life without violence. By all means, there are numerous issues in Kirovohrad that impede progress. And as strange as it is, the construction of dialogue in the society begins with good roads in the country… The way our transport infrastructure works creates more complications for us than misunderstandings between people.” Olena Arutiunian works as a methodologist in a children’s and youth creativity center, which is why she knows the situation around the development of culture in Kirovohrad region well. If budget resources are limited, it is difficult to talk about innovations… During trainings within 36

Participants of the “Solution of Conﬂict Situations in Youth Community. Language Without Violence” Project were youth organizations, euroclubs, Kirovohrad Regional Children’s Parliament, 25 districts of Kirovohrad region, young IDPs from Donetsk and Luhansk regions residing in Kirovohrad region today. With the aim of arousing interest of the youth in the implementation of this project, trainings were conducted for active leaders of secondary school and higher education institution self-governing student bodies, euroclubs, regional children’s parliament, youth organization leaders of Kirovohrad city and region, of Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi and Dnipropetrovsk. Social videos, which became the winners of the contest held among young people and were dedicated to the topic of tolerance and mutual understanding, aired on Kirovohrad Television Company channel within the period from November 10 till November 24 (20 runs, 1 minute each). The video clips of all contest participants were gathered on the project’s Facebook page and on YouTube video hosting.

www.dvv-international.org.ua

Сommunication: a Pathway to Unity

The branch of the All-Ukrainian Charitable Organization “Care for the Elderly in Ukraine” has been operating in our regional center, Cherkasy, for a decade. Over the time, according to the executive director of this branch, Tetiana Buheria, quite a number of diﬀerent activities were arranged with the aim of improving the lives of our fellow citizens – the residents of Cherkasy. They encompass home-based assistance, providing consultations on the topical issues in the life of elderly people, the protection of rights and interests, advocacy or making the voice of the elderly heard in diﬀerent institutions, volunteer training. A separate focus area of the organization is arranging

Participants of the Historical and Cultural Heritage as the Guarantee of Unity Project on an excursion

social-oriented events for the improvement of moral and psychological condition of the elderly. Owing to all the areas of work, retired people do not feel lonely, take active part, within their possibilities, in civil and charitable work, and yield a hand of help to each other, which signiﬁcantly helps prolong the longevity of each of them. The organization involves retired people of Cherkasy in the implementation of

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS international projects. This time, “Care for the Elderly in Ukraine” in Cherkasy received a micro grant and implemented the “Historical and Cultural Legacy as the Cornerstone of Unity” Project, which allows to eliminate, through culture, certain stereotypes formed in the society, in order to create mutual respect and strengthen trust between different people. It is not a secret that in the process of forming the package of proposals for project implementation, we primarily presupposed involving internally displaced persons in such implementation. At first, only five resettlers from Donbas accepted the invitation. We got acquainted at the first meeting and offered them to partake in the branch’s events; we told them about our plans to organize four cultural and educational meetings, two excursions. The project presupposes helping both city residents and elderly guests to get to know Cherkasy region as much as possible through eminent figures who spread the glory of our land around the globe. Therefore, the second meeting was dedicated to the topic of the 120th birthday anniversary of Vasyl Avramenko, a prominent director and choreographer. For many, precisely his name was a discovery. During the meeting, organizers demonstrated portions of the Zaporozhets za Dunayem film created by Vasyl Avramenko in 1939 in the USA. Of course there were questions about the circumstances of our countryman becoming an exile. But I think that our new friends understood everything correctly. The audience really enjoyed Ukrainian and gypsy dances performed by the Orkhideya Ensemble of the School of Health International Organization, as well as the Viennese Waltz performed by people of venerable age. After that, project participants went on a trip to Kamianka, on which they were joined 38

Creative Meeting The Musical Heritage of Cherkasy Region

by eleven internally displaced persons. A comfortable bus was smoothly taking the group to the destination, and passengers, among whom there were recent resettlers from Luhansk and Donetsk regions, were listening to beautiful and emotionally charged narration of the Honorable Tourism Worker of Ukraine, Liudmyla Semeshkina, discovering for themselves not just beautiful views outside the window, but also the centuries-old history of Cherkasy region. Then followed an excursion to O.S. Pushkin and P.I. Tchaikovsky Museum, a visit of Kamianka’s landmarks and enjoying the literary and musical exhibition in the local historical museum. A micro grant obviously places certain restrictions on time and expenses. The state needs to do more in this direction in order to unite people through culture, as it will help people become closer, even if they were disunited by the incredibly powerful enemy propaganda. Systemic cultural and educational work for all groups of population is absolutely necessary if we want to achieve unity in the country.

www.dvv-international.org.ua

By Maria Yakovchuk

About the city, the Community and Its Values Ask yourself: What do you know about the regional culture of Ukraine? Have you given a thought to how people of Zhytomyr live, what currently reverberates through Kherson community, how people in Berdychiv beguile themselves or where Novovolynsk residents usually spend their leisure time? As bad as it sounds, but the Ukrainians’ knowledge of the specific features of the cultural life of neighboring regions is scanty and does not go beyond the stereotypes imposed from above. What is interesting about Khmelnytskyi and whether the issue of the conflict of cultures exists in it is narrated by Vladyslav Hrebeniuk, a civil activist and a cultural projects coordinator in Khmelnytskyi. Usually, when people hear about my city they think that it has nothing; but it has very many interesting places. For instance, only in Khmelnytskyi there is a philharmonic with its own organ. Within the project, we show people how rehearsals and concerts are held there. To draw attention, we organize different quests. We take people around museums and volunteer open spaces, where they can socialize with city volunteers. One of the most recent ideas is a trolleybus party that we fire in the framework of the Your Country Project. It seems to me that the largest conflicts in the city arise between passengers and bus drivers. I don’t remember any other serious conflicts there.

Pictured: Vladyslav Hrebeniuk

Do local authorities help in the implementation of projects? Unfortunately, the authorities aren’t as open to dialogue as we would like them to. Right now, authorities provide different extra materials and books that we hand out to our participants. As regards money, it is very difficult to obtain from them. I partake in the organizing of different civil initiatives in the city, for example, in the Green Fest festival (the largest volunteer festival in Ukraine), where we work without any grants – everything is self-financed. We invite hosts and performers; we come up with creative ideas. We have sports and yoga, and lectures. We tell

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS people that if they want to have leisure they need to take care of it. A festival is an excellent way for people to unite. What does Khmelnytskyi lack in becoming the cultural center of your region? I believe the city lacks quality branding. We have been working on that, because there is a stereotype that Khmelnytskyi is a bazar city that has nothing else to offer. We have people working on that issue. I believe that Khmelnytskyi will find its “perks”. The city has enough young people with fire in their eyes. Changes for the better are coming for sure. But often even locals do not know what there is in Khmelnytskyi to see. Our city looks like Ivano-Frankivsk a lot, which is why they are

Participants of the master class on t-shirt painting, The Best Gift is Peace

Participants of the training Social Advertising in Social Media training

www.dvv-international.org.ua

Participants of the round table The Methods of Interaction Between Civil Society Participants on the Local Level (Khmelnytskyi region)

mixed with one another on photographs at times. Every city has its face, its brand: Ternopil is a ﬁne city, Vinnytsia has fountains, and Khmelnytskyi doesn’t have a brand of its own. Activists are now working on that. And the bazar was perceived as city’s hallmark for a long time. People from all of Western Ukraine would travel here for shopping. Therefore, for the image of Khmelnytskyi, bazar bears a negative meaning: it impacts people’s mentality and their lifestyle – every second family has a member who is connected to bazar one way or another. This stereotype either needs to be done away with or reﬁned. The same is true of projects: there are no bad projects; there is a bad way of presenting them. I believe that Khmelnytskyi is a promising city. And this should

be food for thought not only for civil activists but also for wealthy city residents. What is Khmelnytskyi for you and how do you associate yourself with the city? For me, it is a retreat that I can come to. Every person with an active lifestyle needs such a place. For me, it is Khmelnytskyi. The city is small. Sometimes I just stay home two-three days and don’t go out. People who I know help me rest. I guess, all of Khmelnytskyi is my home. In general, any place in Khmelnytskyi arouses memories in me, which is why I can call any of them my favorite. I have lived in quite a few places – Kyiv, Berdychiv, Kharkiv – but I can proudly say that I come from Khmelnytskyi.

