Social cohesion
Fostering resilience in Ukrainian society
The “Ukrainian Community of Dialogue Practitioners” aims to help people in Ukraine cope with their traumas, strengthen resilience – and prepare society for the post-war period. To do this, it needs effective structures. We have been supporting the initiative since 2023. What has happened since then?
When the mental strain of life in Kyiv threatens to overwhelm her, Olena Kukhar takes her son and goes to western Ukraine for a few days out in the countryside, hiking in the Carpathians – if circumstances allow, that is. That’s because an everyday pastime in other parts of Central Europe has become a luxury in Ukraine. For residents of the capital and other cities, thoughts of rural tranquility are regularly shattered by explosions, power cuts and the anxious wait for the next Russian attack to terrorize civilians.
“When you’re in a safe place, you can take a philosophical approach and think about the future,” says Olena Kukhar. But that is not possible in a country constantly beset by bad news from the front lines, shells hitting the capital, cruise missiles killing people, and Russian weapons destroying infrastructure across the country. “In this situation, you try to focus on the things that you yourself can control – and on helping others.”
That’s why Olena Kukhar has been working for the civil society initiative Ukrainian Community of Dialogue Practitioners (UCoDP) since January 2024. From its HQ, she helps to coordinate a network of Ukrainian NGOs and conflict transformation experts, and manages projects of her own.
The Ukrainian Community of Dialogue Practitioners is a network of Ukrainian NGOs and experts on conflict transformation. Through a wide variety of projects, UCoDP stays in close touch with Ukrainian society and supports people coping with trauma. The initiative has existed as a loose network since 2014, when Russia began its war on Ukraine with the annexation of Crimea and Donbass. Since Russia’s full-scale in invasion February 2022, the network has strengthened and adopted a much more robust structure – and support by the Robert Bosch Stiftung is now driving this professionalization even further. This process has led to the creation of a general secretariat at headquarters, new communication channels and international cooperation to increase the impact of individual projects.
A key feature of the “Ukrainian Community of Dialogue Practitioners”: sharing knowledge and methods – here a seminar on dialogue instruments in Kyiv, 2024
Throughout the country, people are being trained in how to solve conflicts and engage in dialogue
The “Mobile Brigades” are a good example of UCoDP’s efforts. Originally conceived as an emergency response to local conflicts, the programme has evolved to provide comprehensive training and mentoring for local government officials and volunteers. They are taught the skills to solve conflicts by engaging their communities in dialogue, and continue to receive guidance from UCoDP experts. Some 3,311 people have received training in 160 courses in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Chernivtsi.
UCoDP has also joined forces with the Right to Protection (R2P) Foundation and the Salzburg Global Seminar to develop a two-year training programme (with mentoring and networking opportunities) for mediators and dialogue facilitators. And it has launched a research project in the field of conflict sensitivity to help prevent interventions from causing unintended harm.
The initiative’s achievements go beyond sheer numbers, says UCoDP spokeswoman Tetiana Grynova. “While traditional metrics such as the number of participants and cases provide some insight, UCoDP focuses on broader, transformative goals.” These include building a culture of dialogue and conflict resolution, promoting local ownership, achieving lasting impact through policy advice and advocacy, and boosting expertise through improved methods. “The circle of Ukrainian dialogue specialists is growing – as is international recognition of our expertise,” says Olena Kukhar. “This is real progress.
In this dossier, we focus on the people in Ukraine whom we support. With our commitment in the country, we are also looking to the future: toward a strong Ukraine in Europe.
A program at the local level prepares families and community members for the return of war veterans
Projects initiated and led by UCoDP members are particularly important because they allow local experts to set their own priorities. “This helps us avoid the typical limitations of traditional development-cooperation models, which often set goals from the outside,” says spokeswoman Tetiana Grynova.
Support for soldiers returning home is one of the most remarkable programmes. The UCoDP offers to train war veterans – most of whom have suffered physical or psychological wounds at the front – to become a “defenders at home.” According to Olena Kukhar, this helps families, social workers, educators and other members of the community to reintegrate discharged soldiers into everyday local life with dignity and respect.
The large number of internally displaced citizens is another group that is benefitting from the UCoDP’s attention. As Olena Kukhar notes, it is crucial for cities and other communities to create a new social cohesion between their established populations and the new arrivals. Citizen focus groups in the Dnipro and Ivano-Frankivsk regions have worked to identify narratives that unite internally displaced persons and locals – and those that divide them. “These findings are now being incorporated into models for building greater social cohesion in local communities,” says Olena Kukhar.
Turning hope into concrete action
Olena Kukhar has a dual role, coordinating and organizing community projects in Ukraine, as well as supervising her own projects, such as teaching non-violent communication. She is also there for other mediators in the community by listening to their needs and concerns. “In a way, I care for the caregivers,” she says. “The most important thing is to listen and act with empathy – which means the people I talk to sometimes inundate me with information.” The stories she hears are often difficult to process – but this is one reason why Olena is convinced that her work is meaningful.
Whether in rural communities or in the capital Kyiv, the winter of 2025 is characterized for many Ukrainians by thoughts of about uncertain future. For Olena Kukhar, as for all her fellow citizens, their country’s current predicament is proving to be a huge burden. “At the moment, it feels like a major catastrophe is waiting for us just around the corner,” she says.
But Olena Kukhar says it is crucial not to lose hope – and to keep turning that hope into real action, so that Ukrainians remain resilient and united.
We have had close ties to partners in Ukraine for more than 30 years. Since Russia's full-scale invasion, we have intensified our engagement and focus on supporting civil society actors in Ukraine who are making a decisive contribution to cohesion in the country.