Is it possible to change the country so that Ukrainians were comfortable living in it and did not want to run away from the world? Quite. At least, they try to do it in some small towns that know how to make non-standard decisions. While megacities in Ukraine are focused on constantly overcoming the mass of urgent problems, in small towns you can concentrate on the implementation of transformations. I will tell you how it works, using the example of Slavutych, who this year received the status of the Small Cultural Capital of Ukraine and financial support from the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation for the development of creative industries and cultural initiatives. It is likely that our conclusions, which we drew during the transformation, will help other cities to change qualitatively.
Kyiv. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – July 27, 2021 – Tourism and Travel
Initially, in addition to the development of small and medium-sized businesses, they relied on tourism to the Chornobyl zone
So, the first thing you need to do is answer the question: “What is the uniqueness of your city?”. For a long time, Slavutych, the youngest city in Ukraine, was associated only with the Chernobyl satellite city. We first thought about positioning when Chernobyl ceased operations in 2000 and we lost our usual rhythm of life.
Initially, in addition to the development of small and medium-sized businesses, they relied on tourism to the Chornobyl zone, because it is a world-renowned location and a strong tourist magnet. But they understood that this is not the only thing that can attract tourists. We knew we could not act like megacities. For example, holding large events on a regular basis is not enough resources. Instead, we can become an all-Ukrainian center of niche events.
We decided to focus on bold positioning: “Slavutych – a city of new ideas” and develop the creative sector of the economy. And then developed an ambitious development strategy with a focus on education, hospitality, niche entertainment, and tourism, in particular, in the Exclusion Zone.
The second important factor is to have a global idea (big idea) and a long-term strategy. Any city, even a small one (only 25 thousand inhabitants like ours), can have big ambitions. It helps to attract powerful resources: financial, intellectual, and most importantly – talented people.
From 2014 to 2018 in Slavutych the Festival of Film and Urban Planning “86” was held
Slavutych recently adopted a new strategy for the city’s development until 2025. Three main components of the economy were approved: IT and energy – 13%, culture, and tourism – 38%, business conditions, and investment attractiveness – 50%. We have set an ambitious goal to increase the flow of tourists five times! How do we achieve? We will develop the creative sector, the industry of niche events, we will pay more attention to communications.
We have experience: from 2014 to 2018 in Slavutych the Film and Urban Studies Festival “86” was held. In the first year of the event, there were not even places in the city to accommodate guests and fast food outlets to feed them! So they set up a campsite and invited businessmen from Lviv to organize a coffee shop. We already have a wonderful hotel, three hostels, quality catering establishments (we can offer at least 1000 stationary seats).
We did not stop there. We have a tourist information center (TIC), which provides not only information and consulting services, but also high-speed Internet, coworking will soon work. Information services in the TIC are free. Regional routes Slavutych-Chernihiv, Slavutych-Lyubech, Slavutych-ChNPP, ecotours of the region’s estates, etc. have been developed.
And my personal dream is to make Slavutych a campus city, a campus. It is compact and comfortable to live in, we are already working in this direction: we are signing agreements with educational institutions (with KPI and Chernihiv Polytechnic, it is in Slavutych will be training for the specialty 123 – computer engineering), we are in demand as a sports base for meetings.
Small business is the key to urban stability
Third, it is important to create effective mechanisms for “government-business-community” cooperation. In Slavutych, all three components work closely together – from developing a city strategy to implementing specific plans. The “Traveling Quarter” initiative works effectively, the purpose of which is regular meetings, discussions with public activists, and search for solutions to important issues for citizens, which are held every time in different quarters of Slavutych.
Difficult? So. Effective? Of course! Working together, focusing on a single result – is a manifestation of democracy and a guarantee of implementation.
Fourth – investment and support for small and medium-sized businesses.
Small business is the key to urban stability. Therefore, it is important to develop relations with him, to create attractive conditions for entrepreneurs, to support “their”. During the lockdowns, the city found an opportunity to provide businesses with a “rental vacation” for 600 thousand hryvnias. We regularly conduct networking and training for entrepreneurs.
Our pride is a modern innovative municipal business park. It covers an area of over 1.5 thousand square meters, has 10 productions and 11 office spaces. At the same time, the rent in it is UAH 3.77 per 1 square meter, and the contract can be executed in 72 hours. This is a ready location to start a business.
Fifth, we need to look for allies and additional sources of funding. The freedom gained through decentralization has opened up new perspectives for cities. But she also imposed a great responsibility. Therefore, it is worth looking for partners and additional sources of funding to implement the plans.
Slavutych seeks to build a universal, friendly to low mobility groups public space
For example, two years ago we won a grant from the program of the government and the Ministry of Culture “Small towns – big impressions” for the Art Residence. This year we are implementing a number of events within the Small Cultural Capital program with the financial support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
We also decided on a complex and important experiment for us – Slavutych seeks to build a universal, friendly to low mobility group public space. Therefore, we joined the initiative of the First Lady Elena Zelenskaya “Without Barriers” and will already receive strong intellectual support. In fact, Slavutych has become a laboratory for the development and implementation of barrier-free solutions and our experience will be extended to the whole of Ukraine.
There is money in the world and in the country, and you can attract it by offering really interesting, ambitious ideas, and presenting a professional team that will implement them.
And sixth – last – it is absolutely necessary to create interesting projects and develop creative industries. Tourism events – is not just an emotion, a powerful impetus to the economy. We made sure of that. ChNPP has stopped working and no longer generates energy, but scientific practice and scientific tourism, in particular, continue around it.
Every year we hold an international conference INUDECO, dedicated to the problems of decommissioning of nuclear energy facilities and environmental restoration. The intellectual elite from all over the world comes to us. And this significantly replenishes the city budget.
Small towns, like the locomotives of Ukraine, are not a fantasy
This year we plan to surprise with bright cultural events to which we invite guests from all over Ukraine. The international festival for architects SESAM 2021 Poliklinika will start on August 2, where we expect more than 250 students-architects from all over Europe. artists OPEN FORMAT ART RESIDENCE. We will also hold the most popular festival for creative youth and future media people “Golden Autumn of Slavutych”, which will be held for 28 years in a row. The annual cultural and artistic festival for people of the “golden age” 50+ GOLDen Fest is planned for October. Let’s break stereotypes and overcome ageism…
Of course, for the most part, these are niche initiatives. But they prove that small towns, like the locomotives of Ukraine, are not a fantasy. It is small towns that can be the platforms that will help transform large cities.
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Source: Ukrgate
