On September 27, the third of a series of forums of the Swiss-Ukrainian UCORD project on culture and social cohesion took place in Khmelnytskyi. The forum “Culture and the potential of the individual” was devoted to the issues of the role of culture in the formation and development of a person and the impact of modern technologies on changes in cultural activity.
The organizer of the forum is the “Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development” project, UCORD, which is implemented with the support of Switzerland by NIRAS Sweden AB. The event was co-organized by the Regional Development Agency of Khmelnytskyi Region. The event was held with the assistance and participation of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Military Administration and the Khmelnytskyi Regional Council.
The forum “Culture and individual potential” gathered in Khmelnytskyi region more than 100 participants from 6 partner regions of the UCORD project – Vinnytsia, Volyn, Odesa, Sumy, Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi. These are employees of local executive bodies, local self-government bodies, cultural institutions and organizations, freelance artists, as well as all those whose activities are related to the sphere of culture, creative industries and social cohesion.
Through revealing the potential of identity – to a united Ukraine
On September 27, Khmelnytskyi became the epicenter of the Ukrainian discussion about identity and the potential of the individual as a factor in the formation of social cohesion. The tone of the forum was set by the introductory part: from the speeches of representatives of the regional government, the Regional Development Agency of the region and the UCORD project to the keynote speech on Ukrainian sustainability.
Of course, Khmelnychchyna introduced the participants to its bright artists – violinist Maya Onyshchuk, Honored Artist of Ukraine, and the folk children’s and youth choir “Zhuravlyk” (leader-honored worker of culture of Ukraine Ivan Netechya), who performed at the opening ceremony. The string quintet of the teachers of “Camera” of the Kamianets-Podilskyi City Children’s Music School named after F.D. Ganitsky welcomed the participants before the event began, and the paintings of the students of the Kamianets-Podilskyi Vocational College of Culture and Arts filled the space of the main hall with a unique cultural spirit and created an atmosphere that prepared the participants for deep reflections and creative dialogues.
The participants of the event were in a good mood all day long by the duo of presenters of “Nash Format” – Volodymyr Chernyak and Artem Martirosyan, winners of “Make the comedian laugh”, vice-champions of “Laughter League”, actors and screenwriters of “Country U”.
“Culture is the environment in which we are formed as individuals. It is the foundation on which our vision of the world is built,” stressed Vladislav Falyush, deputy head of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Military Administration.
“It is important that through culture we are now stimulating the development of our region, and this is happening thanks to the dialogue of various groups: bodies of executive power, local self-government, cultural institutions and organizations, artists and philosophers. This unites our society,” said Valentyn Sokolyuk, Deputy Chairman of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Council.
“The forum today is a place for exchanging fantastic ideas, a platform that emphasizes that Ukrainian culture is the voice of Ukraine not only within the country, but also on the international arena,” added Kateryna Savchuk, director of the Regional Development Agency of Khmelnytskyi region.
Finally, Marina Bryl, UCORD project leader, summarized:
“The UCORD project launched a series of such forums in order to jointly nurture a united Ukraine. Today, we are doing it by revealing the potential of Ukrainian identity.”
The introductory part of the forum “Culture and personality potential” was completed by a key report on the phenomenon of resilience of Ukrainians and the connection between culture and identity by Vakhtang Kebuladze, professor of the Faculty of Philosophy of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, a specialist in phenomenology, a member of the PEN Ukrainian.
The philosopher, based on post-colonial theory, described how Ukrainians can defend and strengthen their cultural identity during historical trials. The scientist’s apt theses and conclusions found a place in the discussions of speakers and participants throughout the entire day of the forum.
Man in focus
The first panel discussion of the forum “Culture and the potential of the individual” brought together representatives of various fields to jointly define the role of man in cultural changes in society and to discuss how exactly culture shapes the scenarios of our future.
The participants of the discussion revealed a number of topics that are relevant both for cultural managers and for interested representatives of related fields:
Iryna Podolyak, public figure, manager of the public sphere, co-founder of the “Coalition of Culture Actors”, formulated an urgent question: who is the target audience for communication of changes in cultural policy? Power? People?
Oleksandr Starodubtsev, the Deputy Head of the National Agency for the Corruption Prevention, suggested approaching culture from another angle: ethics, the culture of behavior and integrity should find a wider manifestation in modern Ukrainian identity.
Alim Aliyev, the Deputy General Director of the Ukrainian Institute, compared the international and domestic perception of our identity and emphasized how exactly culture “stitches” Ukrainians.
Yana Lyubimova, an expert in the field of social policy and human rights, Head of the Council on IDPs at the Luhansk OVA, emphasized the importance of working with cultural tools for internally displaced persons in order to restore a fair common Ukrainian history.