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

By Petro Smirnov

MINI-PROJECTS

Pictured: Oleksii Balabotkin, a speaker at the round table

Natalia Shmurykova, Project Manager: “The possibility of participating in trainings and the cultural exchange program in Lviv, communication with high-level specialists are things that bring real support to local NGOs and cultural organizations and provide practical knowledge and experience

sharing possibilities. Seven people from Khmelnytskyi – representatives of nongovernmental organizations and authorities – participated in the training program of the “From Destruction to Creation. Ways of reconciliation in the Ukrainian society” Project in Kyiv, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, and Lviv. In the context of our mini project, we were creating conditions for the unity of the local community, mainly involving young generation representatives. Trainings, seminars, mutual cultural events, a conference and a flash mob gather guys who aspire to be leaders, who want to grow and become effective citizens. And of course, we talked to them in their language, trying to use modern communication technologies. On November 14, 2015, for instance, a large kite was flown in the sky above Khmelnytskyi bearing the word “PEACE” and, having clasped their hands, children participating in the flash mob on the central square, formed the word “PEACE”. Kiteflying was a symbolic message to city residents and drew the attention of many bypassers. Indeed so, because these children, unlike adults wishing to have peace on certain conditions, want peace just like that, unconditionally.”

www.dvv-international.org.ua

“Angels of Peace” Settled in Luhansk Throughout the autumn, Poltava Regional Organization of the National Writers Union of Ukraine was implementing the “Cultural Space: A place for Dialogue and Mutual Understanding” Project. Head of Poltava Regional Organization of NWUU, Natalia Kiriachok, shares about project outcome: First of all, I would like to thank everyone who got involved with the project in Poltava, Severodonetsk, Kreminna, Rubizhne, Lysychansk. Special thanks go to Olena Haran, Olena Burim, Andrii Karpenko, Viktor Nesterenko, Olena Kuznietsova, Olena Stetsenko, Inna Didyk (Snarska), Olena Zadorozhna, Andrii Kinash, Ivan Skybliak, Natalia Rysenko, Oleksandr Pushko and others. This is not the end of the project. We believe that the created platforms for cultural events will continue to function, and the Museum of Angels or the Museum on Wings from Kreminna will visit every corner of Ukraine and, along with it, creative individuals – writers, painters, musicians, bringing Peace with words and with works – will come to small towns and villages. How was the idea of the project born? We wanted to demonstrate the importance of local cultural initiatives that help people who suﬀered from the traumas of war to transform from victims to creators. We believe that recognizing their experience, cultural needs and identity is the best way to reach understanding. Training participants successfully implemented their own cultural initiatives. And the number of these initiatives turned out to be far larger than what was planned at the outset of the project.

Participants of the Angels of Peace flash mob (Kreminna, Luhansk region)

What are the main objectives of cultural education, in your opinion? Presenting the cultures of diﬀerent peoples and creating the opportunity to immerse into them; joining the cultural life – both in its broad sense and the narrow artistic areas; developing openness to new and foreign cultures with joy and respect – all of these are the objectives of cultural education. Therefore, the mission consists not only in expanding the understanding of culture, but also encompasses integrative tasks within the intercultural society. Intercultural education is the key to mutual understanding between cultures.

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS place for Dialogue and Mutual Understanding. Organizing and Methodological Aspects of Educational Events. Volunteers, representatives of governmental bodies, journalists, writers, and civil activists partook in the training. For a few days, they discussed conﬂict as a phenomenon, contemplated the role that it plays in the life of an individual and the society, considered types of

The Grand Opening of the Museum of Angels

Your organization has been holding different events in the area of cultural education regularly. Who are they oriented toward? Our events are oriented toward participants with different tastes and requirements. Particularly, these are people, who didn’t have an opportunity for developing their artistic talents in childhood and adolescent years, as well as those who are in creative search, experimenting and striving to express themselves through art. Recently, among the participants of our trainings, the number of those willing to take active part in the city’s cultural life increased. To them also belong “new Poltava residents” who moved here from occupied areas in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Please share about the core events within the project. In autumn, the following trainings were conducted in Severodonetsk and Poltava: Conflict Resolution and Cultural Space: A 44

Exhibits in the Museum of Angels

conflicts, the impact of stereotypes on the mutual understanding between people. At the next project stage, employing the opportunities granted by different forms of art, training participants acted as organizers and moderators of biographical cafes, History is Written by People and Memory Reflected in the Word. Literary Dialogues. The media training event Documentary Cinema: A Pathway to Dialogue prompted participants to seek an answer to the question that virtually every Ukrainian is facing today: can we reconcile without the common perception of the past? We

www.dvv-international.org.ua

chose the ﬁlm Reunion: Ten Years after the War for viewing and discussion, which narrates the events in Yugoslavia. On November 21, the Michael the Archangel Day, in the St. Sergii Monastery of Kreminna in Luhansk region, the Museum of Angels or the Museum on Wings was opened. The idea of establishing such an extraordinary museum belongs to Polina Tufekchi, who was forced to move from occupied Luhansk to Kreminna together with her mom. One day, the girl said, “All the angels must have ﬂown away from us, that is why the war broke out; and when they come back, we will live in peace again!” The words uttered by ten-year-old Polina moved her mother, Olena Stetsenko, who was thinking about creating the Museum of Angels on her native land ever since then. “During the training, the other name of the museum was born – the Museum on Wings”, recalls the senior lecturer of the Educational Management Chair of Luhansk regional Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education, Olena Burim, a trainer in the project. “It is in the framework of mutual educational and cultural events that it was made possible to make a little girl’s dream come true, and to implement the wonderful initiative of establishing a Museum.

Liubov Yakymchuk’s book The Apricots of Donbas

During the discussion of its concept and the possibilities of ﬁlling it with items, the participants of the training program came to a conclusion that it should be a mobile museum that can travel around all of Ukraine and become a platform for creative meetings, dialogues, cultural events, which will one way or another facilitate mutual understanding and reconciliation between people.” In the framework of the project, the Angels of Peace Flash Mob was held, and project participants from Lysychansk, Severodonetsk, and Kreminna took part in it. In the course of the project, a number of events were held in the form of a biographical café. Why was precisely this form of work preferred? Educational and biographical work facilitates the adoption of universal human values: a human being with his or her experience is placed at the center of the training process; their experiences become the main subject of reasoning, and the “oﬃcial” history becomes the backdrop for the true history of human life to develop. Practical

Liubov Yakymchuk in biographical café

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS Розкладання на східному фронті без змін скільки можна без змін? метал перед смертю стає гарячим а люди від нього холодними

Первомайськ розбомбили на перво і майськ — безкінечно маятись наче вперше знову там скінчилась війна але мир так і не починався

не кажіть мені про якийсь там Луганськ він давно лише ганськ лу зрівняли з асфальтом червоним мої друзі в заручниках — і до нецька мені не дістатися щоби витягти із підвалів, завалів та з-під валів

а де бальцево? де моє бальцево? там більше не родиться Сосюра уже більше ніхто з людей не родиться

