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Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has severely damaged or destroyed large parts of the country, harmed critical infrastructure and disrupted millions of lives. Due to the severity of losses, Ukraine’s recovery is predicted to span over the next couple decades and will require a concentrated effort of all the engaged parties, from small local communities and municipalities to big international partners and donors. It will entail not only physical reconstruction of architectural objects, but a socio-economical recovery as well.
Despite the ongoing attack on Ukrainian territories and continuing losses, the first initiatives that focus on reconstruction have already emerged. Vidnova Lab is a program that aims to strengthen the voice and role of Ukrainian civil society in these processes and make sure that civil society actors have the capacity to facilitate the dialogue between the communities and authorities, as well as to advocate for the necessary solutions and ensure the transparent dialogue about these solutions before the decision-making stage.
Vidnova Lab is a networking program concentrated on ecosystem mapping and prototyping of solutions dedicated to recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine.
Nadiia lives between Kyiv and Berlin. She is the head of Education and CSR at IT Ukraine Association and the Program Manager at enpact. She is an experienced project manager and digital expert in Ukraine and Germany’s NGO and impact sector. Iryna from Kharkiv is an entrepreneur in education, CEO of the educational center “ME AND MY SCHOOL”, and co-author of the New Ukrainian School reform concept. She has been developing the market for teacher training nationwide in Ukraine and non-formal children’s education.
Within the Vidnova Lab, Nadiia and Iryna are working on community-based learning. Based on the belief that education is a substantial base to engage communities, they research how regional public educational centers can become an instrument for Ukraine’s recovery. These centers envision supporting the country’s recovery in human capacity development, the engagement of local communities, the attraction of financial resources, and psychological support.
Diana is an ecoactivist and project manager from Lviv. She’s a part of Plato NGO and works on local, national, and international climate policy. She is also involved in a community gardening project in Lviv named Rozsadnyk and a co-host of the environmental podcast “Poyasnyzaeco”. Inna also comes from Lviv, where she blends the healing essence of nature with psychotherapy to brighten people’s lives.
In the frame of Vidnova Lab, Diana and Inna have combined their passion for climate activism and mental health and found an interconnection between the two topics in building resilience through green spaces. They do both, help with climate change mitigation and adaptation, which is the field of Diana’s research, and provide therapeutic assistance to restore and maintain mental health, so Inna’s research topic.
Olesia has a master’s degree in agriculture and an MBA in Regional Management. She is particularly interested in ecology, nature conservation, and creating community development strategies. During the war, her focus shifted to the inclusion of Ukrainian refugees in Berlin. Daryna is an independent sociologist and consultant in strategic urban development and public engagement. Currently, she focuses on forced migration and war’s environmental impact.
In the frame of Vidnova, Olesia and Daryna aim to contribute to the debate on nature conservation and protection in times of war. They are researching the possibilities of preserving and protecting natural and agricultural areas damaged, contaminated, and mined as a result of the full-scale Russian invasion. This research aims to gain insight into the conservation and preservation practices of regions contaminated by war in other countries and the existing approaches to nature recovery in Ukraine.
Nadiia lives between Kyiv and Berlin. She is the head of Education and CSR at IT Ukraine Association and the Program Manager at enpact. She is an experienced project manager and digital expert in Ukraine and Germany’s NGO and impact sector. Iryna from Kharkiv is an entrepreneur in education, CEO of the educational center “ME AND MY SCHOOL”, and co-author of the New Ukrainian School reform concept. She has been developing the market for teacher training nationwide in Ukraine and non-formal children’s education.
Within the Vidnova Lab, Nadiia and Iryna are working on community-based learning. Based on the belief that education is a substantial base to engage communities, they research how regional public educational centers can become an instrument for Ukraine’s recovery. These centers envision supporting the country’s recovery in human capacity development, the engagement of local communities, the attraction of financial resources, and psychological support.
Oksana is a feminist activist and researcher based in London. Currently, her research focuses on the intersectional gendered impacts of the war in new realities of peace and security. Annegret is based in Berlin and is co-founder and managing director of the NGO Commit by MitOst gGmbH and a board member of the association MitOst e.V., where she developed the Theodor-Heuss-Kolleg program. She is an expert in citizenship education, new democracies, capacity building, and fundraising.
Within Vidnova Lab, Oksana and Annegret are researching the international donor landscape and narrative construction around Ukrainian recovery. This work aims to bridge the gap between the unacknowledged expertise and the needs of civil society with donors’ resources for an inclusive, sustainable, dignified, innovative recovery of Ukraine.
Vita is a housing researcher based in Lviv. Before the war, her research focus was developing a social housing system in Ukraine. Now, it has shifted to the right to housing in war-time. Iryna is based in Berlin and is a human rights lawyer with experience in documenting human rights violations and war crimes in eastern Ukraine since 2014. Following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, she works as a human rights consultant for international NGOs helping Ukraine.
Within Vidnova Lab they investigate the private rental market in Ukraine as it accommodates most internally displaced people (IDP). They work on creating a prototype of sustainable housing solutions for IDPs.
Liubov is the head of Democratic Initiatives Incubator NGO. She is an expert in the communication of the reintegration of residents in occupied territories, countering propaganda, and verification of sources from the temporarily occupied territories. Lera is the head of Ukrainian Local Media Development Agency ABO in Kyiv, and co-founder of the Memorial platform. Iryna is the president of Garage Gang NGO, co-founder, consultant on strategic, sustainable urban development and social innovation.
Within Vidnova Lab, the trio’s research explores how experiencing the trauma of war and accepting its consequences, affect the future healing of the community and the country, as well as its further restoration and strengthening. The project envisions developing a tool for self-assessment for teams that engage in the community-led revival. They focus on the context of competent leadership for the democratic revival of Ukraine with a focus on resilience as the common ground between strategies of the grassroots civic forces, state, donors and local government institutions.
Vidnova Lab is created by Commit by MitOst gGmbH with kind financial support of EVZ Stiftung and Robert Bosch Stiftung, in partnership with Ukrainian NGO Insha Osvita.
