The first stop of the Ukrainian Vibes Tour was on 25 June in Cologne. The project is based there, so the city was a nice place to start with the Ukrainian Vibes’ first discussion rounds.

Next to the famous Cologne Cathedral, Olha and Katharina are in the final stages of building the Europe Dome. The dome is a 3.5-metre high wooden cupola that can fit about 20-30 people inside. The European Public Sphere initiative, of which Ukrainian Vibes forms part, has already toured over 10 countries with the Europe Dome, inviting more than 1.200 people to join the discussions on the future of Europe.

The team managed to set up everything in time for the first round of discussions at 12 pm.

In general, two discussion rounds took place at each tour stop. In the first hour and a half in Cologne, the team focussed on the topic of the difficult history of Ukraine, asking the participants questions about the best memorisation practices in their countries and the processing of historical traumata.

The second part, from 2:30 to 4 pm, covered human rights and their preservation, especially during wartime. Questions arose as to why and where gender inequality is still existing in Ukraine and how Russia needs to be made accountable for the human rights violations it commits in Ukraine.

During both of the discussions, the Ukrainian participants provided interesting insights into life in Ukraine right now and how they, their family and friends deal with the war. But the other participants also had a lot to contribute to the discussion. A dialogue developed between the Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian participants in which no one came up short. Because in the end, all participants, no matter where they come from, share the same desire: the war in Ukraine should end as soon as possible.

“We know only Germany as the guilty one, but not the Soviet Union, because it is a winner. And this regime was growing and growing. Nobody cared about this all this time and now we see just the results of fascism in the Soviet Union and now it is Russia. And Russia is still alive as an empire, it has just another form.”

– Ukrainian participant about difficult history

“Now the latest statistic is that there are around 30% of women fighting in the army in Ukraine right now and it is a huge number, but usually, when you think about the army, you don’t see women’s faces in there and even in all those social media posts, where we thank the Ukrainian armed forces, there are usually pictures of men because when you think of a fighter of an army soldier, you think of men. Women are not represented and maybe for them, it also feels bad, because the women’s role in this war and generally is much bigger than it seems. “

– Ukrainian participant about human rights

One of the goals of Ukrainian Vibes is the creation of a Catalogue of Ideas. This is a document containing all the input participants gave during the discussion rounds, focusing on their ideas for a peaceful and sustainable future in Europe. At the end of the project in September, this catalogue will be sent to representatives of the EU Parliament so citizens’ voices won’t stay unheard.

The organization Shelterbox Germany e.V. joined the Ukrainian Vibes Project in Berlin with their tent. Shelterbox is a humanitarian aid organisation that provides people in Ukraine with indispensable everyday goods and a tent for the ones who are in need of shelter. While the discussion under the Europe Dome was blooming, Shelterbox collected money for Ukraine.

Especially in Berlin, the crowd was more multicultural and diverse than in any other city on the Ukrainian Vibes Tour. Participants from the US, Afghanistan, Syria, Chile, Ukraine, Germany and many other countries came together to talk about the future of Ukraine and Europe. They all wanted to show their full support for Ukraine and participate in this unique cultural exchange.

While in Cologne more people registered in advance for our event, in Berlin a lot of pedestrians spontaneously joined the discussions to share their insights: 

“There are just so many ways of activism, of engaging, that it is sometimes even too much and that you don’t know which is the right type of activism for you, so it can be also a little bit overwhelming.”

– German participant

“So the first step and it is a long-term solution for everything, but for this as well is to educate yourself and just to be curious about topics and just be more open and see what is happening around you and get more engaged. For that, you have to realise that you can change something.”

– Ukrainian participant

“Maybe there could be programs from the government where you can spend a part of your working time – maybe a few hours a week – in an organisation, where you can engage yourself and still receive your salary.”

– German participants

During the tour week in July, the temperatures reached their maximum for the summer. As a result, the assembly of the Dome got more and more exhausting.

Luckily the youth group helped out with the construction and the Dome was ready after just an hour of work. The group enjoyed their integration into the project work a lot, so the build-up turned out to be a lot of fun. With good company and music, the time just flew by.

In Krzyżowa the topics were combined, in the sense that the first discussion started with a short introduction to difficult history, asking the group about their knowledge and opinion. This quickly led to the topic of civic participation and the question of how to be active individually. In the end, the discussion covered environmental issues in Ukraine, Poland, Spain and Germany, and the participants debated how to act in different areas to achieve more sustainability.

“What is your vision for Europe?”  was the leading question of the day and the team invited all participants to tell them everything they are dissatisfied with regarding governmental decisions that leave out the voices of the younger generation.

“I think it is really sad to see countries moving backwards. We have to change a lot in our laws and leadership before we can keep moving forward again.” 

– Participant from the US

“For me, it is really important to actively remind myself and be aware of the difficult history of my country and not rely on others to educate me about the horrors of the NS regime.”

– German Participant about Difficult History

“Women’s rights got destroyed very easily in Poland. It is so sad for me when I look at maps for women’s rights and we are always the red spot – no rights for women, no abortion rights, and not enough money. It is really unsafe to be a woman in Poland and have a vision for the future. I really don’t want to live that moment when we don’t have the right to vote. It can happen, because why not, they cut all of the other rights too.”

– Participant from Poland about Human Rights

Of course, there were also breaks in between the discussion rounds, where the team and the participants could get some rest.

In Krzyzowa, the Europe Dome was built right next to the Basketball court, so Katharina and some of the participants played a round of basketball together. In the end, the tour isn’t just about getting input for the Catalogue of Ideas, but also about cultural exchange and fruitful collaboration.

Wrocław was the last build-up of the Europe Dome for the Ukrainian Vibes Team. After a week of touring around and talking to people, the team was tired but still motivated for the last two discussions. Following the event, the team headed back to the Democracy International office in Cologne.

After a week of very high temperatures, the last tour stop surprised all participants with heavy precipitation. Luckily the team brought the rain cover for the Europe Dome with them, so they could sit pretty comfortably in the middle of the Dome with the other participants to continue talking about Ukraine. 

This is Tom. Tom is from Leipzig and a friend of the team. He came specifically to Wrocław to join the event there. He helped assemble the Europe Dome, gave a lot of input during the discussions and kept the team entertained. He takes part in another ASA project. 

It is within this state-funded qualification programme for young professionals that Ukrainian Vibes was made possible. The ASA programme is run by an agency called Engagement Global and on behalf of the German federal state. Through a monthly stipend, ASA provides young professionals with the opportunity to become part of an international team for 6 months, enhance their knowledge about development cooperation and global justice, and work on a joint project for sustainable development in Germany and the respective partner country.

For next year, Democracy International, the National Ecological Centre of Ukraine and Change Communication plan to continue Ukrainian Vibes with a tour through Saxony. If you’re interested in joining us for this endeavour, you can soon apply on the ASA webpage!

“That is really important to memorize art. If you don’t allow art to flourish then you don’t allow creative thinking. Art was always provocateur to make people think. That is an amazing way and nowadays it can go viral really fast.”

– Irish Participant about Difficult History

“If we would have a real democracy, direct democracy and the majority of people in some areas would vote against mass production then maybe it wouldn’t exist anymore.”

– German Participant about the Environment

“Freedom of the press and the right to demonstration are crucial for a strong and active civil society. Those rights do not exist in every country.”

– German participant about Human Rights