а ви пишете вірші, красиві, як вишиванка ви пишете вірші ідеально гладенькі високу поезію золоту про війну не буває поезії про війну є лише розкладання лише літери і всі вони — ррр

biographical work and non-formal communication help to save the testimonies of live history, better understand the country that we live in, find our place in it and facilitate its future development. During a biographical café, a narrator talks about their experience in an open and sincere manner; as a rule, it takes courage. The moderator’s task in this situation is to create and maintain the atmosphere during the entire narration, as if “defending” the narrator that way. In the narration process, the moderator guides the “scenario” mildly and unobtrusively. In such events, it is difficult for all participants to espouse the same standpoint, and along with compassion, a dispute may arise. The moderator’s task is neither to side with either party, nor to establish the “guilty” party, but be ready to understand – and, thus, accept – both points of view, to agree that every person may have “their own truth”. Obviously, it is impossible without the skill of listening and hearing, without prompt response. Talk café presents the opportunity to imagine a history that is often perceived as a year count or a lush celebration of memorable events that bear political significance as a human experience, as a personal destiny of a human being. It allows visualizing the outcome of politics in respect of the life of an individual, their family, and friends as well as of those who suffered an adversity alongside that individual. 46

я дивлюся на колообрій він трикутний, трикутний і поле соняхів опустило голови вони стали чорні й сухі, як і я вже страшенно стара і я більше не Люба лише ба 22 серпня 2014 Любов Якимчук (Київ)

Does intercultural dialogue take place in the mass media? Unfortunately, very often there is no dialogue; instead, there are two monologues, which, having exhausted themselves, have no continuation. At best, they bring about no result; at worst, they translate into confrontations and conflicts. Such a form of “dialogue” in presentday information culture is offered as a model by the media. In talk shows of different kinds dedicated to topical issues, the main task of each speaker is to take the floor at all costs, and, not listening to interlocutors, to put forward one’s own ideas. As a result, everyone speaks at once, not listening to others, and it is impossible to comprehend the speakers’ points of view; all parties remain dissatisfied, including viewers. Therefore, the skill of maintaining a dialogue, reaching rapport, even if standpoints differ, is a key skill that a modern person should possess. The Museum of Angels as a place for dialogue and mutual understanding. Could that become the theme of a separate project? Yes, in fact, we were planning to only have the Angels of Peace flash mob with the aim of drawing public attention to this moving initiative. It was a metaphor of a kind, which inspired us from day one. At the grand opening of the Museum on Wings, we realized that we had reached the goal. Because we managed to catalyze creative self-organization processes in the community.

www.dvv-international.org.ua

The Routes of the “Tolerance Bus” Under this motto, the Days of Peace, Tolerance and Reconciliation were celebrated in five communities of Kherson region, where the “Forming Tolerance in Kherson Region Communities” Project team brought people together around the symbolic date – the International Tolerance Day. Among multiple forms of social work undertaken in the framework of the project, the most popular event with the youth was the Accessible Community! quest. Its core idea is to help the young generation to get to know the possibilities of the sphere of social services designated for internally displaced persons. The essence of this activity is as follows: every team must travel along the tolerance routes within the shortest term possible and to grow aware of how document registration systems work, how the unemployment centers operate, the procedure of registering a child with a kindergarten or a school, and how resettlers rights are observed by such public institutions as the executive committee, the post office, the bank, the police etc. Background information: The majority of IDPs (especially from Crimea) settled in the borderland districts of Kherson region (Chaplynka, Kalanchak, Henichesk) and nearby cities and towns (Nova Kakhovka, Henichesk, Kahovka. In additional to material difficulties and the everyday life challenges, resettlers were facing a whole set of psychological integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS

(traumatization, frustration, helplessness, despair, distress, fear etc.) and sociocultural (stigmatization, loss of social status, dependence, hate speech and so on) issues. Mass resettlement of a great deal of people (especially into rural areas) brought about changes in the sociodemographic setting: on the one hand, they have met the manifestations of human support; while on the other hand, they found themselves in a situation of competition and contention for resources (financial, material, professional ones) in communities. In these polarity conditions, displaced persons have ever more often been facing the choice of whether to manifest themselves as individuals, make themselves known, compete in the community (which is tied to considerable risks) or to become “diluted”, to blend in with the host community and face 48

the likelihood of losing oneself, one’s human capital and potential? The “Forming Tolerant Communities in Kherson Region” Project is aimed at creating tolerant environment in ﬁve communities of Kherson region, promoting the principles of respect for cultural diﬀerences and dissidence, based on the growth of trust in the postMaidan society.

www.dvv-international.org.ua

How Can You Change the Cultural Life of Your City? Young, effervescent, creative, dreaming of changing the world – such are the members of the Young Scientists Council Non-Governmental Organization. That is why projects that they implement are filled with creativity, inspiration and faith in the bright future. “The Unity in Diversity” Project is not an exception either; the project is aimed at creating conditions for the youth and student environment to become the driving force for establishing a positive dialogue and reconciliation between different Ukrainian regions through the implementation of cultural initiatives. Should we implement cultural projects, even if the country is at war? Tetiana Niankivska, a project participant, believed that we should, “because creativity is a thing to struggle for.” In the framework, of the given project, training and master classes were conducted to raise young people’s awareness of the cultural domain and to improve their

knowledge of cultural project management and fund-raising in this area. “The specific feature of the twentyfirst century is that information is readily available, and any person with a basic level of computer skills can access it; however, work with a professional trainer, with a person who can share subtleties from their own experience, is the most valuable. And when such work is conducted in the form of an interactive training or a master class in which participants interact with each other and the trainer, activate their creative thinking, the result will exceed all expectations”, says one of project participants. In the framework of these trainings, participants were granted the opportunity to develop their ideas into fully-fledged projects, to improve them and to present that at a contest in the course of which four ideas were selected and their further implementation will be supported. Initially, the plan was to back two ideas, but in view of the organization’s possibilities and with grantors’ assistance, decision was made to support more cultural initiatives.

Training on Cultural Project Fund-Raising and Management

Opening of The Social Advertisement Night: The Food Chain theatrical performance

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS For the purpose of cultural exchange and broadening participants’ outlook on the culture of other cities, a cultural and fact-ﬁnding trip to Odesa was made, in the framework of which participants visited the Other Look Social Advertising Festival and opened the social advertising night with a theatrical performance titled The Food Chain directed by Polina Korobeinyk (Sumy). This performance received positive assessment from the viewers, as it raised issues topical for youth environment. Moreover, the participants had a chance to get acquainted with the city’s cultural heritage, visit exhibitions, plays, as well as socialize with ﬁgures from the culture domain and the city’s students.

Tetiana Herаsymiva: “The most vivid impression for me was our trip to Odesa. I was a delight to get to know the picturesque streets, interesting museums, the incredibly beautiful Opera House, and the art of opera, and, most importantly, to get acquainted with people. All of that inspires towards new achievements, facilitates the emergence of interesting ideas and their implementation! I would like so much our city to become as picturesque and bright as Odesa. Having visited the city, I realized that it is people who make it the way it is, and everything is in our hands. I am grateful to organizers for selecting precisely this city for a visit and cultural exchange activities”, Tetiana said.

