Project activities

NETWORKING EVENTS WITH PERFORMANCES

Illustration

One-day offline networking events with playback theater performances.
The purpose of the meetings: to restore the social capital of Ukrainian refugees, who have moved to the Rome region.

  • Frequency: 1 time a month.

  • 30 participants at one meeting.

  • Participants: Ukrainian refugees and Italians

Events of this format have already been tested by our team in Dnipro and have shown a high level of demand from people trying to integrate into a new life and find support.

What did we do at the networking events?

● Conducted facilitated acquaintances of people.● Performed group exercises to increase people's activity, identify needs and commonalities.● Organized speeches by Ukrainian and Italian experts in the fields of law, beauty and health, joint recreation, parenting, etc.● Created a relaxed and creative atmosphere with the help of a creative component.

What is the creative component?

This is any creative activity that involves people acting together:
● singing together in the singing circle technique● joint drawing and performing of various art techniques● playback theater performance

Why is the creative component so important?

The atmosphere of joint creativity, when people relax and start singing or participating in an improvised performance, helps to establish a positive atmosphere in the group, people have common positive memories. It also helps to establish horizontal connections between people, as the experience of joint creativity unites them.

Playback performances

Are an important, powerful connecting tool for building a trusting atmosphere and creating horizontal connections.

Playback theater

Is a kind of theater where people from the audience tell their personal stories, and the actors play these stories on stage right here and now, improvising and showing the deeper essence of the events that the person recalls in the story.

Results of playback theater performances● Developing empathy.● Creating a safe space.● Engaging in dialogue through story sharing.● Enlarging personal vision of the story through reflection on the stage.● Creating a sense of presence and active listening.

The playback performance in Rome became possible thanks to a professional playback group from Berlin, consisting of Ukrainian refugees who left Ukraine in 2022. Unfortunately, there is no Ukrainian playback theater in Italy, and the language factor is crucial, as it is important that playback actors not only know the language of the audience, but also share a common context with them.

WORKSHOPS AND MEETINGS

A series of workshops and meetings with experts on «Legal support».
The purpose of the meetings: to help Ukrainian refugees resolve legal issues and assist them in preparing the necessary documents.

  • Offline format.

  • Frequency: 1 time a month.

  • 15 participants at one meeting.

What did we do at the meetings?

● Listened to lawyers on the importance of proper execution of all documents in Italy.● Received advice on various cases requiring legal advice.● Provided support and important information about the rules and functioning of certain aspects of life in Italy.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT GROUP

The psychologist of our community, Olena Bednarchuk, who is a teacher, psychologist, and speaker, helped refugee women:
— to deal with problems, fears, loneliness and misunderstanding of how to live in a new country;
— to regain the value of oneself and one's body, to learn to express emotions, desires, feelings, and to relax psycho-emotionally.

For everyone who had questions, was looking for support or just wanted to relax, the psychologist offered supportive communication in a circle, provided effective tools for dealing with stress, and selected exercises that help relieve psychological stress.

  • Offline format.

  • Frequency: 1 time a week.

  • 10 sessions of an open psychological support group for Ukrainian refugee women.