How does the civic activism change the quality of life in the city: success stories of Dnipro

Solving the problem of lack of lighting on the territory of dormitories of the Medical Academy, helping the Debate Federation of Ukraine to organize and hold a debate tournament, helping active condominiums in finding funding – that sounds like a list of responsibilities of a local deputy. In fact, it`s not. This is the work of the All-Ukrainian Initiative “Active Community” in the city of Dnipro. Dmytro Chernyshov, the regional coordinator of the Dnipro city’s “Active Community”, talks about the problems of the city and ways to solve them, the importance of including citizens in the socio-political life of the city and the country, and about that, what should Dnipro look like in 10 years.

– How did you learn about the problems with street lighting near the dormitories of the Medical Academy? How did you, as the coordinator of the “Active Community”, get involved in solving this problem?

– In October-November 2019, the Institute “Respublica” formed initiative groups in Dnipro in order to involve active residents in solving local problems with our help. At one of my trainings at the Youth Center “Forge of the Ukrainian intelligentsia”, I asked students if they are ready to get involved in the process of solving local problems. Medical Academy student Roman Vilivchuk, who had already heard something about advocacy campaigns and had previously attended trainings at the Institute “Republic”, told me that Medical Academy students had a problem with lighting near their dormitories. So, in the evening, they have to walk the dark streets, where the trees hang directly above their heads, and it`s impossible to see the pits under their feet, so it is likely to harm the health. Later we met with him and discussed how to solve this problem. Together we came to the conclusion that the easiest way would be to contact the deputy of the city council, who is responsible for this district. We chose the most open to dialogue deputy. Then I helped Roman to write a letter to this deputy, in which we described the problem in detail: there are dormitories of three universities, it is a kind of a small campus. There are a lot of students living there, who often risk their health, because of the darkness, the crime rate has risen there, and you can fall because you can’t see the road. The girls were afraid to follow this path in the evening, because anything can happen… We printed this letter, Roman collected more than 70 signatures of students of the Medical Academy. Then with this letter we went to one of the deputies of the city council. He told us, “Where have you been before? Why hasn’t anyone come before? It is in this residential area where we are now massively repairing and installing street lighting.” According to the words of Roman, even the rector of the university had earlier written a letter to the mayor asking for lighting in this area, but no one did anything there. And then the deputy told us that it wasn’t so difficult and everything will be made. Later, the deputy wrote a letter to the relevant department, where he was told that in the second quarter of 2020 this problem will be solved. Finally, in June, new lighting was installed on one part of the site. There are several fenced private houses and small lanterns have been placed on their walls. The lamps on the poles on the way from these houses to the student dormitories were also replaced. And after that it is a little bit safer to walk there.

– But the lighting was not installed on the whole, but only on the part of the site?

– Yes. Most of the territory is a forest, so no equipment can enter there. We were told that the poles could not be placed there, nor could the lanterns. So we will think about another option, for example some lanterns not very high above the ground.

– What about students’ signatures: why the number 70? Are students not very active in such actions?

– It is difficult to answer. Most likely, this is due to the fact that Roman, who was collecting signatures, was limited in time. I am sure that all the students he approached supported his proposal. We wanted to submit this letter to the deputy as soon as possible so that we could solve the problem in the coming months. Six months have passed since the initiative group’s appeal to the partial installation and restoration of the street lighting. Therefore, it was important to maintain contact with the deputy’s team because the issue could remain unresolved. Probably, previous attempts failed due to the lack of communication.

– What other problems in this area remain unresolved?

– In the same area there is also a problem of the broken pavement. You can fall there even with lighting. There is still no lighting on most of the territory and there are problems with rubbish and trees, the branches of which should be partially cut down.

– Have you ever asked for help with the problem of the broken pavement?

– Roman has talked to the assistant of the local council deputy about paving a new sidewalk, but he was told that they can’t do it.

– How did they argue this?

– They answer without explanations that they can’t. And the branches of the trees that hang over the heads of the students in the park also can’t be cut down.

– Students are proactive young people. Were they involved in the process of installing the lighting or landscaping? Did they apply anywhere?

