This is Sumy region today.

Ambassador of the project “Side by Side: United Communities” Yegor Gordeev traveled through the region to understand where people here get the strength to live on.

He visited a unique apple tree colony, a veteran’s space where new projects are born, a museum of the famous Krolevets towels, and talked to people who do not allow war to take away the future.

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Residents of the Myrnya community joined the charitable donation campaign “Warm-blooded”, which took place in the Velykohaivska community of the Ternopil region, with which they are partners within the framework of the national project “Shoulder to Shoulder: United Communities”.

The donation was carried out in a specialized double-decker donor bus. On the first floor, participants could learn more about donation and its role in saving lives, and on the second floor, specialists from the Ternopil Regional Blood Service Center received donors.

Today, every donation is a chance for life for wounded soldiers, civilians, children and everyone who needs a blood transfusion.

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Representatives of communities from different regions of Ukraine sought answers to these questions during the interregional working visit “Space of Unity — Joint Solutions,” which took place in Chernihiv and the communities of the region as part of the national project “Side by Side: United Communities.”

Participants visited the communities of Horodnyan, Men, Nizhyn, and Kulykiv. They visited youth and veteran spaces, the Center for Resilience, educational institutions, social services, and facilities that are being restored through community partnerships.

The communities shared their experience working in conditions of constant security challenges. They presented their own solutions, looked for common ground, and identified areas in which they could combine resources and competencies.

After working at the locations, the participants gathered in Chernihiv for a final practical meeting. The Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine Oleksiy Ryabykin joined the work.

The result of the two-day cooperation was seven project ideas developed with the help of the “Side by Side” facilitators.

These include the creation of voluntary crisis and emergency response groups, the youth project “Synergy of the Unconquered” and the School of Energy-Efficient Solutions for Communities. Among the initiatives are also an interregional system of support and rehabilitation of veterans, an information campaign to form a culture of waste management, the “Together” interaction network, and the “Enchanted Polissya” cultural and tourist route.

All these projects united communities at the initial stage. Their refinement and implementation will become the basis for more thorough cooperation.

The best of the developed initiatives will receive funding from international partners.

But everyone will win. After all, partnership is an opportunity to combine resources, turn challenges into concrete solutions, and make the successful experience of one community accessible to many.

The event was organized at the initiative of the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine within the framework of EU4Recovery, a flagship partnership of the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine.

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Thanks to the partnership within the framework of the national project “Side by Side: United Communities,” children from frontline and war-affected communities are resting in Lviv, Bukovina, Transcarpathia, and Cherkasy regions.

The Zhydachiv community is hosting children from the Bilopol community of the frontline Sumy region and the Aydar community of Luhansk region. The young guests have already gotten to know the city, visited the local museum, honored the memory of fallen Heroes, visited the Carpathians, the bear shelter in Yavoriv region, and discovered Lviv for themselves.

Children from the Chornobaiv community and Kherson spent ten eventful days in the Carpathians. At the invitation of the Vyzhnytsia community, they became participants in the Perkalaba Camp.

Children learned to navigate in the mountains, mastered first aid skills, participated in ecological quests, conquered the peaks of Chornyy Dil and Velyky Kamin, rode a zip-line and got acquainted with the nature and traditions of the region.

The health shift for children from the Siverska community-outpost from Donetsk region has also ended. Thanks to cooperation with the partner Onokivska community, they rested at the “Malyatko” camp, visited Uzhgorod, the “Stare Selo” museum, played a friendly football match, visited Lavender Mountain and spent a sunny day by the pool.

And for young residents of the Shakhivska community, a camp shift began in the Irkliivska community in the Cherkasy region. On the first day, the children were waiting for a rest near the Dnieper, a picnic, Cossack fun and team games. Ahead are excursions, creative activities and new discoveries.

For children who live near the front, have lost their homes, or hear alarm signals every day, such trips are an opportunity to regain strength, find friends, and relieve stress.

Side by side, communities create a space for them where the war recedes, at least for a while, and childhood returns.

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The Beregovska community in Transcarpathia hospitably welcomed children from the Nizhnyosirohozska ​​community of the Kherson region, which is under temporary occupation. A program with excursions and cultural events was prepared for the children. The teams of the Beregovska lyceums joined the organization, taking care of the program and accommodation.

The children of the Novoslobodska community, who visited the Skorokhodyshska community in the Poltava region, also brought home warm summer memories. For them, the partners organized a real tent camp with hiking, kayaking, evenings by the campfire, joint games and new acquaintances. This week was filled with adventures, friendship and a sense of real support.

Another story is about children from the Dubovyazivska community who were vacationing in the Bugrynska community in the Rivne region. For them, this week was an opportunity to change the daily stress into new experiences: traveling, sports activities, bonfire, kulish in the open air, new friends. Trips to Ostroh and Rivne were also special – with history, culture and the discovery of new pages of Ukraine.

There will be enough memories from this vacation for a whole year!

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When Ukrainian communities work side by side, borders are no obstacle. So children from frontline communities went on a summer vacation to France and Poland.

40 children arrived in the French city of Bourguignon-Jallier: these are young residents of Smila and children from the partner communities of Rohany and Savyntsy.

