In June 2025, Cultural Platform Zakarpattya took part in the Moldova Digital Summit — one of the largest and most significant digital transformation events in Eastern Europe — where it presented the audiovisual studio project KONTENTA.
This year’s Moldova Digital Summit gathered over 3,500 participants, 150+ companies, and nearly 100 speakers from various countries. The event brought together government officials, tech companies, civil society initiatives, and experts working at the intersection of technology, education, and inclusion.
Alongside representatives from Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, we shared our experience of the transformative impact of digital innovation during the workshop “Innovation and Technologies for Inclusiveness. CSOs’ Solutions.” Our participation was made possible within the framework of the project “Strengthening Civil Society in the Eastern Partnership Countries,” initiated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), co-funded by the European Union, and implemented by GIZ.
The COO of Cultural Platform, Maryna Mykhaylenko, presented the journey of implementing and launching KONTENTA — a next-generation digital infrastructure for mental resilience, developed in response to the challenges of war.
Ukraine has been resisting Russian aggression for 11 years, and for almost four consecutive years, it has endured full-scale attacks involving all types of weaponry — including those banned by the Geneva Conventions. Ukraine’s system of arts education has suffered significant losses: in two years of full-scale war, 48 art schools and 2 art colleges (in Bakhmut and Mariupol) were completely destroyed; 72 art schools and one state music lyceum were damaged; and 113 art schools and 6 art colleges are under temporary occupation.
The lives of students — both in general education and arts schools — are under constant threat of shelling and bombing. Against this backdrop, preserving the mental well-being of young people has become a national priority. According to a UNICEF study in 2024, 73% of young people aged 14–34 require emotional support, but only 30% have ever sought help. Additionally, 44% of children in Ukraine show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In response to these challenges, with the support of UNICEF, a national network was launched to help youth overcome the psychological impact of war through emotional processing and its transformation into sound-based expression. By establishing KONTENTA audiovisual studios in 20 communities, Cultural Platform helps young people process fear and uncertainty through creative practices — using modern music devices and computer technologies to produce their own content.
KONTENTA project presentation at Moldova Digital Summit 2025.
KONTENTA is an environment where teenagers and youth can produce their own presence within the stream of life. The infrastructure offers free access to opportunities in the creative industries while supporting emotional well-being. Young people gain new skills in working with video, audio, podcasting, streaming, lecture or vocal recording — and most importantly, they affirm the power of their voices in times of war.
A powerful symbol of the KONTENTA project — which also lies at the heart of its visual identity — is a modern reinterpretation of the Flower of Life, a traditional protective emblem historically used in the design of the Ukrainian kobza.
The KONTENTA network has already reached 20 communities, engaged over 6,000 young people, and served as a platform for the creation of more than 300 content units — from podcasts to video documentaries.
Some of these creative works were showcased at the “Atelier of Dreams” exhibition at the Ukrainian House in Kyiv, which captured the will of Ukrainian children to dream, express themselves, and create despite all odds. The exhibition was visited by more than 10,000 people, including the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska.
Youth audio works recorded in KONTENTA studios were also part of the exhibition “Along the paths of the steppes: from the Crimean slopes to the expanses of Luhansk” at the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, a state-level event of international importance. These pieces not only reflected young people’s relationship with nature but also became a mirror of social change in the face of ecological challenges.
In addition, within the framework of the KONTENTA project, Cultural Platform recorded a series of five podcasts during the Fourth Summit — themed around child protection — exploring key safety topics for youth in contexts of war, family, school, digital space, and ecology.
Cultural Platform aims to enrich educational spaces with new infrastructures of resilience that unite science and creativity, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue to modernize music lessons in schools and the curricula of art institutions.
Diana Yefymenko, Olena Smirnova-Kochetkova
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