EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Katarína Mathernová, visited Vinnytsia in early June. As part of her visit, she promoted the All-Ukrainian communication campaign ‘Together, We Act’ focused on supporting Ukrainian civil society and independent media. For this reason, Katarína Mathernová visited two EU-funded projects in Vinnytsia.

One of them, Media Support for the EU Delegation to Ukraine, helps journalists. In Vinnytsia, the project hosted a training session “EU: Simply about complex. Vinnytsia”.

The media representatives were introduced to the European Union’s establishment and development history, as well as various issues related to Ukraine’s accession negotiations. They learnt more about the EU’s support for Ukraine since the outbreak of the full-scale Russian invasion, cooperation between Vinnytsia region and EU member states, etc.

Another CSO, the Vinnytsia-based analytical and educational centre VT Prostir (Veteran Space), is currently implementing a project to provide legal and psychological support to veterans and their families.

A few months ago, it became one of the winners of the “Keeping the Line” competition held as part of the European Renaissance of Ukraine partnership initiative of the International Renaissance Foundation and the European Union (read more about this project in the Project News section).

As a result of the full-scale war and the introduction of martial law, the work of Ukrainian journalists has become more dangerous and difficult. However, even in the current circumstances, the media effectively fulfil their role as a watchdog of democracy, objectively informing society, continuing to serve as the government oversight instrument, and countering Russian propaganda.

This was raised during the discussion ‘Media as a pillar of democracy: shaping the future of Ukraine’, held in Kyiv on the occasion of the Journalist’s Day by the Institute of Mass Information and Reporters Without Borders with the support of the EU Delegation to Ukraine.

Around 200 journalists, experts, civil society activists, government officials, politicians, diplomats and international organisations representatives attended the event.

The participants of the event visited the exhibition ‘On the Frontlines of Truth’ and watched the documentary ‘Fixers in Wartime: Invisible Reporters’ about the work of Ukrainian journalists in conflict zones and in extreme conditions.

In June, Khmelnytsky hosted the first regional event of the Together We Act communication campaign. The fest of the same name was held in one of the city’s parks.

The fest’s programme was intense. Guests could visit the information tent of the EU Delegation to Ukraine and the Alley of CSOs ‘Solidarity’, several thematic interactive zones and a photo area.

Public discussions focused on the role of civil society and the media. Visitors could complete the ‘Together. Europe and Ukraine’ quest, and there was a playground for children.

The exhibition ‘Together We Act. Support’ told the story of civil society organisations that have received assistance from the European Union and have been able to work effectively as a result.

Just like the previous fest in Kyiv, the event in Khmelnytskyi was geared towards raising awareness about the importance of civil society and independent media and the support provided by the European Union. At the same time, the TogetherWeAct Fests offer visitors not only important and interesting information, but also a chance to relax.

On 30 June, the Fest took place in Rivne, with Vinnytsia and Cherkasy to follow.

More than 100 participants became winners of the quiz on EU support for civil society and media organisations. In total, about 1,400 people entered the competition.

The winners were awarded water bottles, caps and Rubik’s cubes. The competition was held in two categories: junior (under 14 years old) and senior (over 14 years old).

Like all the quizzes on the Euroquiz platform, this one was both a competition and a source of interesting and enlightening information for the quizzers.

For instance, even the questions revealed that the leaders in receiving EU grants and related subgrants are civil society organisations from Kyiv (over 330 projects), as well as Kharkiv (178), Lviv (174), and Sumy (165) regions.

Or that as of the first quarter of 2024, there were 63 EU grant projects in Ukraine with a total budget of more than EUR 104 million – at the same time, about two thousand sub-grant projects that are currently being implemented in Ukraine, and another 346 are being executed through the regional grant mechanism.

Other questions required no knowledge of numbers, but the correct answers also contained interesting facts.

For example, the quizzers had to answer one of the questions on how the EU managed to promptly support Ukrainian civil society organisations in the first days of full-scale Russian aggression. The correct answer is that it did so by diverting previously provided grant funding to meet the urgent needs of survival and protection from the aggression.

The quiz was held as part of the ‘TogetherWeAct’ communication campaign. It focuses on EU assistance to Ukrainian civil society organisations and media in four main areas: support for reforms that bring Ukraine closer to the European Union; support for CSOs that bring people with common interests together; support for CSOs that focus on helping vulnerable groups in society, including psychological support; and support for independent media.

In fact, correctly naming the number of areas of the Together We Act campaign was also one of the tasks for the quiz participants.

This is how war veteran Andriy Melnyk describes his experience of rafting on small rivers in Vinnytsia region. In January 2033, during an assault on enemy positions, he was seriously wounded and lost his leg, and now uses a prosthesis.

Military medic Olha Drohobetska has been a war veteran since 2021 and is currently on maternity leave. She admits that participating in the rafting trip was a way for her to overcome a barrier in communicating with other veterans.

The rafting is organised by the Vinnytsia-based analytical and educational centre Veterans’ Space as part of a project to provide legal and psychological support to veterans and their families. The organisation received a grant from the European Renaissance programme, which is jointly implemented by the EU and the International Renaissance Foundation.

Communication between veterans, bringing them closer together and uniting them is one of the project’s goals. The rafting trips have been very popular from the start. This recreational activity for veterans was chosen after a focus group survey with the target audience, which gave rise to the grant application.

