On September 21, International Peace Day, the Integration Activities Forum organized by Caritas Ukraine and the Social Cohesion Programs Department took place in Kyiv. The Dialogue in Action team also joined the event - facilitators Tetiana Kalenychenko and Dmytro Fedorchak.
The forum offered an opportunity to meet new facilitators from the Caritas Ukraine network, exchange experience, and talk about how integration can work in practice — in communities where people with very different experiences of war come together today. Participants also tried out several formats of integration activities: a vybiyka (traditional fabric printing) workshop, working with fabric scraps, and a game of boccia. Activities like these can provide a simple opportunity for people to get to know one another, while thoughtful formats and facilitation can help turn them into meaningful, cohesive interaction.
During the forum, a silent auction was also held to support integration activities for veterans.
The Caritas Ukraine team also gave special attention to presenting their practical guide and training series, "Integration Activities: How People Become Part of a Community." The series consists of 10 episodes and explores how to organize activities that help people with different experiences get to know one another, interact, and become part of a community. Topics include choosing a format, group dynamics, the facilitator's role, working with conflict, and a trauma-sensitive approach.
You can watch the training series for free on the Diia.Osvita platform via this link.
Peace Day is a good occasion to talk about peace not only as the absence of violence, but also as everyday interaction between people: a chance to get to know one another, to be heard, to do something together, and to gradually rebuild connections within our communities.
We thank the Caritas Ukraine team for the invitation, their openness to sharing experience, and the opportunity to be part of this gathering. We're glad to continue this collaboration and take part in initiatives that help build a culture of dialogue, interaction, and social cohesion in Ukrainian communities.
