A City You Can Hear and Touch: Veterans in Zolochiv Create an Inclusive Cultural Route

The MHP-Hromadi Charitable Foundation and the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation supported a cultural and educational project for veterans, service members and their families in Zolochiv. A cultural and educational hub was established at the Mental Health Centre, where participants developed media skills and created an inclusive tourist route through the city.

The project “Three Voices of the Unbroken: Frame. Colour. Audio Guide” has concluded, bringing together male and female veterans, service members, their family members, as well as relatives of missing and fallen defenders.

A cultural and educational hub was established at the Mental Health Centre of the Zolochiv Central District Hospital. The space was designed for learning, creative interaction and support for veterans and their families.

Throughout the project, participants learned photography, videography, video editing and sound recording, explored Zolochiv’s cultural heritage and developed their own cultural products. The programme included 120 hours of training, alongside practical off-site workshops.

The project’s total budget was UAH 1,066,859. Of this amount, UAH 846,359 was provided by the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and UAH 220,500 by the MHP-Hromadi Charitable Foundation.

The MHP-Hromadi Charitable Foundation and MHP’s Western Hub also contributed to the project through financial and expert support. In particular, Olena Levchyshyna, a psychologist at MHP, conducted a workshop for project participants.

“Every day, we work on initiatives that support veterans, service members and their families, create opportunities for development and self-realisation, and encourage active participation in community life. People gain new skills, find space for creativity and become active contributors to the cultural life of their communities,” said Volodymyr Zabela, Director of the MHP-Hromadi Charitable Foundation. “Thanks to the project participants, Zolochiv’s cultural heritage has also become more accessible to a wider audience.”

One of the project’s key outcomes was the inclusive route “Zolochiv Through Touch and Sound”, which covers 15 cultural sites across the city. The project team created 45 audio tracks in Ukrainian, Polish and English, as well as tactile plaques featuring Braille and QR codes.

“Accessibility is not only about physical access, but also about the equal right to engage with culture. The fact that the cultural hub operates within the Mental Health Centre demonstrates that cultural practices can become a meaningful part of recovery for people who have lived through war. Meanwhile, the trilingual route opens Zolochiv to international visitors as well. This is a model that can be replicated in other communities,” said Anastasiia Obraztsova, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.

At the closing event in September, organisers presented a photo exhibition and a joint video, as well as the results of the sound-recording course. Participants shared their personal stories and spoke about how the new knowledge and skills had created additional opportunities for them.

Halyna Zhukovska, Chief Specialist at the Department of Economic Development, Investment, Project Management, International Technical Assistance and International Cooperation of Zolochiv City Council, said:

“This project is an example of how partnership can create tangible change. It is important to us that the initiative combined learning, practical skills and support for our defenders, veterans and their families.”

The project “Three Voices of the Unbroken: Frame. Colour. Audio Guide” was implemented by the Zolochiv Vidrodzhenyi Charitable Foundation in partnership with Zolochiv City Council, the Zolochiv Central District Hospital, the Pidyiom Youth Centre, the NGO Nasha Ukrainska Sprava, the MHP-Hromadi Charitable Foundation, MHP’s Western Hub and the Zolochiv branch of the Lviv Regional Employment Centre, with support from the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation under the “Societal Resilience Through Culture” grant programme, Lot 2 “Barrier-Free Society.”