UNICEF spaces for children, youth and parents
Since 2022, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)'s Spilno Сhild Spots have welcomed 3 million young visitors across the country.
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Every child needs a place where they feel safe and happy, especially in times of war. Since 2022, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)'s Spilno Сhild Spots have become such spaces, welcoming 3 million young visitors across the country.
In 2024, UNICEF will transform the network of Spilno Spots into spaces where children, young people, parents and guardians can receive even more services. Here is an exploration of each of these spaces.
Spilno Child Spots
In the cosy atmosphere of the Spilno Spots, children can build Lego towers, play dominoes and chess, learn about the planets, make flags of different countries, or dance to a rhythmic song with professional animators and teachers.
- For children – Educational games, books, creative workshops, art therapy, early development classes, interactive lessons, films and cartoons, school readiness, mine awareness, etc.
- A baby room with a changing table and a place for breastfeeding.
Dnipro: https://t.me/DniproUNICEF
Kharkiv: https://t.me/unicef_vokzal
Lviv
Balakliia (Kharkivska region): https://t.me/unicefbalaklij
Gostomel (Kyivska region): https://t.me/unicef_gostomel
Kryvyi Rih: https://t.me/spilno_unicef_dk_ternivskyi
Uzhhorod: https://t.me/uzhorod_unicef
Kharkiv: https://t.me/spilno_unicef_metrobud
Kherson: https://t.me/unicef_spilno_kherson
Spilno Multifunctional Centres
These places are more spacious than Spilno Spots. They can occupy several floors and offer even more opportunities for entertainment and development, compared to spots. In the centre's multimedia studios, children can learn to make cartoons out of clay, sand and Lego, practice singing or even record their own music hits.
Meanwhile, parents and guardians can wait in the co-working space, and a psychologist provides support in a separate office.
- Educational games, quizzes and interactive classes for children. Digital learning centres where children can learn programming, etc. Multimedia studios – Rooms for recording sound, creating cartoons and other multimedia projects.
- Psychological support for children and adults.
- Psychosocial support for children aged 4-15 and their parents.
- A room for babies with a changing table and a place for breastfeeding.
The space is inclusive and adapted for people with disabilities.
- Bohodukhiv (Kharkiv region): https://t.me/spilno_unicef_bohodukhiv
- Dnipro: https://t.me/DniproUNICEF
- Zaporizhzhia: https://t.me/ZpUNICEF
- Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region): https://t.me/spilno_unicef_kr_multcentr
- Kharkiv: https://t.me/spilno_unicef_multicentr_kharkiv
Resilience Centres
This is a safe and barrier-free space where any child and their family can receive support during tough times, learn how to handle stress and strengthen family bonds. The centres are open to everyone in need of psychological help, as well as those facing challenges such as large families, displaced individuals, people with disabilities or families raising children with special needs.
UNICEF, together with the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine and the Coordination Centre for Mental Health of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, is supporting the opening of such centres in communities across the country, as part of the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Programme ‘How are you?’, initiated by the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska.
- Psychosocial support, including group and individual counselling.
- Counselling on child development and education.
- Social support services.
- Other services, including day care for children with disabilities.
The centres opened with the support of UNICEF are already operating in the Balakliya, Chuhuiv, Valky, and Kehychiv communities of Kharkiv region.
Digital Learning Centres
Created in partnership with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science, the Digital Learning Centres operate primarily in eastern and southern Ukraine, where many schools have been destroyed and shelling continues, preventing children from attending classes in person. Each child is provided with their own seat, along with access to a laptop and internet connectivity. Additionally, the centers offer live peer communication, something unavailable in typical home-based online learning.
In the mornings, children take online lessons, and the centre's specialists help them to connect to classes. In the afternoons, students have the opportunity to catch up on the missed curriculum, engage in creative activities and participate in sessions with a professional psychologist. In the event of air raid alarms, both facilitators and children proceed to shelters, where classes continue or useful exercises are undertaken to enhance children’s psycho-emotional well-being, such as creating paper fireworks, drawing or composing letters to their future selves. Additionally, the majority of centers are equipped with generators, ensuring continued operation during power outages.
Youth Centres and Spaces
These spaces welcome all initiatives from teenagers and young adults. Youth centers and spaces play a crucial role in the development and social integration of adolescents and young people. They offer opportunities for socialising, learning, cultural exchange, civic engagement and support.
- Educational activities – Skills development and career guidance programmes, creative workshops, psychosocial support groups.
- Useful recreational activities, including access to literature, film screenings, board games, etc.
- Counselling and psycho-social support groups.
- Opportunities to volunteer and run your own projects.
Find out about youth centres and spaces in your community.