Ukraine citizens sharing their vision
Civic activists have launched the social web portal ua-chance with the motto “Ukraine, we will make it,” where citizens can upload videos expressing their own vision on how to change the country and what reforms should be done to build a strong society, improve the economy and establish transparent state institutions. “We have changed our beliefs and now it’s time to change our country,” reads the website’s main page. “At this portal engaged and active people tell us about chances that they got in the new Ukraine.”
The project began from outdoor advertising and commercials on television. Later, an entire online platform — ua-chance — was created.
“The idea of this campaign came up in the spring, when Ukraine was experiencing a very negative time: Crimea annexation, conflict in the east, economic crisis. And we wanted to reassure people, give them hope that there is a chance for our country. We wanted to share our optimism and say that everything will be fine,” Ivetta Delikatnaya, one of the founders of the ua-chance project, told SETimes.
Olesia Drashkaba, creative director of an advertising agency, is one of the first citizens who uploaded a video on the ua-chance website.
“I believe that Ukraine has a chance — a chance to build an independent, strong and rich country, to build a country for strong, healthy and decent people, for new meanings,” Drashkaba said. “Let’s use this chance. Let us every day do something against corruption, do something for the culture, help the army and do something for our friends.”
The video messages feature people talking about things they can do to contribute to the country’s better future. For example, an entrepreneur who did not identify himself tells about chances that have been created for him to do business.
“Ukraine got a chance to build a transparent model of business and government communication, communication of business and authorities, business and citizens. When doing business could be easy and honest. I hope that no more than five years are needed for this,” he said.
The portal is gaining popularity, organisers said.
“We started out as volunteers. We did everything with our own efforts, and later, many organisations joined and started helping us,” Delikatnaya said.
The project is being implemented with the Ukrainian crisis media centre, as well as the civil initiative Reanimation Package of Reforms. A number of well-known funds such as PACT, the European Endowment for Democracy, as well as UNDP are among their partners.
“It is very important that there are such civil initiatives,” Mykola Davydiuk, director of the analytical centre the Politics, told SETimes. “They raise the political culture of the people and involve them in public processes. This is the next stage of the [Maidan movement].”
Delikatnaya said the project is now moving to a new stage.
“We want to publish on our website stories of real volunteers, people who help the refugees, the army, those who were affected by the conflict in the east of our country,” she said. “In fact, we will reformat our website into a database of all volunteers, so that people know who to call in different situations. It will be a very important web portal.”
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