Tamara Gorikha Zernya, a Ukrainian writer and laureate of the Shevchenko Prize, described her personal experience of the struggle for Ukrainian identity in the Shalyginsk community. Such a story of one community is only one of many that have yet to be reflected in the modern history of Ukraine.
In the end, we leave an open question from the moderator of the panel, Volodymyr Vorobey, the Director of the PPV Economic Development Agency, Head of the group of key experts of the RES-POL project: are ordinary Ukrainians ready to join the creation of culture?
Let’s move on to practice
An important part of the forum “Culture and the potential of the individual” was the exchange of experience about embodied cultural projects and the expansion of understanding of artificial intelligence tools for the needs of the cultural sphere.
The moderator of the section “Culture in action: successful cases of transformation and integration through culture” Yevgenia Bystrytska, a member of the expert council on intangible cultural heritage at the Moscow Institute of Cultural Heritage, Director of the Sumy Regional Scientific and Methodological Center for Culture and Arts, aptly set the tone for the presentations: “Culture is a mirror that everyone looks into to understand themselves.” What does the mirror of implemented cultural initiatives in Ukraine show us?
Anastasia Donets, the Director of the Malievet regional historical and cultural museum, confirmed that the most significant factor in the success of cultural initiatives is the community’s unity around “their own”. Thanks to this, she and her colleagues and partners, with minimal resources, were able to transform a decaying palace into a museum full of meaning.
Andrii Zakharko, the founder of the Respublica festival and the head of the Territory NGO, was able to raise 18 million hryvnias for his community through a residence for artists, which, responding to the challenges of the times, was a residence for immigrants, youth, and even locals. All needed an increased understanding of how to make the most of the cultural potential of the area.
Serhiy Shchur, the Deputy Head of the Department of Culture, Nationalities, Religions and Tourism of the Horodotsk City Council, captivated those present with the experience of creating a museum that changes the idea of what museums should be – G-museum. The community managed not only to attractively reconstruct the building, but also to fill it with ideas and meaning, which created a new magnet on the map of Khmelnytskyi.
Maya Oleschuk, the Director of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Scientific and Methodological Center of Culture and Art, Honored Artist of Ukraine, the Head of the NGO “Art of Defense”, shared a case of the transformation of her creative team during the war and the formation of solidarity due to the trauma of the war.
Vladyslava Kryzhna, Co-founder of the Theater of the Oppressed method school, trainer for the development of creative thinking, NGO “Theatre of Changes”, spoke about her practical experience of research through theater, theater through experiencing experience. The speaker urged to move “from the culture of observation to the culture of creation.”
After considering cases and experience of implementing cultural initiatives, Vasyl Zadvorny, IT consultant and expert in the field of digital transformations, CEO of “Progress Technologies”, shared practical tools of artificial intelligence to show all its incredible opportunities and consider threats.
The Forum concluded work in four sections: two policy laboratories in the Creative Industries and Cultural Heritage sectors, a discussion on artificial intelligence as an assistant in culture, and a section on regeneration and integration through creativity and creativity.
Practical tools remain in high demand – voting at the end of the day showed that participants appreciate the opportunity to learn new things, even in open dialogue platforms such as the Culture and Personal Potential forum.
UCORD forums – new development opportunities for Ukrainian regions?
The series of regional forums of the UCORD project on culture and social cohesion has a special feature: all forums are held in an exclusively live format, all participants and speakers communicate physically, taking advantage of networking.
“For our project, it is important to create a platform for real open interaction between cultural actors, representatives of government and communities, business and science, as well as activists, cultural managers and artists. It is they who create the prerequisites for the formation of a new Ukrainian cultural policy, and we create an environment of dialogue and inspiration for them. In culture, we see not only numerous tools and resources, but also a deep path to building and strengthening social cohesion in Ukraine. By rethinking our identity, which combines the past with the future, we are able to create a solid foundation for unity, development of the nation, and Ukraine’s entry into the ranks of influential players on the world stage,” says Marina Kulinich, the Head of Component 3 “Culture, Social Cohesion and Citizen Involvement.” UCORD project.
Supporting the development of cultural policy, multilateral dialogue and strengthening social cohesion is an integral part of the main task of the UCORD project, which consists in strengthening the state regional policy, including through the development of Regional Development Agencies according to EU standards, as well as in supporting the sectors of water supply, sanitation and management waste. Thus, the project is moving towards its main goal – restoration and coordinated regional development by citizens, businesses and authorities, which, in turn, improves the quality of life of people, strengthens the stability of society, peace and social cohesion in Ukraine.
The authors are solely responsible for the content of this publication or the positions expressed during the event. The views of the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation or NIRAS Sweden AB.