Inclusive Reconstruction of Ukrainian Cities

As of September 1, 2022, at least 1,788 educational and medical institutions have been destroyed, and 211 cultural objects have been damaged. According to preliminary estimates by analysts relied upon by the Ministry of Community and Territory Development, over 2.4 million Ukrainians were living in destroyed or significantly damaged housing.

The reconstruction of these buildings should not only restore them to their original condition, but also consider all aspects of necessary inclusivity. The issue of accessibility of urban spaces has become urgent, and we aim to create a Ukraine that is comfortable for all people to live in. This is the main goal of our information campaign developed for the NGO Dostupno.UA.

"This project is important right now, in such a difficult time for Ukraine. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, we were left with a "heritage", not only architectural, but also in terms of values: in the heads of officials, contractors and people who are not in the topic. Therefore, it is important to change their perception and build an accessible and convenient Ukraine for everyone. Now a lot is being reconstructed, restored, built. It's time to emphasize and pay attention to the problem of accessibility, because the war will end soon, we will win, and social aspects are important now," says Dmytro Shchebetyuk, the founder and idea behind the project.

We wanted to reach out to those who will be involved in the reconstruction and development of post-war Ukraine and provide them with up-to-date and clear information on the accessibility of infrastructure, commercial and residential buildings. However, communicating with this audience directly is not so simple. Therefore, we decided to approach them through their children, friends, and societal pressure.

As a result, we focused on three main product blocks. The first was outdoor and digital advertising, for which five thematic posters were developed. These were strategically placed throughout the streets and bustling metro stations of Kyiv, as well as in Intercity, an ideal platform for reaching a broader audience.

The second element was an animated music video about the barrier-free nature of Ukrainian cities, created together with top Ukrainian artist alyona alyona.

"We needed to reach as wide an audience as possible and make the topic of city accessibility interesting and engaging. We wanted to make accessibility accessible! We needed to find a new approach to communicating such a topic without resorting to boring explainer videos. So we decided to collaborate with Alyona, who, like us, is passionate about this topic, and asked her to write a song. We created an animation ourselves that complements the track and illustrates the importance of inclusion in our cities. In this way, we were able to make what seemed like a boring topic interesting," said Les Yakymchuk, Creative Lead of linza agency.

"I really want Ukraine to be a country where ramps are installed not just for the sake of appearances, but for actual use, regardless of whether they are suitable for people in wheelchairs or not. A country where when building a new house and planning to install a lift, it will be on a floor that a wheelchair user can easily access it, without having to navigate 300-500 stairs to get to the lift. There are many similar nuances that need to be considered, so that people who cannot move in a typical way like everyone else can feel equal like everyone else. And I want to address the authorities in this case, because we pay taxes and it probably depends on them: on the local government, on the state government, which direction society and infrastructure will develop, and the accessibility of any space for people," shares alyona alyona, a Ukrainian rap singer and author of a new song created as part of the "Let's Rebuild our Country Accessible to Everyone" information campaign by Dostupno.UA.

The third element was a video explainer, in which already familiar characters Panda and Giraffe decide to create a video blog to talk about specific problems related to inclusiveness in our cities.

We complemented our campaign with a media and influencers coverage, ensuring that our messages were amplified through various channels, including social media and other digital platforms.

Results:
The overall coverage of the campaign exceeded 8,500,000.
40+ media appearances + live broadcast on 20 channels in 12 regions: Zaporizhia, Chernivtsi and region, Ivano-Frankivsk and region, Kolomyia, Lviv region, Chervonohrad, Khmelnytskyi, Kropyvnytskyi, Oleksandriia, Svitlovodsk, Sumy, Ternova in Dnipropetrovsk region, Myronivka and Pereyaslav in Kyiv region, Volyn, Chernihiv, Pryluky, Kharkiv.