Fragments of Oleksandr Bielskiy’s photo exhibition Overcoming

www.dvv-international.org.ua

In November, the participants implemented their cultural initiatives, directed at drawing the society’s attention towards understanding conﬂicts. The initial event was Olekdsandr Belskyi’s photo exhibition, The Overcoming, the objective of which was to demonstrate to city residents

Preparing for the implementation of the Literature Street Art

Polina Milenkova, Literature Street Art author

the discrepancies and conflicts experienced by famous individuals residing in the city. In his photos, the author depicted only people’s eyes (many of them wished to remain anonymous) and their stories of hardships and tribulations in life that they had to overcome. “I have never thought that a person’s eyes can show their life’s path and the profundity of soul in such an expressive and detailed way. The Overcoming exhibition precisely granted me a chance to understand and become reassured that every person is a separate story, a separate star shining like no other, and the brightness of that light depends on life’s trials that often rise on his or her way…”, relative a native Sumy city resident after her visit of The Overcoming exhibition. The implementation of a poetic street art initiative aimed at resolving the issue of city residents’ low awareness of modern Ukrainian literature also drew the city dwellers’ attention, as it was housed in one of the downtown streets. People came up, read verses, commented, and showed them to children. On one occasion, a lady wanted to rip one sheet off to keep a verse as a memory, but then she agreed to copy it into her notebook. In the city streets, one can also see yet another idea implemented – They Loved Our City, and Do You? street art. Young ladies who were working on this project intended to draw attention to the problem of the absence of local patriotism among the young and city residents’ indifference to the cultural development of the city. The historical building in the city center features colorful banners, according to the author of this project Polina Milenkova, “These are the portraits of public activists and benefactors who facilitated the city and region development in their time – Ivan Kharytonenko, Nikola Tereshchenko, Ivan Leshchynskyi, Oleksii Alchevskyi and Leopold Kening. Placed next to portraits are QR codes containing encoded data on the activities of these benefactors.”

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS any issues he or she might have, exceeds the limit and destroys a little child by yelling at her or him… At times, friends, social networks, everyday hustle distract us so much from our children that we become so pitiless and careless towards them, we treat them like toys.” Project organizers, Maryna Sapozhnikova and Anna Vorontsova, believe this, “In our view, the project was implemented successfully, since its participants received necessary knowledge to make their ideas a reality, found like-minded people and made a real contribution into the cultural development of the city of Sumy. Moreover, based on the ﬁnal survey Authors of “They Loved Our City, and Do You?” Project results, the participants unanimously voiced the need for similar projects in The project art curator, Rymma Milenkova, our region. Not only did we facilitate shares her impressions concerning the the implementation of cultural ideas of some implementation of this idea, “It is a project other participants, but we also inspired them that makes us contemplate what we do for for further cooperation and development. our city. What have you done at least to keep Almost all mini projects were continued: it from dilapidating?” some of them were invited for implementation A not less interesting project was Tetiana in other cities; others received a proposal Niankina’s social advertisement. As the regarding expansion or certain modiﬁcation. project author state herself, “Our social videos We believe that each initiative in the domain were dedicated to the topic Children As Toys. of culture bears a positive impact on people The essence of the project consists in the implementing such projects, on city residents fact that we normally pay attention to some who watch them, and on Ukraine on the whole, socially vulnerable children, but we do not since this is how we create our mutual future.” notice how in our regular families children may experience certain psychological vulnerability. By Maryna Sapozhnikova This is not about some horrible things; it is about everyday life things. For example, when a teacher in school, due to bad mood or 52

www.dvv-international.org.ua

From Hate Speech to Kindness Speech The â&#x20AC;&#x153;From Hate Speech to Kindness Speechâ&#x20AC;? Project was aimed at the decrease of the speech language in the public communication of Kherson and Odesa regions, as well as the creation of moral barriers potent to stop mutual intolerance in the Ukrainian society. Its idea consisted in providing primarily students, journalists and civil activists of local communities with the opportunity to gain the knowledge of the ways of resisting hate speech, which, deďŹ nitely, is necessary for all the members of the Ukrainian society. It is these groups who are the driving and most active force of the Ukrainian society; however, due to the aggressiveness of the information space, they often are subjected to the impact of negative stereotypes, and not always possess the skills of critical assessment of information. The dissemination of positive behaviors among these groups, as well as the broadcasting by local mass media of positive or at least neutral message, were considered by project authors to be the opportunity to facilitate

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

MINI-PROJECTS the consolidation of the Ukrainian society, the search of the ways of reconciliation, the overcoming of negative stereotypes pertaining to diﬀerent social groups. Despite the short duration, the project was saturated with events and activities, which allowed eﬀectively working on the achievement of the following objectives: - acquaintance of journalists, students and NGO leaders with the constructs of hate speech, its negative potential and ways of neutralizing it; - building a tolerant dialogue between the members of local community; - dissemination of received experience of aggression resistance on communicative space; - drawing public attention to the problem of hate speech and intolerant dialogue. Violetta Kozhevnikova, project participant and volunteer:

“Such initiative allowed me to look at our reality from a diﬀerent angle, to sort out the situations that lead to misunderstanding, and to learn negative attitude neutralization techniques.” During the training Hate Speech and Ways of Neutralizing It in Kherson, considerable attention was paid to the problems of the aggressiveness of the communicative space, stereotype thinking, communication psychology, and ways of neutralizing negative messages in the media. Training participants’ feedback: “...I am also very happy that I was helped to come to understand the essence of such notions as hate speech, stereotypes, aggression, conflict.” “I now know for sure how you should communicate when you are not heard.” “Indeed, when we argue, we stop hearing one another! And why do we yell? We should

www.dvv-international.org.ua

calm down and keep trying to reach each other, to understand and to give a hand of help…” DobrA Lystivka (Kind Card) Flesh mobs held in Kherson and Odesa allowed to involve more than 1,000 local residents and became one of the brightest and contagious examples of how owing to a light, creative form and with minimum ﬁnancing considerable results can be achieved. For all it took was signing a card with wishes of all good things and handing it over to a stranger, who, in his or her turn, would pass the well-wishing further. Voices of flash mob participants: “Will you come visit us again? I will bring my friend along.” “Can I draw kindness? I am not a good writer.” “May each next day of your life be better than the previous one! Be the happiest person in the world!” “It is so nice! Thank you so much for this gift! I will keep this real postcard of kindness!” These events received a great deal of positive feedback and were continued in other Ukrainian cities and towns (Sumy, KamianetsPodilskyi, Lviv), which was not planned initially. Photo drying event, In the World of Tolerance and Kindness (Kherson, Odesa), also drew the widespread attention of the public to panhuman values of kindness, positive attitude, and peace. Voices of flash mob participants: “We wanted to show that we share kindness; it is simple and pleasant!” — What is “kindness speech” for you? — Mom’s smile! “Can I bring my photos to your photo drying event next time?” “I never thought that a few vivid photos would help overcome autumn depression.” In the course of project implementation, the presentation of Stop Hate Speech social ad works was held; its goal was to draw the broad public’s attention on the whole and of young students in particular to the problem of

hate speech. More than 100 people partook in the presentation – teachers, students, media experts and public figures from Kyiv, Odesa, Kherson, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Poltava. During the event, samples of printed, outdoor and video ads dedicated to Stop Hate Speech theme were presented. Participants discussed presented works, their thematic focus and the specific features of covering the presented topic, as well as chose best samples for placement in the information space of Ukraine. The project’s conclusive event was the regional round table titled From Hate Speech to Kindness Speech, which created opportunities to build effective communication between forty-two leaders of NGOs, the representatives of mass media and local selfgovernment bodies from different regions of Ukraine.

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

TRAINING PROGRAM The Team of Trainers Aliona Kalibaba, CEO at Chasopys Creative Space.

Zlatko Malich, expert at Caritas Bosnia-Herzegovina, International Projects Manager.

Ihor Savchak, an expert for transborder partnership, CEO of the Cultural Management Center.

Iryna Brunova-Kalisteska, conďŹ&#x201A;ictology expert, CEO of Integration and Development Center for Information and Research Nongovernmental organization.

Maryna Solovyova, lawyer, secretary of the Temporary Special Commission on Inspection of General Jurisdiction Court Judges at the High Council of Justice, Board Chairperson of AndriivskoPeizazhna Initsiatyva NGO.

Iryna Nikiforova, expert of the Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, deputy CEO of Andriivsko-Peizazhna Initsiatyva NGO.

