On June 14, the communications director of the Cultural Platform Zakarpattya NGO Yana Polupanova held an open lecture titled “Transformation: Key Indicator Of Sustainability. How To Maintain the Current Dynamics Of Processes” for the culture and education workers of Kryvyi Rih. In this material, we share the main ideas of the presentation.
Adapting to modern challenges is a process that every person goes through. Some retain flexibility, which makes this process easier, while others put on “boxes” that limit them. One of the key areas of Cultural Platform’s activity is the creation of conditions and opportunities for teenagers and young people to realize their creative potential and turn these “boxes” into a manifestation of their unique personalities. This is the basis of their ability to adapt to modern challenges.
“Today, transformation is a key indicator of resilience defining the system’s ability to develop”.
— Yevhen Zabarylo, head of the board of Cultural Platform Zakarpattya NGO
Over the past year, we have visited more than 50 communities and met with more than 39,000 young people. We could see this transformation momentarily, during the 2 hours of the event, because young people quickly respond to youth-friendly formats of interaction.
According to the Decree of the President of Ukraine on the National Youth Strategy until 2030, there is an urgent need to strengthen the partnership between state authorities, local self-government bodies, and civil society institutions working with children and youth. In this context, cooperation with the education and culture workers as mediators between the institutional presence of the state and the individual being formed as a citizen brings special satisfaction. It is necessary to conduct an open dialogue about responsibility in the implementation of state acts and strategies that involve synchronization between the state and donor sectors.
To ensure the sustainability of our youth work projects, it is important to immerse the sectors of culture and education into the dynamics of transformations currently taking place in the country as a whole, and in youth as a projection of its future. For example, according to the concept of the New Ukrainian School, institutions should create an atmosphere of trust, benevolence, mutual help, and mutual support when difficulties arise both in education and everyday life.
This goal can be achieved through:
- the mental stability of both educators and students;
- the ability to use non-linear communications with an emphasis on the “new sincerity”;
- respect for manifestations of youth subjectivity and the provision of opportunities and resources for their realization.
Implementation of innovative approaches and work methods is an integral part of this process. Transformation allows systems to remain flexible and adaptive in the face of constant change, ensuring sustainable development and progress. This is not just a phrase—it is the only way not to lose the next generation. Young people no longer accept various manifestations of the infirmities of the past, such as song remixes to pop-Moscow motifs or “pass-the-balloon-behind-the-back” contests (these are real situations that our NGO team observed during the celebration of City Day in Kryvyi Rih).
The youth reacting to the performances during the City Day celebration in Kryvyi Rih (photo by Yana Polupanova)
“Together with representatives of the educational and cultural sectors, we reviewed how City Day was perceived by the youth from the point of view of culture and content. I demonstrated how much better it would be to simply give freedom of self-expression to the youth themselves, guiding them in the right direction in a meaningful way and giving them the resources and space to create their own performances and activities about themselves, as we do in Spilno Camp. After all, the loss of communication between institutions and young people creates desynchronization and leads to misunderstanding, although, in fact, it should ensure the opposite—synchronization in developing the joint processes of overcoming irreversible changes during which all citizens of the country need one another.”
— Yana Polupanova, communications director of the Cultural Platform Zakarpattya NGO
During the lecture, we also discussed the strategy of implementing the principles of youth policy, the NUS (New Ukrainian School), overcoming the digital divide, as well as the All-Ukrainian mental health program “How are you?”. Even slang was a topic of reflection. The main thing was to show that in communication with young people, it is important to take into account their mental state with each “new” word. Vibe and cringe are not just slang words, they are a reflection of the inner state and a sign of how young people perceive the world—depicting the emotional states they cannot explain more broadly. It is important to remember when working with young people, so as not to be afraid of these words, but to remind yourself of how long ago you actually checked in with yourself and asked: “How do I feel right now?”.
It is also important to apply modern methods and approaches that correspond with the current realities and needs of young people. As part of expanding the impact of change, it is a real joy to work with those who daily shape our future by working with teenagers. They must apply these methods, even if only to start with a dialogue with the youth, to understand how they can improve the youth spaces—simply by filling them with artifacts of the youth’s presence in these historical times.
“I really wish that at least one of the listeners who came to the lecture and took notes about Ableton, Bedzir’s quotes, what streaming is, and the definition of the word “resilience” or jotted down useful tips for non-linear communication, just tried to see the impact their actions have on the future of our country. In an ideal world, the authorities, which in turn put their own “boxes” on the culture and education workers, would also read these notes about the responsibility of implementing state acts and strategies that involve synchronization between the state and donor sectors.”
— Yana Polupanova, lecturer
“Such meetings are always a breath of fresh air for me personally. The activities of your public organization are inspiring. For now, I am thinking about what exactly I can do in the outlined field of activity. Feeling inspired by our meeting.”
— Olha Kulakevych, attendee
Being open to dialogue and creative thinking are the keys to forming a flexible and sustainable future for Ukraine. Because only joint action can produce the result that the state lays out in its programs—not in words, but in feasible and measurable indicators. In this case, the public sector can share its expertise, especially in the framework of field studies of the implementation of youth policy in various communities, which is what the Cultural Platform will continue to do.
Photo: Anna Lozinska
Yana Polupanova, Anastasiya Mishustina
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