Fostering social cohesion and mental wellbeing through creativity
With the support of UNICEF, the public organisation ‘Cultural Platform of Zakarpattia’ has created 20 creative and unifying centres for young people during the war.
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KONTENTA is an audio-visual studio designed to develop the creative skills of teenagers and young people in Ukraine, as well as strengthen social cohesion through community building. At the studio, youngsters can take part in group educational and cultural events, record vocals and musical instruments, and produce video blogs, podcasts and live broadcasts.
The main objectives of the ‘KONTENTA’ project are:
- to develop creative skills among youth and young adults in Ukrainian communities;
- to strengthen social cohesion through community building;
- to improve the mental health of participants through creative practices.
KONTENTA's technical equipment, educational courses and creative practices offer young people the opportunity to express themselves creatively and acquire new skills, allowing them to take on the roles of sound designer, musician, composer, voice actor, blogger, streamer, radio presenter, podcaster, director, journalist, sound engineer or video editor.
All studio equipment is portable, and the studio's modularity enables it to be quickly adapted to new locations and formats. In frontline cities such as Zaporizhzhia, where the air raid siren rang out seven times during the studio's opening, it was crucial to be able to continue the creative process in shelters. This experience was both a challenge and a reminder of how creativity can help young people to adapt to the realities of war, to maintain resilience and to remain part of the cultural dialogue even under extreme conditions.
Such moments shape new forms of interaction, with studios becoming not only platforms for creativity, but also spaces where young people can find support and ways to express themselves through art, even amid the sound of sirens.
Map of KONTENTA Studios
The studios form a digital cultural map of Ukraine, uniting youth from 20 different communities. Find the studio in your community and use the equipment to bring your creative ideas to life!
Locations of KONTENTA Studios:
- Balakliia: Balakliia Youth Centre ‘KUB’ (Shevchenko St, 1) @cube_youthhub
- Valky: Valky Youth Centre ‘Salat’ (Soborny Lane, 5) @mc_salat
- Dnipro: Dnipro Art and Culture College (Yavornytsky Ave, 47) @dniproart.college
- Zaporizhzhia: Zaporizhzhia Music College named after P. I. Maiboroda (Mayakovsky Ave, 22) @zaporizhzhia_music_college
- Kamianske: Kamianske Youth Initiative Centre (Svobody Ave, 2/1) @yic.kam
- Kehychivka: Kehychivka Youth Centre ‘GarDen’ (Voloshyna St, 76) @garden.keg
- Kryvyi Rih: Kryvyi Rih Music School No. 4 (Matusevycha St, 32-A) @music_school4
- Kropyvnytskyi: Kropyvnytskyi Youth Centre ‘Comma’ (Shulhynykh St, 36) @koma_krop
- Lutsk: Lutsk National Technical University Youth Centre (Lvivska St, 75) @youth.centre.lntu
- Mykolaiv: Mykolaiv City Youth Space (Admiralska St, 20) @hvylya.mk
- Nizhyn: Nizhyn Music School (Vozdvyzhenska St, 9-A) @nizhyn_youth_center
- Oleksandriia: Oleksandriia Youth Space ‘Second Floor’ (Soborny Ave, 65) @druhyipoverh
- Podilsk: Podilsk Youth Centre ‘Loft’ (Birzulskiy Blvd, 6) @loftyouthcenter
- Poltava: Poltava Youth Hub (Hrytsaienka St, 25) @omc_poltava
- Pereiaslav: Pereiaslav Youth Centre ‘Zustrich’ (Skovorody St, 81) @mc.zustrich
- Sambir: Sambir Youth Centre (Kopernyka St, 6) @molod_sambir
- Stryi: Stryi Youth Centre (Bandery St, 24) @stryi_youth_center
- Uzhhorod: YouthHub of Uzhhorod National University (Universytetska St, 12) @youthhub.uzh
- Chernihiv: Chernihiv Regional Youth Centre (Khlibopekarska St, 10) @molod_center
- Chornomorsk: Chornomorsk Youth Space ‘VibeHUB’ (Myru Ave, 43-A) @vibehub.community
A space for creativity and unity amid war
KONTENTA unites communities, helping young people to not only develop creative skills but also rebuild a sense of community. Such interaction helps build resilience and shape an emotionally safe environment for processing emotions and self-expression.
Bohdan Balaban, 17, a musician from the Kharkiv region, dreamed of establishing a recording studio in his community. He worked with local authorities and wrote grant applications. Passionate about music since childhood, Bohdan graduated from an accordion class at a music school and is studying at the Kharkiv Music College named after B.M. Liatoshynsky. He has set up a mini studio at home and will now have access to KONTENTA at the ‘Salat’ youth centre in Valky.
“Because of the war, young people in Valky are very reserved now, especially musicians – it seems hard for them to share their voices and creativity. I think KONTENTA can help with this and inspire young people to communicate and create more, which is essential. For me personally, it will help me work with sound professionally – it feels like a new step in music that I can now record on a professional level.”
In 2024, the network of studios reached over 6,209 participants aged 14 to 24, 13 per cent of whom were internally displaced. Young people have found a unique space for creative self-expression and social integration, with art helping them to overcome psychological barriers and adapt to new challenges. Over 492 events took place in the audiovisual studios, from music workshops and podcast sessions to meetings with artists such as Artystka Chuprynenko, Bohdan Kuper, BRYKULETS, Yevhen Filatov and others.
The voice of conscious and resilient youth in 20 communities across the country is now even louder. With modern equipment and a community of peers, young people have been given the opportunity to create and receive emotional support in the midst of war.
The KONTENTA audiovisual studio project was developed by the public organisation ‘Cultural Platform of Zakarpattia’ with the support of UNICEF and is being implemented with funding from the German Government.
