VOICES OF VOLUNTEERING – EP 9 – BOHDANA TURIV: CULTURAL VOLUNTEERING
Volunteer work of artists, educators, culture professionals, and other concerned citizens reinforces the values of our country, which in turn unite all parts of the Ukrainian community. How has culture become a powerful tool for integrating people, and how can it work during the active phase of Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine? In the ninth episode of Voices of Volunteering, Anna Bondarenko explored cultural volunteering together with Bohdana Turiv, founder of the Teploserdni cultural volunteer initiative in Drohobych, which aims to give people a sense of being part of a large Ukrainian community through culture.
How are cultural centers established in Ukraine, and what is their mission in times of war? What role do small towns play in shaping culture? Why does cultural diversity unite rather than divide? What talents work for victory? “I admire Ukrainians who come to support cultural events despite the air raids, danger, and worries. This allows us to spread the right ideas and familiarize people with the cultural tradition.”
The number of cultural initiatives supporting the Ukrainian military, joining fundraising campaigns, and launching their own ones is constantly growing, and so is the number of volunteer voices representing them. For this episode, we invited Sofia Andrushchenko, who plays traditional Ukrainian music with the bands Oreli and Zbyten and sings traditional songs with the band ShchukaRyba, developing a volunteer center at the Ivan Honchar Museum. The episode also features Ivanka Lishchuk, who unites young people around contemporary Ukrainian music through the Lesya Kvartyrynka events. We also invited Dmytro Sytnyk, who demonstrated with the Druzhba project that parties and raves can also be helpful in the active phase of war, and Roman Morozov, who founded the cultural and community center SHELTER+ in the darkest district of Kryvyi Rih more than 20 years ago and continues to develop young people successfully.
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Voices of Volunteering is a podcast about systemic volunteering, an encyclopedia of the management of good deeds, and a chance to meet representatives of various relevant areas. The podcast is hosted by Anna Bondarenko, founder and head of the Ukrainian Volunteer Service.
Voices of Volunteering sound with the support of UNICEF to encourage every Ukrainian to volunteer. Listen to the episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify, Google, and Apple Podcasts. Doing good is easier together!
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