– In most cases, there is no activity from them. In Dnipro, at the request of some local deputies, the “Association of City Dormitories” was created to involve students in what is happening in the city. But only a very small number of students take part in it. There are student councils in universities, youth public organizations, city youth council. However, there are only a few student leaders, this is not common.

– Does the “Active Community” in Dnipro plan to involve the majority of citizens in the socio-political processes of the city?

– Webinars or trainings will not help here. They need to be taken by the hand and led, told why it is so important. It will be more effective.

– Were there any other success stories in Dnipro?

– We had one initiative group: there are quite active condominiums on Gagarin Avenue in Dnipro. They do some of the repairs on their own, raise as much money as they can, and carry out some work. For example, there were installed some paper bins for certain types of garbage in the &&&. They asked us where to get extra money, because they also wanted to install trash cans on the street, but metal and large. We advised them to contact the People’s Deputy, who is assigned to their constituency, and the deputy of the city council. We also monitor various grant competitions to help them in some way. Also in February 2020, we joined the organization of a debate tournament in Dnipro, and helped the Federation of Debates of Ukraine in such a way. They asked us for funding. We provided part of the funds for the tournament, which is held by the Federation of Debates of Ukraine. In fact, it was a small amount for them. But due to the fact that we provided these funds, the registration fees for participants were lower. Last year we also helped to hold the Dnipro Debate School. We also helped them a little with the funding and food for participants.

– What is “Active Community” for you? Why do you manage civilian activities?

– I have been doing this for over 5 years and I like it. Work in the “Active Community” is one of the most important stages for me. Firstly, the “Active Community” has a rather strong network in different regions, there are always a lot of ideas and activities. In addition to educating, we help to solve local problems. It is especially nice to act as a representative of a well-known All-Ukrainian organization at an expert event.

– Why, in your opinion, should Ukrainians get involved in the public life and be active?

– If you are active, you can solve the problems of your house, street or neighborhood much faster. For example, there are many condominiums in Dnipro. When residents are united, they submit various projects to the city council and write letters to deputies. They also do the repairs very quickly, because there are special programs for condominiums. In addition, they pay less for utilities because they hire a service provider themselves, instead of using poor-quality services. At the same time, in houses where there are no condominiums, almost nothing is done and conditions are getting worse every year. Involvement in civic activity helps a person to realize himself/herself, to become more famous. Some people like to be a media person: to realize that TV viewers are watching, listening to you on the radio, reading your articles or materials about you.

– What should your city Dnipro look like in 10 years?

– I would like to see a city where industrial enterprises do not pollute the ecosystem, where the river does not turn green in summer. I`d like to see a city where all the main communal problems of the community have been solved, so that there are no houses falling apart. I`d like all historical buildings to be preserved in our city in 10 years, because they are now being actively demolished, even those that are in good condition. I`d like big business and the investment to come to the city. I`d like more interesting tourist and cultural sites to be created in the city, so that more than 500 thousand tourists can be expected every year. I would also like the residents of our city to be more active, to participate in everything that happens in the city, to initiate certain decisions on their own, not to be afraid of government officials and to learn to communicate with them productively.

– How do you assess the state of involvement of Dnipro residents in the life of the city?

– Residents of Dnipro are not very involved in the life of the city, there is a small part, about 10 percent of active citizens. The other ones are just waiting for someone to help them. They are not ready to take responsibility or do something on their own.

– How to involve more residents in the life of the city?

– If we talk about the fact that their participation in social processes can bring additional benefits – it will work. It is important to show specific cases, success stories. If people see that their friends or acquaintances have solved a problem, they will also join the initiatives to follow the same path in the future.

Note. The mission of the “Active Community” is to achieve prosperity through the democratic development of Ukrainian communities. The goal for 2025 is to activate and involve at least 1% of citizens in decision-making and promotion of reforms in Ukraine on a systemic basis for the well-being of Ukrainian communities. The initiative was created through the activities of the “Institute Respublica”. We are working to increase the civil activity of citizens.

Author: the head of the press service of the All-Ukrainian initiative “Active Community” Tetiana Kavunenko