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How to Integrate Culture into Recovery: New Free Online Course Launches

05/ 08/ 2026
  The Zrozumilo! Educational Online Platform has launched the new course “Cultural and Artistic Practices in Humanitarian Response.” The course explores the role of culture and the arts in humanitarian response and community recovery, offering practical tools for civil society organizations (CSOs). Ukrainian civil society organizations are operating in the context of a prolonged war and collective trauma, while also addressing communities’ growing need for sustainable recovery. Today, humanitarian response goes beyond meeting immediate needs. It increasingly requires approaches that strengthen trust, identity, social cohesion, and peoples psychological well-being. In practice, cultural and artistic approaches are often overlooked in humanitarian and recovery projects or applied inconsistently. Organizations invest in rebuilding damaged buildings, shelters, and infrastructure, but cultural dimensions are rarely included in project design and budgeting. One reason is practical: organizations often do not know how to justify these activities to donors or integrate them into a projects theory of change. As a result, the widespread perception persists that culture is secondary or even inappropriate during wartime. The course “Cultural and Artistic Practices in Humanitarian Response” equips CSO professionals with the knowledge and tools to challenge this assumption. Participants will gain a systematic understanding of how culture and the arts affect individuals and communities during times of crisis and learn practical approaches to incorporating cultural dimensions into humanitarian and recovery initiatives. Lecturers: Anastasiia Bondar, Deputy Minister for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization, Ministry of Culture of Ukraine Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, cultural scholar, contemporary art curator, and Director General of Mystetskyi Arsenal Course Authors: Anton Liagusha, PhD in History, Associate Professor and Academic Director of the MA Program in Memory Studies and Public History at Kyiv School of Economics. His research and public work focus on memorialization, collective loss, and historical trauma. Kateryna Lopatiuk, urbanist, author of an installation presented at the 2025 Venice Biennale, MIT Fellow, researcher in Ukrainian NGOs, and instructor of the Urban Data course at KSE. Kostiantyn Kuchabskyi, architect and urbanist, co-founder of the Ostriv platform. He has worked extensively with communities, public spaces, and urban cultural development. Sofiia Martyniuk, memory studies researcher and Head of Memorialization Affairs at the Irpin City Council. Mykhailo Hlubokyi, Development Director of the IZOLYATSIA Foundation, focusing on cultural decentralization and international partnerships for Ukrainian organizations. Iryna Hubeladze, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Academic Director at Kyiv School of Economics and Deputy Director of the Institute for Social and Political Psychology of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine. Anna Karnaukh, Co-founder and Director of Lanka.pro, an organization working at the intersection of culture, creative economy, sustainable development, and community well-being. Veronika Skliarova, Ukrainian cultural manager, theatre producer, and curator working at the intersection of arts and healthcare. She leads the NGO ART DOT and is an Arts and Health specialist with the World Health Organization. Who Is This Course For? This course is designed for representatives of civil society organizations, including NGOs, volunteer organizations, charitable foundations, and associations implementing humanitarian response and recovery projects. It is also relevant for cultural managers, civic activists, and anyone involved in community recovery who seeks to integrate cultural and artistic practices into their work. Course Structure The course is designed to help participants immediately apply new knowledge in their organizations. It consists of four thematic modules and fourteen short video lectures. Module 1. Culture as a Foundation for Resilient Recovery Lecture 1. Culture and War: Why Culture Matters Lecture 2. Humanitarian Aid: From Emergency Response to Resilience Lecture 3. How Culture Works: Mechanisms of Impact Lecture 4. Culture and Recovery in Public Space Module 2. Psychosocial Recovery, Artistic Practices, and Safety Lecture 5. Psychosocial Needs and Community Cohesion Lecture 6. Trauma-Informed Approaches in Cultural Projects Lecture 7. Ethics and Memory Practices Lecture 8. Artistic Approaches to Working with Collective Trauma Lecture 9. Creative Practices for Different Vulnerable Groups Module 3. Case Studies Lecture 10. Case Study: Culture Helps Lecture 11. Case Study: IZOLYATSIA Foundation Lecture 12. Formats for Integrating Cultural and Artistic Practices into Humanitarian Response Projects Module 4. Programmatic and Project-Based Approaches: Working Systemically Lecture 13. A Systemic Approach to Recovery Programs: Culture for Recovery and Assessing Cultural Impact Lecture 14. Designing Projects Through a Cultural and Artistic Lens Upon successful completion, participants receive a certificate worth 0.2 ECTS credits (six academic hours), which can be recognized as self-directed professional learning. The online course “Cultural and Artistic Practices in Humanitarian Response” was developed within the Capable and Resilient Program, implemented by East Europe Foundation with the support of Switzerland, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. The course is also part of the cross-sectoral platform CuRe (Culture in Recovery). Course registration: https://courses.zrozumilo.in.ua/courses/course-v1:eef+EEF-072+June2026/about

The Zrozumilo! Educational Online Platform has launched the new course “Cultural and Artistic Practices in Humanitarian Response.” The course explores the role of culture and the arts in humanitarian response and community recovery, offering practical tools for civil society organizations (CSOs).

