In early January 2025, the Regional Office of U-LEAD with Europe in the Chernihiv Oblast held a discussion of the results of the “package support” in the field of culture for the Kulykivka municipality for its officials. The participants of the meeting also discussed the municipality’s further steps in cultural development.
“The goal of the activity was to help the Kulykivka municipality understand its problems in the field of culture, systematise them and find solutions. Package support consisted of an action plan that included diagnosing challenges and problems, developing advice and implementing measures to overcome them,” said Iryna Kudryk, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD.
As part of the support, the municipality hosted a number of events, the results of which were reported by Liudmyla Chabak, Adviser on Decentralisation and Local Self-Government at the Regional Office: “During meetings with the team of the Kulykivka Cultural Services Centre, we talked about the culture-related challenges and problems, the need for up-t-date knowledge and skills that they lack in their day-to-day work. We also highlighted the components of the Municipal Culture and Art Programme.”
The support package, as the adviser said, also included a practical component. Responding to inquiries from cultural professionals, U-LEAD experts provided clarifications on filling out applications for grants, including for the Culture Helps programme, and helped them sign up for online courses in project management. They also provided advice on the use of modern terminology in the field of culture and issues of intangible cultural heritage (such as identifying elements of intangible cultural heritage in the municipality, filling out the registration cards for intangible cultural heritage).
Liudmyla Chabak finished her presentation of the results of the work by voicing recommendations for further steps: developing cultural development policies for the Kulykivka municipality, compiling a list of project ideas and project applications, seeking additional funding in the field of culture and building the capacity of cultural professionals and managers.
Yuliia Posternak, head of the village of Kulykivka, stated, “Cooperation with U-LEAD is always useful and meaningful. Through our communication, we get insights that lead to new ideas.” According to her, the municipality is pleased with the results of the package support, since the expert assessment offered them a structured analysis and advice to help them move forward.
“Culture is the soul of the municipality. In times of war, it is important not to lose our traditions and identity. It is vital that people preserve and continue them. Today, we take out embroidered shirts from the old chests and recall songs, lullabies and proverbs, which, in turn, acquire new meanings and significance. We have a lot of plans for preserving intangible heritage and searching for new ideas. First of all, however, we would like to work on devising a strategy for the cultural development of our municipality,” said Yuliia Posternak.
