In July, together with the Western NIS Enterprise Fund, we announced a competition for grants for the creation or renovation of physical spaces of community building centers in hromadas, as well as the development of program activities of such centers. Within the competition, 10 hromadas will have the opportunity to receive 1,000,000 hryvnias each for the development of community building centers.

We received 311 applications from all over Ukraine, from which an expert jury selected 10 winning hromadas.

  • Blyzniukivska Hromada, Kharkivska oblast: The project is implemented by the NGO “Bazyz Ukrainy”. In the former pharmacy building, the project team plans to establish a restorative resource hub called “Apteka”, where hromada members can receive psychological support, participate in creative workshops, and hold meetings.
  • Velykopysarivska Hromada, Sumska oblast: The project is implemented by the NGO “Raiz+” The project involves reformatting three zones within the village club in Yamne: creating a roller rink, a congress area for discussions, workshops, and club activities, as well as setting up a cinema hall.
  • Horodotska Hromada, Lvivska oblast: The project is implemented by the NGO “Gromadska Orhanizatsiya Ahentsiya Rozvytku Horodotchchyny” (Public Organization Horodotschyna Development Agency). The project team plans to establish an accessible space called “Bez Obmezhen” (Without Limits), where they will organize conversation clubs, art therapy sessions, computer literacy training, literary clubs, and offer free legal consultations.
  • Kovelska Hromada, Volynska oblast: The project is implemented by the NGO “Velyka Ideia” (Great Idea). Hromada will create the “CollabZONE” community building center for young people: a modern inclusive space for communication, educational events, and leisure. This will be a place where youth can come together, communicate, and implement their creative and entrepreneurial initiatives.
  • Krasnokutska Hromada, Kharkivska oblast: The project is implemented by the NGO “Kulturnyi Di@loh” (Cultural Dialogue). The project aims to establish a community space called “preKRASNOkut” within a hata-mazanka (clay hut). This hub will host educational, cultural, exhibition spaces, and more, providing off-site training, workshops, exhibitions, presentations, and community meetings.
  • Nizhynska Hromada, Chernihivska oblast: The project is implemented by the NGO “MISTO N” (City N). The project team plans to create the “NEZLAMNI” space for supporting veterans and individuals affected by war.
  • Ovruchska Hromada Zhytomyrska oblast: The project is implemented by the NGO “Initsiatyvna Molod Ovruchchyny” (Initiative Youth of Ovruch oblast). The project aims to create an inclusive safe space for self-realization of active citizens of different age groups and social backgrounds in the local library. The project’s concept includes psychological training, workshops with local masters, language courses, and evening events.
  • Snihurivska Hromada, Mykolaivska oblast: The project is implemented by the NGO “VIVAT.” The project will create a modern hub within the Yevhenivka House of Culture, hosting events for the elderly, people with special needs, families with children, and other interested residents.
  • Chortkivska Hromada, Ternopilska oblast: The project is implemented by the NGO “Bukovynska Ahentsiya Rehionalnoho Rozvytku” (Bukovyna Regional Development Agency). A modular pavilion will be installed on the site of a dilapidated garage, creating the “Bibliotechnyi ArtHarazh” (Library ArtGarage). This will become a public space for gathering, support, interaction between different groups of city residents, events, and idea generation for city development.
  • ***Dobroslavska Hromada, Odeska oblast. The project is being implemented by the NGO “VATRA-2015”. The DobroHub public space, created as part of the project, will host educational and cultural events, as well as provide social and psychological support for various categories of people, including vulnerable groups.

Community building centers serve as accessible physical spaces where people from various social groups can gather to engage in leisure, community development, collaboration, and the full realization of their human potential.

The winning hromadas will also receive consultation support from experts in architecture, culture, communication, and social interaction.

Project implementation period: September 2023 – January 2024.

To learn more about the competition, you can visit the following link.

*** Initially, the tenth community to win the competition was the Nemishayivska Hromada. However, due to technical inconsistencies, it was replaced by the Dobroslavska Hromada.