Ukrainian civil society organizations are operating in the context of a prolonged war and collective trauma, while also addressing communities’ growing need for sustainable recovery. Today, humanitarian response goes beyond meeting immediate needs. It increasingly requires approaches that strengthen trust, identity, social cohesion, and people’s psychological well-being.

In practice, cultural and artistic approaches are often overlooked in humanitarian and recovery projects or applied inconsistently. Organizations invest in rebuilding damaged buildings, shelters, and infrastructure, but cultural dimensions are rarely included in project design and budgeting. One reason is practical: organizations often do not know how to justify these activities to donors or integrate them into a project’s theory of change. As a result, the widespread perception persists that culture is secondary or even inappropriate during wartime.

The course “Cultural and Artistic Practices in Humanitarian Response” equips CSO professionals with the knowledge and tools to challenge this assumption. Participants will gain a systematic understanding of how culture and the arts affect individuals and communities during times of crisis and learn practical approaches to incorporating cultural dimensions into humanitarian and recovery initiatives.

Lecturers:

  • Anastasiia Bondar, Deputy Minister for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization, Ministry of Culture of Ukraine
  • Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, cultural scholar, contemporary art curator, and Director General of Mystetskyi Arsenal

Course Authors:

  • Anton Liagusha, PhD in History, Associate Professor and Academic Director of the MA Program in Memory Studies and Public History at Kyiv School of Economics. His research and public work focus on memorialization, collective loss, and historical trauma.
  • Kateryna Lopatiuk, urbanist, author of an installation presented at the 2025 Venice Biennale, MIT Fellow, researcher in Ukrainian NGOs, and instructor of the Urban Data course at KSE.
  • Kostiantyn Kuchabskyi, architect and urbanist, co-founder of the Ostriv platform. He has worked extensively with communities, public spaces, and urban cultural development.
  • Sofiia Martyniuk, memory studies researcher and Head of Memorialization Affairs at the Irpin City Council.
  • Mykhailo Hlubokyi, Development Director of the IZOLYATSIA Foundation, focusing on cultural decentralization and international partnerships for Ukrainian organizations.
  • Iryna Hubeladze, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Academic Director at Kyiv School of Economics and Deputy Director of the Institute for Social and Political Psychology of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine.
  • Anna Karnaukh, Co-founder and Director of Lanka.pro, an organization working at the intersection of culture, creative economy, sustainable development, and community well-being.
  • Veronika Skliarova, Ukrainian cultural manager, theatre producer, and curator working at the intersection of arts and healthcare. She leads the NGO ART DOT and is an Arts and Health specialist with the World Health Organization.

Who Is This Course For?

This course is designed for representatives of civil society organizations, including NGOs, volunteer organizations, charitable foundations, and associations implementing humanitarian response and recovery projects.

It is also relevant for cultural managers, civic activists, and anyone involved in community recovery who seeks to integrate cultural and artistic practices into their work.

Course Structure

The course is designed to help participants immediately apply new knowledge in their organizations. It consists of four thematic modules and fourteen short video lectures.

Module 1. Culture as a Foundation for Resilient Recovery

  • Lecture 1. Culture and War: Why Culture Matters
  • Lecture 2. Humanitarian Aid: From Emergency Response to Resilience
  • Lecture 3. How Culture Works: Mechanisms of Impact
  • Lecture 4. Culture and Recovery in Public Space

Module 2. Psychosocial Recovery, Artistic Practices, and Safety

  • Lecture 5. Psychosocial Needs and Community Cohesion
  • Lecture 6. Trauma-Informed Approaches in Cultural Projects
  • Lecture 7. Ethics and Memory Practices
  • Lecture 8. Artistic Approaches to Working with Collective Trauma
  • Lecture 9. Creative Practices for Different Vulnerable Groups

Module 3. Case Studies

  • Lecture 10. Case Study: Culture Helps
  • Lecture 11. Case Study: IZOLYATSIA Foundation
  • Lecture 12. Formats for Integrating Cultural and Artistic Practices into Humanitarian Response Projects

Module 4. Programmatic and Project-Based Approaches: Working Systemically

  • Lecture 13. A Systemic Approach to Recovery Programs: Culture for Recovery and Assessing Cultural Impact
  • Lecture 14. Designing Projects Through a Cultural and Artistic Lens

Upon successful completion, participants receive a certificate worth 0.2 ECTS credits (six academic hours), which can be recognized as self-directed professional learning.

The online course “Cultural and Artistic Practices in Humanitarian Response” was developed within the Capable and Resilient Program, implemented by East Europe Foundation with the support of Switzerland, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. The course is also part of the cross-sectoral platform CuRe (Culture in Recovery).

Course registration: https://courses.zrozumilo.in.ua/courses/course-v1:eef+EEF-072+June2026/about

This material is provided by a member company or partner organization of the European Business Association as part of an informational collaboration. The Association is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. The views, opinions, and recommendations expressed in this material are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the European Business Association.

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