According to Veterans’ Space’s plans, the canoe rafting trips will continue until the end of September. They take place on the Riv and Zgar rivers, which flow through Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi regions. The rafting trips are one-day, with stopovers in picturesque places.

The RES-POl project (Rapid Expert Support for Culture and Media Policies in Ukraine) investigated the current state and prospects of creative hubs: what are they today, what are their needs, challenges and opportunities? Initially, in- depth interviews were conducted with more than two dozen representatives of such hubs, and in June, the findings were presented and debated in a public discussion.

Creative hubs tend to develop better in large cities where there is a circulation of talent – but it is also important to develop them in smaller towns, as they can be a development driver there. There is a lack of analytics, regulation and sustainable funding for such venues. It is in creative spaces that interaction takes place, which gives inspiration to creative people. These are some of the conclusions or points that were made during the public discussion of the RES-POl project’s findings.

It was attended by Oleksandra Venslavovska, the founder and head of the Pich (‘stove ledge’) cultural space in Vinnytsia.

However, the demand for the hub does not mean that it will exist without problems. Among other things, she said, the authorities need to pay attention to it or to determine their attitude to such cultural spaces.

In fact, the survey conducted by the RES-POL project aimed to bring information about the problems and opportunities of cultural hubs to government institutions.

Road construction equipment worth almost a million euros was solemnly handed over in June to Higher Vocational School No. 22 in Sarny, Rivne region. The EU4Skills: Modernisation of Vocational Education Infrastructure in Ukraine project has helped to improve the school’s facilities.

The school received three excavators, a land leveller, a truck crane, a bulldozer, a loader, a roller – nine pieces of equipment in total – as well as four spare parts and three training units. The machines will be used by students pursuing a degree in road construction machinery.

The project is being implemented by the German KfW Bank through the Ukrainian Social Investment Fund.

Sarny Vocational School No. 22 currently trains in 26 licensed occupations. According to Vitaliy Sashko, Deputy Director for Training and Operations, the Road Construction Machine Operator speciality is one of the leaders in terms of graduate employment.

Thanks to the newly acquired equipment, the school plans to introduce training in new specialities, such as Land Leveller Operator and Truck Crane Operator.

In total, the EU4Skills: Modernisation of Vocational Education Infrastructure in Ukraine project delivered 34 units of agricultural machinery (tractors, harvesters, seeders, reapers, etc.), nine units of road construction machinery and more than 60 units of sewing equipment to five vocational schools participating in the programme.

In addition to providing equipment to the schools, the project is helping to modernise the infrastructure of eight vocational schools, and construction work is currently underway at six of them.

In the next academic year, Khmelnytsky Higher Vocational School No. 25 may introduce a new speciality – PV station installer. The vocational school is technically ready for this: it has its own PV station, classroom, and instructional resources.

All of this came about as a result of the EU-funded project Solar Energy as an Educational Component, which the school implemented together with the Khmelnytskyi Energy Cluster CSO.

Olena Zahika, the school’s director, says that the institution has had plans to introduce solar energy into the learning process for a long time. And the project became a catalyst that allowed them to reach the level of dedicated training capacity.

The school’s power station is a training facility with a capacity of 3.5 kW. It is mounted on the roof of one of the buildings and is capable of illuminating production workshops if necessary.

The Solar Energy as an Educational Component project became one of the award winners of the grant call for green energy projects, which is being held with EU support by the Ecoclub and Ecodia civil society organisations.

Thanks to the project, solar energy is already being taught at the school as a course for students majoring in electrical maintenance and repair. Stepan Kushnir says that in view of the likely introduction of the speciality of solar station installer, the organisation would like to help the school develop its training facilities.

The Moshny and Lesky communities of Cherkasy region are currently working hard to draft their development strategies. They are being assisted in this by the Renaissance and Development Association (RDA) as part of the project entitled Strengthening the Resilience of Cherkasy Regional Communities through Engaging People in Recovery and Strategic Planning.

It is being implemented by the RDA with the support of the EU and the International Renaissance Foundation. The communities’ development strategies is a step-by-step process based on a series of training activities for officials and activists that provide a good understanding of development-related issues.

In June, three regular training sessions were held in the communities for the working groups responsible for drafting the strategies. During these and previous trainings, they discussed gender mainstreaming, environmental issues, and SWOT analysis. The Association’s experts, together with local residents, considered possible scenarios for community development and devised operational goals. The Association says that the training sessions are popular, with 20-30 people attending, depending on the subject matter and scope.

According to her, there are already outlines of some strategic areas of the community’s development, such as increasing tourist attractiveness and supporting small businesses.

Petro Mikhno, deputy head of the Lesky Community, says that more than 30 people volunteered to join the working group to develop the strategy – members of the executive committee, educators, civil society organisations, businesses, and active community leaders. And more than 350 residents took part in a survey on the current state of the community and its development priorities.

The work on the strategies will continue until October this year. Earlier, the Renaissance and Development Association conducted a survey of all communities in the Cherkasy region to determine whether they had strategic documents and found that 50 out of 66 already had their development strategies in place.

Olena Holovkina, RDA project manager, says that communities need to have such strategies for a number of reasons.

The project plans to hold a rural community conference this October.