Themes by tag: Kyiv

Key topics:

– Self-help groups as a tool for rehabilitation and integration;

– The history of creating a self-help group based on the experience of the Public organization “Psychability”;

– Personal stories from group members. The experience of running a self-help group with the support of the Public organization “Psychability”;

– What prospects does the “Assistant for a Person with Mental Disorder” service offer for the creation and effective long-term functioning of self-help groups?

Participants:

– Lidia Martynova, Founder and Chair of the Board of the Public Organization “Psychability”;

– Kostiantyn Zelenov, Psychiatrist of the Highest Qualification at the Center for Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine in Kyiv, Member of the Board of the Public Organization “Psychability”;

– Iryna Zhuk, Leader of the Self-Help Group at the Public Organization “Psyhabiliti”;

– Andrii Kovalov, Head of the “Reform of Social Services in Ukraine” Project, Expert Partner at Civitta Ukraine on Healthcare and Social Policy.

Background: The public organization “Psychability” is dedicated to improving the quality of life for individuals with mental health conditions and their families. Many countries have found that self-help groups are an effective method of rehabilitation and social integration. However, these groups need comprehensive state-level programs to support people with mental disorders to work long-term and effectively.

• psychological support
• Kyiv

On October 13, Kyiv will host an interactive exhibition called RECONstruction, created by the 150th Separate Reconnaissance Strike Battalion. Since the beginning of 2024, this military intelligence unit has been engaged in combat in the east, including participating in the liberation of the Dobropillia salient.

Through information stands, photographs, art objects, and interactive zones, the exhibition will offer civilians a glimpse into the world of military intelligence. Visitors will be able to experience elements of a reconnaissance officer’s work, from piloting drones to signals intelligence.

The opening will also feature the introduction of the RECON FAMILY ambassador community. The first members are Olympic champion Olha Kharlan and actress and public figure Rymma Zyubina. They will represent military intelligence to the home front.

Media representatives are invited to attend the event.

• military
• Kyiv

In collaboration with the Invictus Games, the Ukrainian fitness app MadMuscles has created an adaptive training program for people with amputated limbs or limited mobility. The program focuses primarily on wounded veterans and those recovering from surgeries or other injuries.

The MadMuscles program provides everything necessary for safe, convenient, and effective training:

• Six training categories for different physical abilities.
• Exercises from professional adaptive sports trainers;
• Free video workouts that can be done at home.

The program was created by Oleksii Prokopenko, an endurance, mountain running, skyrunning, and cross-country skiing coach, and Nataliia Meleshchuk, a rehabilitation specialist, yoga instructor, and massage therapist. They were both involved in preparing the national team for the 2025 Invictus Games in Canada.

Veterans from the Invictus Games community also contributed to the project’s development.

Journalists can speak with the course creators in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• Kyiv

Mykhailo Rusin, a candidate of biological sciences and senior researcher at Kyiv Zoo, has dedicated his career to protecting European hamsters. He runs the Center for the Reproduction and Renewal of Rare Species and founded the Hamster Rescue Center.

Recently, his efforts were featured in the National Geographic, which highlighted his work under the headline: “A scientist is saving Ukraine’s hamsters—in the middle of war.”

Rusin has been working to protect these rodents since 2019. The European hamster, listed in Ukraine’s Red Book of endangered species, once survived the Ice Age but now faces extinction. In Ukraine, the species still lives in some regions, where it inhabits gardens, summer cottages, and homesteads. Yet many are killed by people who see them as pests, or by cats and dogs that hunt them.

The Hamster Rescue Center works to protect the animals by relocating them from private plots to areas away from people. The ongoing war has created additional challenges: blackouts in winter can leave hamsters without heat, while in summer, power outages can cause dangerously low ventilation, threatening their survival.

Journalists can learn more about Rusin’s work and, by prior arrangement, speak with him in Kyiv.

• animals
• Kyiv

Maryna and Serhii Vovkodav, parents of five daughters, once ran a small business and lived in their own home in Orikhiv, Zaporizhia region.

Then the war upended everything. In April 2022, volunteers helped the family evacuate, and they settled into an empty apartment in Zaporizhia, with no furniture or appliances. They had to cook on the windowsill and eat meals at a bedside table.

By chance, Maryna learned about a program offering housing for displaced families at zero rent, with ownership granted after five years. She applied, and the family was eventually selected.

The new home is part of a micro-settlement built last year in Chernihiv by the District #1 Charitable Foundation, which constructed 13 houses for families displaced from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and other regions. Today, the foundation has the capacity to build 50-100 houses annually, each adapted to the needs of different families.

The Vovkodav family now lives in their new home in the Kyiv region. By prior arrangement, journalists can meet with them in person.