Yulia Tyshchenko, Board Chairperson, Manager of the Democratic Processes Facilitation Program at the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research.

Tetiana Merzla, Slava Frolovaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Art Picnic Project Supervisor, consultant on cultural entrepreneurship development.

TRAINING PROGRAM

Andrii Knyzhnyi, youth projects trainer at Prostir Tolerantnosti Kyiv Education Center NGO.

Kira Kreiderman, international projects coordinator at Prostir Tolerantnosti Kyiv Education Center NGO.

Maksym Yeligulashvili, Non-Formal Education Coordinator of the “Understanding Human Rights” All-Ukrainian Educational Program of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union.

Thematic Directions of Seminars and Trainings

The project’s training program included seminars, master classes and trainings in Kyiv, Poltava, Cherkasy, Sumy, Mykolaiv, inspiring participants to take an active stance. Pictures: Work in small groups during the training “The Integrating Capacity of Local Communities: Support and Development of Cultural Initiatives” held in Cherkasyand Development of Cultural Initiatives’ held in Cherkasy.

Peace, peacemaking, negotiations – basic notions in reconciliation practices. How should one talk about conflicts? The possibilities of discussing different elements of a conflict. Conflict resolution methods, patterns of behavior in a conflict, methods of resolving conflict situations. Culture: similarities and differences. Bosnian experience of peacebuilding initiatives. The wars of memories. Modern art for dialogues. Identity, stereotypes, minorities, discrimination. Conflict and cultural sensitivity in cultural projects. Community theater practice as the creation of space for dialogue and gaining experience of resolving conflict situations. Project management: management strategies. Establishing effective communication with target audiences. Monitoring and evaluation of project-based activities. Establishing efficient communication with target audience. The example of the mass media. Partnership “formula” or ways of finding likeminded people and working in a team. Local community resources for the integration of IDPs. Cultural cooperation technologies in local communities. Design experience. Creating enabling environment for studying, innovations, creative cooperation. How to work with culture resources for the development of the integrating capacity of local communities. Fundraising: types of partners for the creation of a project in the culture domain. The management of cultural initiatives: how can you obtain necessary information support?

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

CULTURAL VISIT OF LVIV PROGRAM Max Weber was right. If we learn anything from the history of economic development, it is that culture makes all the diďŹ&#x20AC;erence. David Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations

The Unknown Known Lviv: the Memory of Generations and the Reconciliation of Memories

Pictured: Orysia Bila

Every time the talkative tour guide starts a tour at Rynok Square in Lviv, the ﬁrst thing he does is drawing attention to the city name: Lviv, Lvov, Lwów, Lemberg. All these are the names of the same place that remind us of its centuriesold history, but, simultaneously, remain a visible sign of its diverse identity. Like a young lady who was married multiple times, changing her last name with each new marriage, Lviv is forced to reconsider itself anew each time. For many of us – Lviv residents and non-Lviv residents alike – the city is the cradle of Ukrainian essence, a cultural capital, a place where national identity is cherished and history is remembered. It is like a compass that can be used to verify the

old age of the Ukrainian statehood; at the same time, it stands as our symbol of the struggle for independence. For many years, I had perceived the city this very same way, until my foreign colleagues once showed the map of Lviv and asked me to take them around the mass shooting sites of World War II. A mark on the map indicated a location some two hundred meters away from my parent’s home. Lysynytskyi Forest, which my friends wanted to get to, lies near the city line; since a long time ago, it was a traditional recreation site for children and adults of our community. This time, however, it emerged before as a whole diﬀerent place. The foot of the hill from which we would slide down on our sledges every year, turned out to be a shooting site. It is here that in the years of World War II the Germans brought daily by trucks and shot the prisoners of “Citadel” and Janowska concentration camp, as well as thousands of common Jewish people who were arrested on city squares and streets in the course of numerous raids. More than 200,000 people were murdered that way. In 1943, when it became obvious that the Germans would retreat, a decision was made to unearth and burn the bodies in order to erase any and all evidence of the past. For a better eﬀect (forgive the cynicism of the phrase) ashes were sifted through sieves. Not all bones burned at once. Therefore, Gestapo was sure to dispatch special grinding machines to execution sites to grind bone remnants. When my colleagues and I entered the forest, by all means, all of that was long gone from the place. I do admit that prior to our visit on that day I had heard nothing either of gestapo atrocities or mass murders perpetrated in Lysynytskyi Forest. Perched on top of one of

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

CULTURAL VISIT OF LVIV PROGRAM

Cultural exchange program participants during the discussion about the wars of memories (The Center for Urban History of East Central Europe, Lviv)

the hills is a single modest wooden cross with a plate attached to it that says, “Italian soldiers rest in peace here”. Ironically, in the street where I live there is not a single family that could be called the witnesses of this tragedy. My family, just as most of our neighbors, moved to Lviv much later, in 1950s. However, the old residents of the village of Lysynychi, from which the forest name is derived, know much more. The say that some of them remember ﬁrsthand the smell of burnt human ﬂesh that hung over the forest for weeks. Frankly speaking, I was not prepared to face this history of Lviv. Not one of Lviv guidebooks had the slightest mention of those events. Not a single school teacher ever related that. And, for sure, no one in my family ever told that story. 62

When I found myself on Rynok Square next time, I beheld it with diﬀerent eyes. I hadn’t known anything of such side of the city. I was not quite sure anymore that I was fully aware of where I live, whether these people around me are Lviv residents. The homogeneous, understandable and native Lviv vanished all of a sudden. Of all the people I am acquainted with living in Lviv, only one family could trace its roots back to pre-war Lviv. The majority were resettlers from other Polish territories and surrounding villages or the descendants of former soviet party functionaries. In all fairness, one ought to point out that many families of pre-war Lviv managed to escape; many of them, especially the Poles, were forcefully resettled outside the Soviet Union in the framework of Operation Vistula. However, the fact remains: the period between late 1940s and early 1950s is characterized as a huge blank in the history of Lviv, as though the entire city had perished and was settled anew.

www.dvv-international.org.ua

*** The image of Lviv as a cultural capital of Ukraine and the heart of Ukrainian essence was extremely popular in the first decade of the country’s independence. It is to this city that foreign hostile mass media refer when speaking about “Banderian” Lviv and alleging that the lack of knowledge of the Ukrainian language may be basis for physical persecution here. In 1990s, this image helped Lviv residents to make distinct their own identity in a situation of a respectively homogenous soviet space dominated from the very beginning by Russian culture. Speaking Ukrainian, wearing vyshyvanka (embroidered shirt), taking pride in your ethnic background – all that is directed at emphasizing the fact that we are different, we are autochthonic, we have a culture of our own, and here it is, embodied in a great urban space, in the Ukrainian city of Lviv. *** In his brief essay titled Nietzsche, Genealogy, History, French philosopher Michel Foucault stated that Europeans traditionally used historical science in order to discover the evidence of their own identity in the past. History served as a mirror in which people “recognized” themselves in the figures and epochs of the past (after all, we do it to this very day), asserted the sustainability and reliability of their own traditions, and proclaimed the truth. A desperate desire to localize oneself in the history pointed to the need to gain power over the fleetness of ones’ own being. In a way, history replaced metaphysics for modern Europeans. The image of a perennial Ukrainian Lviv was an absolute must at the time when Ukrainian statehood was budding. Nonetheless, there exist other Lvivs: the Austrian Lviv, the Polish one, the Soviet one… Lviv history, much like that of Ukraine, became a genuine battlefield for the truth. To understand what is asserted here, it suffices to recollect how many times

