Here you can find information about the projects that the fellows of the DSC have been working on throughout the DSC academic year.
There were five working groups:
The Economic group
The DSC Economic group project was a SMALL BIZ AWARDS – a competition for entrepreneurial talents. The Small BIZ Awards aimed to promote the development of small business in Ukraine. The economic group collected and published more than 60 stories of creating successful businesses on Facebook. Four categories were addressed: ecological, innovative, social business, and business of internally displaced persons. Winners in each category were invited to the “Pulse of Ukraine” Forum during which the awarding ceremony took place. The economic group of the DSC presented great examples of small entrepreneurs who became successful in Ukraine.
The E-learning group
The DSC E-learning group crafted two projects: (1) Distance Learning Development Programme at Taurida National V.I. Vernadsky University and (2) E-education in Displaced Universities: Analytical Research. The project’s aim was to enhance the quality of higher education in displaced universities by implementing multiple information and communication technologies (ITC) at local and national levels. The Distance Learning Development Programme helped take a step towards the development of a comprehensive e-learning environment at the Taurida National V.I. Vernadsky University. The main outcomes of the program were felt in three key fields. In the field of organizational assistance, the general framework and recommendations for the elaboration of the regulation on distance learning were developed. In the field of technical support, a distance learning platform Moodle was installed and customized for the professional use of the academic staff. Finally, in the field of methodological frameworks and staffing, a four-day training on distance learning was conducted. You can read more here.
The Historical group
The DSC Historical group created a unique base of geographical renaming which has taken place in Ukraine within the last two centuries (including specifying of existed renaming trends) and a user-friendly interactive map. The group wants to attract audience’s attention to the topic of informational influence through geographical renaming and to increase citizens’ awareness about political manipulations. You can read their findings here.
The NGO group
The DSC NGO group created an online video course about civil society involvement in the policy-making process. The project was aimed to educate active citizens about how to participate in, and influence, the policy-making process in Ukraine. Despite the growing network of civic institutions in Ukraine, political scientists admit the civil society development in Ukraine is only in nascent stages. Building a civil society requires active participation of citizens in the political decision-making process, their comprehension and acceptance of responsibility for their future and dignified life they are striving for. A possible solution mechanism for addressing this challenge is the introduction of effective system of non-formal political education, as it is a vital component for building and establishing a democratic civil state and ensuring the efficient operation of all spheres of public life. Through their online video-course, the group teaches youth aged 18-35 on a daily basis how to influence the policy-making process, and how to contribute to the development of civil society by strengthening its role in a day-to-day life.
The Political Group
The DSC Political group created an online platform for civic engagement, found at actions.org.ua. The main objective of the platform is to inform civil activists about the ways to participate civically at regional and local levels, and also provide easy-to-understand instructions with detailed steps explaining what activists have to do if they want to solve problems in their communities but do not know how to proceed. The project raised awareness regarding the importance of being an active citizen, starting at the very local level. It shared a lot of practical information and inspired Ukrainian citizens to act. You can read more here.