European Endowment For Democracy welcomed over 100 people for “LANDING”

EED welcomed over 100 people for “LANDING”, an inspiring documentary screening, exhibition, and a discussion about youth, culture, and democracy in Ukraine’s frontline communities at the cultural center Beursschouwburg.

In the town of Okhtyrka, just 30 kilometres from Ukraine’s border with Russia, the Street Cultures Development Center is helping young people enjoy a normal social life, despite daily bombings.

It brings young people together around skateboarding, grafitti, music, and gaming in a town with limited infastructure. The centre gives young people a place to belong and a practical sense of agency, as participants volunteer to repair public infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks and learn to use petitions, public hearings and other mechanisms of local democracy.

This is the Street Cultures Development Center, an unassuming NGO that has turned survival into an act of creativity. Its founder, Pavlo Ihnatchenko, describes the mission simply: “We want to give youth access to normal social life, even in such challenging circumstances.” 

But what Pavlo means by “normal” has taken on new meaning since 2022, when Okhtyrka was under heavy bombardment and the city’s future seemed to hang by a thread.

In the early days of the invasion, Pavlo’s team helped the local army. Their cultural projects – skate ramps, graffiti workshops, and DJ nights – went silent. When residents began returning a year later, he saw something remarkable: the same young people who had fled were coming back, looking for connection, identity, and hope. “I realised that bringing back cultural life was just as important as rebuilding houses,” Pavlo says. “If there’s nothing that makes you want to stay, the city dies slowly.”

That casual observation captures a pattern visible across Ukraine’s war-torn regions. Where rebuilding begins not with infrastructure, but with meaning.

A heartfelt thank you to Pavlo Ihnatchenko of Street Cultures Development Center, Anton Nazarko of Some People and to Monica Urian, Policy Officer, European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth and Sport for an engaging and open discussion.

Their contributions made this gathering meaningful and created space for important conversations about the challenges, needs, and potential of youth culture in Ukraine’s frontline communities and how creative expression can sustain hope during war times.