Ahead are 13 days of new acquaintances and communication with French peers. Along the way, the children have already visited Dresden, and in France, together with new friends, they joined the celebration of Bastille Day.

The trip was organized thanks to the cooperation of the Smila community with the communities of Rohany and Savyntsy, the partnership of Smila with Bourguignon-Jallier, and the support of the EuropePrychystok platform.

And children from the Dobropil community of the Donetsk region spent part of their summer vacation in Wroclaw, Poland.

The Stryi community, a partner of Dobropil, helped organize the trip. Excursions, recreation, and getting to know the city were prepared for the children. They also visited the Consulate General of Ukraine in Wroclaw and talked with Ukrainian diplomats.

For Ukrainians whose childhood passed next to the war, these trips return what the war is trying to take away from them: security, smiles, and bright memories.When Ukrainian communities work side by side, borders are no obstacle. So children from frontline communities went on a summer vacation to France and Poland.

40 children arrived in the French city of Bourguignon-Jallier: these are young residents of Smila and children from the partner communities of Rohany and Savyntsy.

Ahead are 13 days of new acquaintances and communication with French peers. Along the way, the children have already visited Dresden, and in France, together with new friends, they joined the celebration of Bastille Day.

The trip was organized thanks to the cooperation of the Smila community with the communities of Rohany and Savyntsy, the partnership of Smila with Bourguignon-Jallier, and the support of the EuropePrychystok platform.

And children from the Dobropil community of the Donetsk region spent part of their summer vacation in Wroclaw, Poland.

The Stryi community, a partner of Dobropil, helped organize the trip. Excursions, recreation, and getting to know the city were prepared for the children. They also visited the Consulate General of Ukraine in Wroclaw and talked with Ukrainian diplomats.

For Ukrainians whose childhood passed next to the war, these trips return what the war is trying to take away from them: security, smiles, and bright memories.

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The 3rd stage of the Ukrainian Cup in Bogatyrsky all-around among veterans took place in Brovary. Representatives of Svatovoye, in Luhansk Oblast, also joined the large-scale sporting event. Both communities are partners in the project “Side by Side: United Communities”.

The guests were represented by Oleksandr Dubovy, Honored Master of Sports of Ukraine, five-time world champion, three-time European champion and multiple record holder in Bogatyrsky all-around.

For veterans, such competitions are not only about weight, speed or results. They are about recovery, regaining confidence, new goals and adaptation to peaceful life.

They have already proven their strength at the front. Now they are proving again: a Ukrainian defender can be wounded, but cannot be broken.

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As part of the national project “Side by Side: United Communities,” children from the Novobuzka, Yunakivka, and Savynka communities spent part of their summer vacation in different parts of Ukraine.

In Vinnytsia, they were happy to welcome guests from the Novobuzka community in Mykolaiv Oblast. Partners from the Bar community prepared a rich program: sports training, excursions, master classes, trips to Vinnytsia, Kamianets-Podilskyi, and Khotyn, relaxation in an aquapark, swimming pool, and new acquaintances.

In the Carpathians, children from the border Yunakivka community of Sumy Oblast rested for two weeks among the mountains, gained strength, found friends, and simply enjoyed a safe childhood. The Polyanytsk rural territorial community provided a hospitable reception for them.

Schoolchildren from the Savynska community-outpost of the Kharkiv region, thanks to partners from the Haivoronska community, became participants in a military-patriotic camp in the Kirovohrad region. There they learned to work in a team, mastered survival skills, first aid, participated in sports tests and evening bonfires.

And for the children of the Siverska community of the Donetsk region, summer continues in Transcarpathia. The Onokivska community opened its doors to children. In the “Malyatko” camp, they take classes in rehabilitation physical education, work with psychologists, get acquainted with the traditions of the region, visit historical and natural locations, create and relax.

All children will return home with hundreds of photos on their phones and with the confidence that the world around them is much bigger than war.

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It took place thanks to the cooperation of the Kup’yanska and Novoselytsia communities within the framework of the project “Side by Side: United Communities”.

Children from the families of military personnel, as well as families of deceased and missing Defenders of Ukraine, visited the Republic of Lithuania.

For two weeks, they attended excursions, master classes, museums, had an interesting time and got acquainted with the culture and traditions of Lithuania.

A special event was the participation of the Ukrainian delegation in the festive procession on the occasion of the Day of the City of Joniškis. Together with the Mayor of Novoselytsia Maria Nikorych, the children represented Ukraine at the international holiday.

The whole world is shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine!

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Children from Avdiivka, Dar’ivka and Krasnosilska communities visited different parts of Ukraine, where they prepared rich programs of recreation, educational excursions and leisure.

Young residents of the Avdiivka community spent ten days at the summer camp “Sokil” in the Carpathian region, where they learned independence, worked in teams and discovered the nature of the Carpathians. The Ivano-Frankivsk City Council helped organize the trip, which helped with a convenient and safe transfer of children.

For schoolchildren from the Dar’ivska community of Kherson region, partner communities from Rivne region organized a trip to Polissya: they visited manufacturing enterprises, a dendropark, an open-air museum, and a deer farm.

And the children from the Krasnosilska community concluded their stay in Khmelnytskyi region with an excursion to Kamianets-Podilskyi, discovering the history of one of the oldest cities in Ukraine. So they return home with new impressions and warm memories.

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