Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was met by a united response throughout Ukrainian society. However, it created a range of challenges inside and between communities, as well as among people, with respect to addressing the consequences of the war such as mass displacement, threat and damage to infrastructure and communications, and public administrations overwhelmed with demand.
Together with our partner, the Institute for Peace and Common Ground, we worked in western Ukraine to see how dialogue can be used to help unite efforts among citizens to address the impact of the war and maintain social cohesion. The project also aimed to use dialogue to help build a platform through which Ukrainian citizens feel they have been stakeholders in the recovery and reconstruction of the country.
Dialogue Initiative Groups formed in four communities, in four different regions in western Ukraine. They brought community members together for diverse initiatives such as integrating the children of displaced families, promoting economic activity, and inputting into local recovery plans.
On 22 February 2022, the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine which has so far resulted in humanitarian and ecological catastrophe, mass displacement, and wholesale destruction of entire settlements, as well as formal annexation of more of Ukraine’s territories. In the new context peacebuilders have continued to see how their skillsets might be applied to strengthen community resilience and cohesion, addressing immediate problems – such as accommodation and integration of those affected by war – but with a firm eye on the contribution that can be made to the future, especially in terms of building a culture and processes of inclusion that can support recovery.
This project was funded by the Embassy of Switzerland to Ukraine.
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