• children
• reconstruction
• Kyiv
• evacuation

On October 6, the International Cultural Diplomacy Forum will take place in Kyiv. This annual forum brings together Ukrainian and international diplomats, government officials, scholars, and cultural leaders to discuss the role of culture in international relations, sustaining global support for Ukraine, and building lasting peace. The event is organized by the Ukrainian Institute and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, with Media Center Ukraine as the main media partner.

A special highlight of this year’s program will be the inaugural awarding of the Khvylia – Dalğa Prize, which honors individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to promoting the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages worldwide. 

The forum will feature a report titled “Culture’s Role in Just and Sustainable Peace”, delivered by Nobel Peace Prize laureate, human rights activist, and Chairwoman of the Center for Civil Liberties, Oleksandra Matviichuk.

Key representatives of the Ukrainian government and international partners are expected to attend the forum (specific details are withheld for security reasons), along with officials from Ukrainian cultural institutions, leaders of international cultural organizations, and subject-matter experts.

Advance accreditation is required by Friday, October 3, 11:00 a.m. Event location details will be sent upon confirmation of accreditation

• culture
• Kyiv

In October, the Hospitallers will conduct a series of training courses on pre-medical care and tactical medicine for civilians and volunteer medics. These include “Basic Life Support”, “Hemorrhage Control”, “First Aid for Trauma”, “Combat Lifesaver (CLS) Course”, and “Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) Course”. The courses will be held in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and the Dnipropetrovsk oblast.

Journalists may cover the training sessions upon prior arrangement.

For reference: The Hospitallers Medical Battalion has operated on the front lines since 2014. Its crews conduct dozens of evacuations daily along almost the entire front line. 

Since 2015, the Hospitallers have provided tactical medicine training, and since 2018, they have provided pre-medical care training. Their instructors are certified by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) in the United States, the Ukrainian Military Medical Academy, and other organizations.

• doctors
• Dnipro
• Kyiv
• Lviv

On October 1, Kyiv will host a public endurance challenge in honor of Ukraine’s Defenders. Organizers say the event is intended not simply as a display of physical strength, but as a symbolic act of unity and solidarity with the men and women who safeguard the country every day.

The challenge:

– 400-meter run;

– 10 pull-ups;

– 20 burpees;

– 25 air squats;

Three rounds in total.

Organizer: Agency for Mass Sports of Ukraine State Institution

• culture
• Kyiv

From October 1 to 12, Kyiv will host the Third Ukrainian Biennale of Digital and New Media Art – UBiennale 2025 “Field of Memory. Time of Restoration.” 

UBiennale’s new edition, “Field of Memory. Time of Restoration,” offers a space for artistic reflection where contemporary art and emerging technologies converge to examine memory, renewal, humanity’s bond with nature, and the fight for the right to exist and shape the future.

This year’s program brings together more than 20 works from 15 countries, spanning video and sound art, AR/VR/MR, generative and data-based projects, interactive and kinetic installations, and live performance practices. An exclusive international section will highlight artists from Spain, Portugal, and Poland.

For the first time, Ukrainian audiences will experience a VR piece from Austria, originally presented at this year’s Venice Biennale. The lineup also features a VR/immersive project from Lithuania inspired by the art and music of celebrated artist Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis.

Visitors will find a wide range of Ukrainian premieres, including installations, video and audio art, bio art, VR experiences, AR projects, and even interactive tech-based costumes that can be explored through smartphones or TikTok filters. Among the Ukrainian participants are Veronika Cherednichenko, Sergiy Petlyuk, and Alena Grom with their project “Mavky. Camouflage,” which has already been successfully presented abroad; Oleg Kharch with a work exploring Elon Musk and Chornobyl; Dmytro Hreshko with a video installation based on the film “Divia,” featured at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival; and Yulia Ovcharuk with her collection of virtual costumes.

• culture
• Kyiv

On October 5, Kyiv will host the second All-Ukrainian Festival of Veteran Culture, “Kolo Veteraniv” (Veterans’ Circle). The festival aims to demonstrate that veteran culture is an integral part of contemporary culture and to foster a space where dialogue flourishes through art, creativity, and genuine interaction among people united by shared experiences.

The festival program will include performances by bands and solo artists who have found the stage to be an extension of their journey from the frontlines to creativity; theater productions that transform personal histories into drama and transform pain and memory into art; activities for children led by veterans.

Journalists can check the event program for more details. Accreditation is required to attend.

Background: There are currently about 1.2 million veterans in Ukraine. By the end of the war, the community of veterans, their family members, and the families of fallen defenders could number between 5 and 6 million people.

• culture
• Kyiv