The projects implemented under the Cross-border Cooperation Programme Poland-Belarus-Ukraine 2014-2020 are not just indicators, budgets, reports and payments. Although these are inseparable elements, above all each project hides the specific ideas, values and dreams of people implementing it, as well as the stories of those who benefited from their implementation.
We want to bring some of them closer to you by the "Project stories" – the cycle which presents their more human (but also animal – as in the 1st, 13th and 14th episodes) dimension of our selected projects. We invite you to read!
She returned to Ukraine after three years of living in Slovakia with the intention of changing something. Together with her husband, they planned to start an electric scooter rental business in her native Uzhhorod. Three years later, she is the voice of the SUMCITYNET project, deeply aware of the city's problems, striving to make it more comfortable for everyone and definitely bringing about change.
Dzvenylava Bilonoh first learned about the SUMCITYNET project at its kick-off meeting where she was invited as a representative of personal light transport users. She recalls getting emotional as they discussed various issues during the event. Unexpectedly, after some time Lesya Loiko, the head of the FORZA Public Organization, came up with a job offer - to join the project team in the position of Awareness raising and public relations coordinator. Dzvenyslava was hesitant: on one hand, it was difficult to take on the work previously done by the highly experienced and qualified Maryna Stashina-Neimet. On the other hand, this job offered her the opportunity to participate in important processes in her beloved hometown:
Uzhhorod is a city of fantastic opportunities, but, unfortunately, they are utilized by only about 25% of the population - she noted.
She got to work. The most significant outcome planned within the project was the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan. To help the developers to prepare it, it was important to hear the opinions of various groups of experts and city residents including carriers, drivers, architects, people with disabilities, schoolchildren, students, parents, IDPs, elderly people and others. For some of these people, it was the first time they had a chance to speak about their strugglers and the daily challenges they face in moving around the city. Another tool was the so-called "excursions", where certain routes were tested with different people such as those with visual impairments, or those in wheelchairs. Dzvenyslava learned to see the city through the eyes of different people and her natural ability to empathize was invaluable.
I felt that I would no longer be able to see the world the way I used to, she admitted
A series of workshops by Polish specialists and a professional study trip to Poland helped to create a vision for the city's development and the changes that should be introduced. Dzvenyslava felt that even those who were initially skeptical of new initiatives became passionate about changing something, introducing modern practices and approaches to optimize the urban environment. This would make the movement of residents efficient and comfortable contribute to health and not harm the environment. They actively discussed interesting solutions, and the topics of interest expanded to urban planning, landscaping and street lighting. So much could be done!
However, everything changed with the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. The project’s work was paralyzed for some time.
For the first three months, I couldn't do anything at all. As we witnessed the terrible destruction of Ukrainian cities, our project seemed useless... But then we realized that what we were doing was of great importance for the future recovery of our country. After all, we will create new standards, and test tools that will help rebuild Ukrainian cities and villages as better, more modern, more accessible places to live. Making urban spaces accessible to all is also our duty to veterans and all those who sacrificed their health in the war.
And so, the work continued. Covered bicycle parking lots were installed in the city, an online map of bicycle parking lots was created, navigation was added at bus stops (map of public transport routes), parklets, raised pedestrian crossings, curb lowering on sidewalks, surveillance cameras on streets, and tactile tiles at crossings.
But wartime brought another challenge - shelling of critical infrastructure led to problems with electric lighting in cities. As a result, the safety risk for pedestrians increased, and road accidents became more frequent. The practice of wearing bright clothes and reflectors was not common among city residents. Therefore, the project team decided to use project savings to buy reflective bracelets and conduct an educational campaign in the city's schools. "Firefly, shine!" - this was to be the title of this large-scale event. They bought reflectors but were uncertain about how to talk to elementary school children about traffic safety. How to attract the attention of such a demanding audience and keep the situation under control? The decision reached together with Uzhhorod education officials was that high school students not project representatives, would address the children. This method called "peer-to-peer" worked.
I was very nervous when I had to speak in front of high school students, because I had no experience working with such an audience. What should I do? Read a lecture, give them instructions on how to conduct events? Some inner voice told me: "just give them freedom"! I only described the task, and they came up with the rest themselves. And the result surpassed all our expectations.
High school students devised the general structure of meetings in schools and the basis of the scenario. It was decided that each meeting would be led by three presenters, one of whom would wear a firefly costume. They came up with rhyming slogans, and made presentations. It was their idea to develop two versions of the scenario – one for 1st-2nd graders and another for 3rd-4th graders. For the firefly costume, Dzvinka borrowed Tinker Bell’s wings from her friend and made antennae to complete the look. The firefly also wore a reflective belt-vest. Each meeting was unique and different from the previous ones, new details were added to the script, and the presenters improvised and interacted with the audience. Some initiatives within the campaign were completely unexpected. For instance, one of the activists, Christian Garabajiu, created a computer game, and a video competition was launched on TikTok, in which younger students demonstrated how to wear a reflective bracelet and talked about safety. Dzvinka was impressed by the teenagers commitment, creativity, artistic abilities and leadership.
They managed to organize meetings in all the city’sschools engaging about 7,000 children! The important message about safety also reached the children’s families, and thanks to numerous reports and publications in the media, the campaign’s effect was impressive. This successful experience was presented by one of the students, Daryna Sirko, together with Dzvinka, during the IV All-Ukrainian Forum "A child in a disturbing environment: developmental and restorative practices." After learning about the Uzhhorod initiative, officials and teachers from other communities invited the team to their locations to conduct similar “safety lessons”. Thus, not only the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan is a project outcome that can be multiplied, but also this communication initiative.
We usually perceive the city as something built of solid material, a kind of machine for life. But in fact, a city is an organism that lives and develops according to its own rules, through the interaction of many of its parts. There are thousands of voices that need to be heard. The Dzvenyslava’s mission - as she understands it - is to hear every voice and engage all groups of people in the dialogue.
More about the SUMCITYNET project can be found here.
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