in the last fifteen years school textbooks on Ukrainian history were rewritten. However, what does history really talk about each time we revisit our own understanding of the past? Is it not our mirror, looking into which we actually rewrite ourselves in modernity, rethink who we ourselves are? Eight years ago, Lviv Municipal Administration proposed a new paradigm for the city. Its symbol became embedded in the slogan: Lviv: Open to the World and a logo featuring five famous Lviv towers: the Armenian Church, the Roman Catholic Cathedral, the City Hall Tower, the Bernardine Monastery, and the Church in Ruska Street. The five towers stand for the multicultural legacy of Lviv. In the artistic sense, they encompass four centuries of Lviv architecture – from eastern fifteenth-century Renaissance to nineteenth-century Austrian classicism. Back in 2007, this image of Lviv seemed rather inclusive for me. Today, I perceive it as the silent sign of History. Not a sign of things that have been told, but a sign of things untold. Things that were lost in oblivion or erased, things that will never rise above the roofs of Lviv, simply because they exist no more. Do present-day residents of Lviv have an obligation to remember the tragedies of the past that befell the city? Should modern Jews of Lviv, most of who moved into the city with other resettlers in 1950s-1960s, keep the memory of the exterminated Jewish community? Should ethnic Ukrainians or Russians remember about it? Or should we all rather take the stance of a courteous guest who had the ill luck of inheriting a house with a not very trustworthy past, but who still hopes for a happy life in his new abode? What is the duty to remember those whom we never saw and of whose life stories we know but a tiny bit, based upon? A favorable tourist strategy or, after all, something significantly profounder? Probably, the question of what Lviv is should be revisited here. Is it a locality?

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

CULTURAL VISIT OF LVIV PROGRAM A landscape at the backdrop of which our lives pass by? Or is Lviv, perhaps, something completely diﬀerent, a symbolic space-time which each of us forms individually and in communion with others. Each and every stone house, every cobble, every street is a human trace, a point of correlation of your own self with the world. We are not placed into this world as something alien; instead, like snails, we build the world up around ourselves. Lviv is the sign of human existence. Identifying ourselves as Lviv residents, we place ourselves into this symbolic space of mutual existence, we correlate ourselves with it and, concurrently, we correlate ourselves with each person to have ever belonged to it.

because the truth demands so. Parrhesia becomes a means of incorporating the Other in order to restore the balance of forces that was lost in political repressions or normalization mechanisms. *** One shouldn’t expect all Lviv (or Odesa or Kyiv) residents without exception to understand or hear the voices of those who were crossed out from the annals of history for one reason or another. However, making audible the voice of those who were not only deprived of the dignity of life, but also of the dignity of death, is the obligation of all who heard that voice. That duty is mine and yours. For them, and for our own selves too.

*** In the last years of his life, Michel Foucault endeavored to fathom whether it is possible to raise one’s voice in history by not only critically rethinking modernity, but also by becoming its active co-creator. In Plato’s works, he discovered the notion of parrhesia, which is translated from Old Greek as “speaking truth boldly”. Parrhesia stands for the courage to voice a diﬀerent truth, that which the society does not count on hearing, but the one that we ought to deliver to the society, even despite possible threats and non-acceptance. “He who practices parrhesia is he who speaks his mind, not concealing anything; and, when speaking to others, fully opens up his heart and mind.” Socrates is one of the prototypes of parrhesiast, who did not fear pointing out to citizens the drawbacks that they tolerated, because he cared for himself and others. Say everything that ought to be said, what we want to say, what we believe is our duty to say, because it is right,

By Orysia Bila

Yulia Manukian poses acute questions to lecturers

www.dvv-international.org.ua

What Does War Teach Us? One of the locations of the Cultural Visit of Lviv program is the City History Center, where participants learned about cultural legacy development projects, progressive approaches to the study of the past in modern Ukraine, and the opportunities for establishing the dialogue between generations. And viewing the “Great War of 1914… Personal and Global Experience” Exhibition yielded a chance to continue the discussion about the ways of reconciliation in the Ukrainian society.

impolite staﬀ are the legacy that came down to us from the soviet past. Almost a quarter a century passed since the collapse of the USSR, but for the Ukrainians museums still have not become a place where history would be presented not as a silent observer, but as a talkative friend willing to share every detail about himself. The multimedia exhibition dedicated to World War I is a nonconventional way to present history in Ukraine. Many exhibits disclose not just an image of a commonplace German, Frenchman or Englishman, but an individual: through the suﬀering of one person, you can behold the tragedy of the entire world. The problems of nationalism, patriotism, honor and human memory, love and everyday life set against the backdrop of war constitute the main pages of personal experience presented at the exhibition. But what did World War I teach humanity? If anything at all? Irish writer James Joyce wrote that history is a nightmare from which you want to awake. For the Ukrainians, history in that

As strange as it is, for a certain part of Ukrainians, the phrase “history museum” is primarily associated with something bland and tedious. Institutions with dusty exhibits and integrationcenter97@gmail.com

CULTURAL VISIT OF LVIV PROGRAM

interpretation has been part of everyday life for more than two decades. Millions of people in the country are aware of the terrors of the past; at the same time, lessons that can be learned from separate chapters of history are contemplated by few. Looking at how the past is researched in Ukraine, people cannot understand how answers to questions that they are concerned about today can be found on the yellow pages of old documents. By Petro Smirnov

www.dvv-international.org.ua

Yaroslav Hrytsak: Shifting to the Open Access Mode During their visit of Lviv, the participants of the “From Destruction to Creation: Ways of Reconciliation in Ukrainian Society” Project had an interesting conversation with a renowned historian Yaroslav Hrytsak in the Ukrainian Catholic University. He talked about the unique nature of Ukrainian experience, about values and cultural diﬀerences. Project participants asked Yaroslav Hrytsak a lot of questions, but he posed even more questions to all of us, having outlined the main transformations in the modern society. The conversation was recorded by Petro Smirnov. About stereotypes: “Have you asked yourself a question, how fast it is possible to overcome a distance inside the country, because a nation is communication. Hyundai trains and lowcosts are becoming a necessity for Ukraine, because stereotypes grow at a distance.” About historical memory: “Ukraine lacks two things: political will and strategy. I believe that we should implement the Spanish development model, when in any political speech it was prohibited to talk about history. Unfortunately, our politicians are returning to this discourse again. But why? Recall it when Yushchenko started working on the politics of historical memory, it became clear that reforms had lost.” About those who make a revolution in Ukraine: “If you ask Ukrainians how their lives changed over a year, they will tell you that everything got worse. However, if you ask them at the same time whether they bought an

apartment, a car and a computer for their child, they will answer that they did. They don’t lie; it’s just that the enumerated values stopped being the symbols of wealth to them. All of these are the features of people whose expectations are overstated, and that is good. Think about who makes a revolution in Ukraine – young people with higher education. They were the backbone of the Occupy Movement in the US, the Arab Spring, and Euromaidan. It is a revolt of the middle class that lives online, where there is no idea of vertical authority, which is why Putin and Yanukovych for them is an odd thing. In their space, either everyone is a boss or everyone is a fool.” What do Ukrainians pay for? “In Ukraine, people are ready to pay a high price for changes, but today we pay for the absence of these changes. It is noteworthy that each generation has its own experience and the generation that survived a war will not want change. In order to move forward, a generation must rise that does not remember the times of distress. No one can break out of the state of slavery in ten years. To that end, a new generation must come in place of the old one.” About the new generation: “The new generation believes that it is equal with everyone. They do not join parties and do not run for elections, but they can take to streets when necessary. It is a serious issue, because this class does not have political will to implement reforms. Right now, all these people are 25-30 years old. 20 years from now they will be 40 and up, and then they will make it to the positions of power. We need to understand that we closed

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

CULTURAL VISIT OF LVIV PROGRAM the window of opportunity; however, a corridor was opened.” Why can’t the society change the system? “The right way for Ukraine is transition to sustainable economic development; however, in order to secure that it is necessary to switch over the political system and to shift to the open access mode. The society cannot switch over the system because it possesses no necessary political levers and cannot implement reforms. Such levers are in the hands of the political class that must come and do it.” Why must present-day political elites in Ukraine die? “Implementation of shocking and speedy reforms may be compared to slow suicide of the current political elite. They are afraid, but they’ve got to do it. We see today that the hand has trembled, because living the new way does not mean talking about it; it means switching the system over. Most likely, we are now prolonging the disease. We are getting used to it, but this is an adjustment of a week organism, because the disease is getting stronger. We are at the threshold of political instability, and possible in this regard is new Maidan, new parliamentary election and premature presidential election – but that is the price for not implementing reforms within a short period of time.”

