On 16 May, Kyiv hosted the event ‘From Idea to Change: Launch of the Renaissance Clusters Grant Programme’, dedicated to the launch of initiatives in the field of culture and creative industries that received grant support from the UCORD project under the Renaissance Clusters programme.
Anastasia Bondar, Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalisation
Anastasiia Bondar, Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalisation, in her welcoming speech, stressed that culture, Ukrainian identity and history should be cross-cutting elements for development and recovery processes.
“The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications is preparing an initiative called Culture for Recovery. It is about how important it is to take culture into account in the reconstruction process. The Renaissance Clusters programme is a fantastic example of synergy with this initiative. In rebuilding, we must first and foremost emphasise our culture, identity and history. And it’s not just about preserving cultural heritage – it’s about introducing new services, creating social synergy that unites people in communities and creates an environment that people want to return to. I want culture to be an integral part of economic development, community unity, and the foundation of sustainable development,” the speaker said.
Ilona Postemska, Senior Programme Coordinator, Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine
Ilona Postemska, Senior Programme Coordinator at the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine, outlined the role of the UCORD project as a platform for cross-sectoral interaction, where culture is seen not as a separate industry but as a cross-cutting element that unites people, strengthens social cohesion and enhances development processes.
“The UCORD project combines seemingly completely different areas – water supply, culture and regional development. But in reality, development is impossible in separate sectors. It is an integral process based on interconnections, cooperation, and ongoing dialogue between representatives of different sectors and communities. The UCORD project has become such a platform for multisectoral interaction. And culture is a cross-cutting theme here, because for Ukrainians, culture is not only a value, but also a basic need, a driving force that nourishes us, strengthens our resilience and unites society.”
Maryna Bryl, UCORD Project Leader, spoke about how the competitive selection and selection of winning projects took place, and emphasised the important role of regional development agencies in this process as key partners of the UCORD project in the pilot regions.
Maryna Bryl, UCORD Project Leader
In particular, she reminded that the Renaissance Clusters grant programme is part of the UCORD project component aimed at strengthening social cohesion through culture and creative industries. She also noted that the extremely difficult selection of applications was carried out by a competition commission consisting of 6 international and Ukrainian experts. As a result of the two-stage selection process, 8 winning projects with a total budget of CHF 1.5 million were identified, which will be implemented with the support of the UCORD project.
“I would like to thank our partners – Regional Development Agencies in the pilot regions – because they were the first bridge between us and representatives of partner initiatives, having joined in disseminating information about this programme and later providing advice in the preparation of applications. The grantees will also continue to receive advisory support from RDAs as they implement their initiatives. “These projects carry a great responsibility, because through them we speak the language of culture, cultural heritage, and history. This once again confirms that we exist, we hold on and unite around our future,” said Maryna Bryl.
Hanna Bogachuk, Head of the Culture, Social Cohesion and Citizen Engagement component of the UCORD project, announced the winning initiatives, after which representatives of each of them presented their goals, partnerships and expected results.
The second part of the event was devoted to workshops aimed at inspiring grantees and helping them with future project implementation. In particular, Maryana Oleskiv, Head of the State Agency for Tourism Development in 2020-2024, member of the Supervisory Board of Capital European Affairs (Brussels, Belgium), spoke about the tools and strategies of cultural tourism for sustainable regional development, and Maryna Frolova, sensory creator, cultural manager and brand consultant, advocate of Ukrainian ethnicity, Effie-awarded brand director of Honey-Zavertailo, spoke about the art of communication. Ulyana Pcholkina, a public figure and TV presenter, accessibility consultant, taught the participants how to design events in accordance with the principles of accessibility and inclusiveness. Finally, representatives of the UCORD project team spoke about the conditions and criteria for the successful implementation of initiatives.
We would like to remind you that the Renaissance Clusters programme is aimed at supporting project partnerships between the public and public sectors that demonstrate the contribution of culture to regional development. It will be implemented in six pilot regions of the UCORD project: Vinnytsia, Volyn, Odesa, Sumy, Ternopil, and Khmelnytskyi.
The Renaissance Clusters grant programme is part of the Swiss-Ukrainian project ‘Ukraine Cohesion and Regional Development, UCORD’, which is implemented with the support of Switzerland via the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation by NIRAS Sweden AB.