Кафедра філософії КПІ ім. Ігоря Сікорського

Recently, Leonida Ponomarova visited a class of the course “Inclusive Approaches in Organizing and Conducting Socio-Cultural Events,” taught by Nataliia Vainilovych. In Ukraine, Leonida worked as a journalist, was engaged in civic activism, and taught at a college of applied sciences. Because of the full-scale invasion, she has been forced to live abroad, and she now compares Ukrainian and European approaches to accessibility from the perspective of someone who encounters them every day.

As part of the course, Social Work students design participatory and inclusive events for different communities. We wanted events for people with visual impairments to be ethically sound, to meet real needs and not become a mere formality, so we invited a representative of the community to join the conversation. We talked about very practical things: how to offer assistance without imposing it; why it is better to send materials in advance in electronic form rather than print them in Braille; why an event needs several trained volunteers; and who will guide blind participants to the shelter during an air-raid alert.

We also discussed “pseudo-accessibility,” when there is a Braille sign but no working function behind it, and excessive help that hinders more than it helps. Leonida stressed that the best strategy is simply to ask the person what they need. We touched on respectful language as well: “a blind person” or “a person with a visual impairment” are appropriate, while the Ukrainian expression “з вадами зору” (“with visual defects”) is not. At the same time, in her view, moving from terminology to real action matters more: budgets, building codes, audible traffic signals. A student who works at a rehabilitation center for children received specific advice on engaging a blind girl in pottery classes (more precisely, on how to spark her interest in creating).

For us, meetings like this are the heart of the course. Inclusion begins when we prepare events together with the people they are meant for, not on their behalf. We thank Leonida for her openness, humor, and willingness to share her experience!

On October 2, an online webinar titled “Mental Health and Stress: How to Maintain Balance in Challenging Times” was held. The webinar focused on maintaining mental health and developing effective stress-management skills.

The speaker was Oleksii Karachynskyi, PhD in Psychology, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Philosophy of the Faculty of Sociology and Law, psychologist, psychotherapist, and veteran.

The event was also attended by lecturers of the Department of Philosophy Natalia Tymoshenko, Zosia Kais, Maryna Storozhyk, Tetiana Svidlo, and Natalia Denysenko, as well as first-, second-, and fourth-year students of the Social Work and Counselling programme.

During the webinar, participants explored the causes of anxiety and stress, their impact on the body and everyday life, and practical tools that can help them manage emotional tension more effectively and maintain inner balance in challenging times.

The event was held in cooperation between the Department of Philosophy of the Faculty of Sociology and Law and the Social and Psychological Support Department of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. The webinar was organized by Anastasiia Zhukova, Lecturer at the Department of Philosophy of the Faculty of Sociology and Law and Head of the Social and Psychological Support Department.

Such meetings contribute to fostering a culture of mental health care within the university community and help participants find practical ways to maintain their psychological resources and well-being.

Recently, Volodymyr Yakovenko, head of the NGO “Youth Agency for the Advocacy of Roma Culture “ARCA”, visited a class in the course “Inclusive Approaches to Organising and Running Socio-Cultural Events”, taught by Nataliia Vainilovych.

As part of the course, Social Work students design projects for participatory and inclusive events for different communities. One of the students chose Roma teenagers as the target group for her project. To make sure the event would be ethically sound, meet the community’s real needs and do no harm, we invited a representative of the community to talk with us.

During the meeting, we learned many important nuances. For example:
🔹 reaching the Roma community often happens through NGOs and community initiatives, personal contacts, or Protestant churches;
🔹 it is better to avoid the word “integration” in event announcements: state institutions often use it to mean assimilation, a process in which the community loses its language, customs and other features of its culture.

The conversation was professional, candid and full of real-life examples of how Roma people face discrimination and how to avoid it when planning social events.

We sincerely thank Volodymyr Yakovenko and the NGO “Youth Agency for the Advocacy of Roma Culture “ARCA” for the lively dialogue with our students and for the chance to learn about their work on increasing the visibility of the Roma community and destigmatising it.