Cultural exchange program participants during the meeting with Yaroslav Hrytsak at the UCU

www.dvv-international.org.ua

Supply Generates Demand: KLASTER Urban Initiative on the Speciﬁc Features and Challenges of the On-The-Block Culture

Illustration by Oksana Vaskiv-Kukul

Change Through Culture is the mission of the activists of the KLASTER partner Urban Initiative that emerged as the product of mutual eﬀorts of Drabyna Art Studio and the Wiz-Art Formation. In February 2013, project coordinators went to one of the most remote areas of Lviv – Zboyishcha – and took under wing the Prosvita Public House, which before that had operated only nominally. Over the period, transformations mainly have touched the house itself, while the neighborhood residents still treat the initiative with a certain degree of mistrust. Viktoria Shvydko, one of

the Public House curators, does not deem her work to be something similar to tilting at windmills; however, she stated multiple times that insignificant progress for her is a serious step forward. In the interview, she shared about the challenges the implementers of the initiative are facing, how important the role of city council in implementation of this project is and whether culture can compete with the church. What were the main weaknesses and drawbacks of the location at the initial stage of the project? Viktoria Shvydko: The condition of the building was what jumped out at you the first instant. It was obvious right away that no overhaul restoration works had been performed on the place for a long while. One of the scariest things you could come across in Lviv, the cultural capital of Ukraine, in the twenty-first century, is that an institution belonging to the domain of culture didn’t even have a restroom. There was water supply, but no water closet. We weren’t going there to do culture so much as doing some rudimentary things that would allow undertaking certain cultural and educational activities. This situation was directly connected to the general state of things. If people were okay about coming to a building that was about to collapse in their presence, and they thought that their culture were the things happening there in the cold in the spirit of 70-year old traditions, that means that they were either idle or had no other option to go after. When we were developing the annual report and

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

CULTURAL VISIT OF LVIV PROGRAM shared about what we did throughout the year and why we didn’t conduct any club activities (it is not normal to have any activities with children when they freeze in their coats inside the building), we were rebuked that we were not plumbers, nor constructors, why did we even do it all, if our business was to organize club activities. And when we started offering other activities, other way of culture, leisure, we faced even more resistance. People are always unacceptable of things that are different, things that are new. Especially, when such things are put forward not from within, but from without. So, what is the situation today? How did the grinding-in process go? People believe that since we came to work in the Public House, we ought to undertake the placemaking, equipping the stadium, campaigning against unwanted new development projects the owners of which do not want to secure proper facilities. A million-million-million different tasks. This is understandable, since municipal administration does little to secure normal conditions for life and leisure in the neighborhood. Therefore, it is hard to observe any progress. For me, it is super huge; however, if you tell other people about it, they will cast a weird look at you saying, “Seriously? Thirty people?” Children always run around there, they come there like it’s their home, they feel comfortable, they clean after themselves, they ask for permission. Moreover, we have managed to restore to a normal condition two small rooms, to equip the building with different technical things, to get computers and chairs on charitable conditions, etc. For me, it is a great achievement, but, at the same time, people believe that someone else is supposed to do it, not them. And it is also an impediment. It looks like KLASTER is opposed to everyone. Did anything that had been there before you arrived add any value to the project? At first, there were a few people who treated us positively and, actually, became the 70

mediators between us and the other residents of the community. Owing to them we achieved a certain level of trust. Right now, we are trying to somehow raise awareness among people and make things better one step at a time. The residents seem to be slowly starting to see the true essence of what we do; nonetheless, some unbreakable reinforced concrete walls remain, such as, not a single graffiti is allowed on the building, because it is disgusting, we have Shevchenko’s portrait placed here. Come on, let that portrait be placed here, nice and calm. But it seems to me that it is a matter of time. To what extent did you sense that the people residing there needed the project? We didn’t have such a sensation at all. Then why did your organization decide to go ahead and implement that project there? Because supply generates demand. If demand had generated supply over there, things would have been completely different. It would look like a building that active citizens decided to repair, it would become attractive and people would feel like joining in, making a contribution and so on. And in the context of the development of cultural life of Lviv, this area in Zboyishcha district became one of the dead points, which, unfortunately, are far too many in the city, and which simply needed supply. It so happened that KLASTER became such people’s choice to come and make an attempt at creating that supply. In your opinion, how acute is the necessity to implement this project in that community? Is there a need for such an initiative among the residents of Zboyishcha? I believe that this project requires some additional effort, since it is very difficult in a community – even if it is a rather small one – to debunk the popular idea that if something is not mine, then some other person will come over and make things right. This institution is city property and the city pays salaries to this

www.dvv-international.org.ua

small staff of four people, but the building and everything that is happening there is done for the community and is the property of these people, because, after all they are tax payers. One needs to drive it home for them that we came to work as their partners. By all means, no need to generalize everything, there are separate people who are willing to share their skills or offer help or a resource, by they are one in a hundred. This could be a collective mindset, if there were the understanding that the city cannot repair the fence, but there are 50 people: one of them can bring a piece of mesh fencing, he has a welding device, and the other men have two spare days and they can erect the fence, and, thus, get the job done. But the thing is, no one cares, and I, a 25-year-old girl with a background in humanities, unfortunately, will not be welding fences. I would like to believe that it just takes closer work with the community, rather than stepping back and saying, “okay, no means no, we’re getting out of here”. How lasting is this project in terms of time? Is a situation possible where you are not able to reach the ultimate goal and leave it all behind? Firstly, this project is not limited in time and it really does not have any conditions. The city council didn’t pose any requirements to us regarding a timeframe and a list of things to be done within that timeframe. And I am aware that it depends both on us – our willingness and resources – and the community, that is, how they themselves, or with someone’s help, come to realize that if they want to see qualitative positive change there, they must get involved. So, I would like to wish us strength and endurance. How important is the support from authorities in such a project? Would things have been totally different if the culture department didn’t provide its support? I do not know whether things would have been completely different, but the cooperation

of a non-governmental organization and a public institution became possible due to the goodwill of the city council. I mean, the participation here is more of a mentor type, rather than practical and pragmatic. I think that without the city council it would have all come to a close quickly, because when we had those rare meetings with citizens, the representatives of the department of culture tried to explain to people what was going on and how it was supposed to work. Such things are important, because in that case you see support at least from another side, and don’t deem yourself to be a lone ranger. Although, in principle, that is what it really is. How large is the share of financing provided by the city council? Large enough. They provide for the utility needs in respect of the building, there is a money quota allocated annually to cover certain small expenses. However, at the same time, there is another development budget, and rather big amounts of money are allocated annually for the purposes of reconstruction of different institutions in the culture domain. This year the money was designated for the waterproofing of the house, because there is a problem with the basement that is always filled with water. It is a very important thing; after that, an overhaul renovation may be performed. I hope that at least basic works will be completed by year’s end. I mean, one cannot say that the city council does not participate in the development of this community or this building, but it takes a specific, rather limited part. After the resignation of the Culture Department Head of Lviv City Council, Iryna Magdysh, have there been any kind of threats in respect of the project? No, because the Culture Department, sorry for saying it so bluntly, is not Iryna Magdysh alone. It was a team headed by Iryna Magdysh. A regrettable incident occurred, but the team remained. And the manager, who is

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

CULTURAL VISIT OF LVIV PROGRAM

The lecture Shevchenko. Creating a Superhero Photo by Tetiana Popovych

currently an acting head, he actually is a part of the previous team, that is, he is aware of what the plans were and continues along the lines previously established. Therefore, I see no threat, because it really is not there. At the outset of the project you shared that you wanted to make this space useful not only for the residents of Zboyishcha, but for other boroughs as well. And the overall project mission is making the entire city a center. What activities are undertaken with respect to the residents of other Lviv boroughs so that the Public House is useful for all? Come on! Let’s be realistic. When a team works for two years with a neighborhood community and manages to stay in touch and not fall out with each other, what work can there be with others? The entire city is a center – is the mission of Klaster.in.ua. To transform 72

and make some performative things on all the abandoned buildings in Lviv. Zboyishcha is a case that shows how it is done, in what ways it is successful and in what way it isn’t, and what stage we have reached after two or three years. That is, our mission is more of an inspiring, idealistic one. As regards our willingness to involve other residents from other boroughs, it is about the emergence on mental maps of an institution, a specific location that someone from downtown can visit, because they know that it is going to be a venue of an awesome event that could be of interest. We are fully aware of the fact that we are not bringing a fundamental change to this world, all the more over a period of a few years. Your target audience encompasses all borough community members. Are the projects that you are implementing in the context of the Public House oriented towards each person individually, or are you somehow trying to reconcile the parts of your audience with one another? Regular events that we organize specifically target the very young generation, preschoolers. One-time events cater to the needs of a very diverse audience. For instance, in order to diversify audience, we conducted lectures, some holiday celebrations, and not only national ones. We had the mother’s day, when we involved parents, mothers, children, and held mutual activities. It is easiest of all to gather together children and to spend time with them on a regular basis. It is very hard to gather moms or grandmas and grandpas, although we do espouse the idea of uniting generations. It is a long-term investment; you receive real feedback over a rather long period of time. There cannot be a situation whereby you do something today and you get a return tomorrow, you get a super awesome team, everyone works, everyone is satisfied, a Pleasantville of a kind. That is why I am optimistic that it will come in ten or twenty years.

www.dvv-international.org.ua

The Moving Borders Project. Photo by Tetiana Popovych

There are four temples in this community. Do you feel like being a competitor of the church? What do you do to attract people? Residents base their plans on church. I know that the previous manager [of the Public House], roughly speaking, was exploiting church, as comical as it sounds. Because, actually, to every event she managed to organize once every three months, she brought a priest, who gave his speech. And people would show up, because the priest told them at sermon time to show up. We do not avoid church ministers, we asked them a few times to announce some of our events, and even posted our announcement on the church notice board. But, I guess, we just don’t lend credibility. Therefore, priests don’t quite frequent our events, even when we invite them. Competition? Partially, yes. I agree to words spoken by Iryna Magdysh, for which she was compromised with the purpose to drive her out of the oﬃce. Because church is a great and potent force. I do not want to persuade any one in any manner to embrace this or that religion, but this ought to

be accepted and understood. Looking at the cultural context in Ukraine, church possesses huge power to unite people around it and they are so involved and excited about the unity that they can’t even assume that it can be manifested in some other ways, some other directions. That it is possible to unite, for instance, around the activity of planting trees in the neighborhood. Sometimes they do have such an idea, but they plant trees for the Mother of God. In order to achieve balance it would be nice if they could add diversity into their union. It is obvious that it is not the last project to be implemented by Klaster. Do you have any plans with regard to the modernization of other sites? Not at this point, God help us finish what we have started. We tried, indeed. We just wanted to be a sort of an umbrella for initiatives in different boroughs, which could communicate with us. Since we work as a non-governmental organization, this could be a mutual grant history. We tried to collaborate with the activists from Pid Holoskom [Street], we were very open, we shared all the information we had at our disposal with them, offered them all we could provide, but, for some reason, we failed to maintain cooperation, they somehow cooled down and we didn’t continue prodding them so that they keep going. Therefore, I hope that we will get around to meeting with the representatives of different initiatives in Lviv, because they are numerous, really. We want to find companions among them, to arrange effective work, so that we can really cover these boroughs and, thus, have a network of activists working in different boroughs, but for the same cause and who are aware of what is going on in Levandivka, Riasne and Zboyishcha.

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

CULTURAL VISIT OF LVIV PROGRAM The Path to Community Development Lies through the Revival of Traditions

In 2014, an adult learning center was launched in Yavoriv district of Lviv region with support of the DVV International in Ukraine. 10 mini projects implemented over a year helped almost 500 people in the region to acquire new skills and realize that learning in adulthood is the norm of life. To see how similar initiatives operate in Ukraine, the participants of the Cultural exchange program came to the Hostynets Local Studies Specialist Union in the town of Novoyavoriv and talked to those who implemented this project. During Tetiana Kosyk’s master class, the participants were given a challenging task 74

pertaining to overcoming conﬂict situations in the community. Working in small groups, they tried to put together a letter “T” from wooden pieces… until they realized that the only way to successfully perform the task was through teamwork. Cultural exchange program participants toured the studios created on the premises of the secondary school in the village of Starychi. It was here that the local studies experts from Yavoriv district worked on the project aimed at the revival of handicraft – Easter egg paining and the making of traditional wooden toys – Yavoriv

www.dvv-international.org.ua

zabavka (toy). Building the dialogue with the past through these master classes, mentors endeavor to show that the revival

of Ukrainian cultural legacy can be not only exciting, but also a fashionable pastime for all generations.

Cultural exchange program participants at Tetiana Kosykâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s master classes

integrationcenter97@gmail.com

Г-61 Handbook of Best Practices of the “From Destruction to Creation. Ways of Reconciliation in the Ukrainian Society” Project / Compiled by Yuliya Golodnikova. Kyiv, Kontekst Ukraiina LLC, - 76 p. ISBN 978-617-7356-02-7 The handbook presents the experience of implementing cultural initiatives in the framework of the “From Destruction to Creation. Ways of Reconciliation in the Ukrainian Society” Project financed by The Federal Foreign Office of Germany. The project was implemented by Nongovernmental organization “Integration and Development Center for Information and Research” in partnership with the Representative Office of the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association (DVV International) in Ukraine. The initiative is based on the results and is a logical continuation of the “Mutual Future of the Ukrainian Society After Maidan. Facilitating Mutual Understanding and Cooperation in Conflict Prevention” Project and is aimed at the development of partnership and cooperation approach in local communities through the implementation of diverse cultural initiatives aimed at deconstructing stereotypes, building mutual respect and strengthening trust. УДК 316.6/.7(477) ББК 60.56(4Укр)

Посібник з найкращих практик проекту “Від руйнування – до творення. Шляхи примирення в українському суспільстві”/ Автор концепції та упорядник: Ю. О. Голоднікова. – К.: ТОВ “Контекст Україна”, 2015. – 76 с. : іл.

From Destruction to Creation. Ways of Reconciliation in the Ukrainian Society

Compiled by Yuliya Golodnikova Design: Tetyana Zabolotna, Yegor Ryabokon’ Translation: Sergii Kolomiiets Photos made by: Petro Smirnov, Sergiy Aniskov, Tetyana Popovych Printed by Yurii Nikolaenko (self-employed individual) Sklozavodskaya street, 4, of.10, Bucha, Kyiv Region, 08292 Ukraine

Format: 90x64/8. Chalk paper. Offset printing. Number of printer’s sheets: 59.5. Pressrun: 100 copies. Order No. 264