Name of the organization/initiative and year of foundation

The “Dialogue in Action” Initiative (DiA) has been operating since 2016 within two partner NGOs – the “Dukh i Litera” and the “St. Clement’s Centre: Communication and Dialogue of Cultures” at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

Mission

“Dialogue in Action” is an initiative aimed at developing a culture of communication and cooperation in small local communities of Ukraine through sustainable support in the format of facilitated dialogue, training, and consultations, which promote mutual understanding and cooperation between different groups of people: representatives of civil society, government, business, education, and local religious communities.

Actions and projects in the context of armed conflict

The feature that distinguishes the initiative from other dialogue projects in Ukraine is its openness to participation of religious organizations (Christian, Muslim, Jewish) – both ministers and believers – because they often have a high trust and are able to influence the development of their own city, village, or local community in collaboration with other social groups. The coordinators of this initiative set the task to promote the development of religious communities as well as their inclusion in civil society and interfaith cooperation.

DiA works in three directions: work with communities (holding a week-long School of Dialogue and long-term work in small local communities at the request of the initiative group), work with young people (at the community level and through the “Equal to Equal” project), and publication of specialized literature.

Work with communities. For the first time, “Dialogue in Action” was held by the NGO “Dukh i Litera” in 2016-2017 with the support of the Human Rights Protection Program of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine, and covered 12 cities and villages in different regions. In 2018-2019, “Dialogue in Action 2.0” was organized on behalf of the “St. Clement’s Centre: Communication and Dialogue of Cultures” with the support of the “Renovabis” (Germany) and “Mondo Unito” (Vatican) foundations, and covered five local communities, mainly in central Ukraine. In 2019-2022, “Dialogue in Action 3.0”, implemented by the “St. Clement’s Centre” and the “Dukh i Litera” NGOs with the support of the Mennonite Central Committee (USA) and “Kerk in Actie” (the Netherlands), is taking place in seven small communities of Ukraine; five of these territorial communities are located in the western regions and two in the east of Ukraine.

Work with young people. In 2017-2018, the initiative group also implemented a youth project to develop a culture of dialogue: “Peer to peer – development of a culture of communication and cooperation in society.” Twelve young trainers from all over Ukraine took a 16-day training in dialogue practices, and then conducted their own trainings for peers at different sites. The project received financial support from the Dutch foundation “Kerk in Actie”.

Specialized literature. The books “Building Peace. Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Communities” by John Paul Lederach and “Building Dialogue” by Goran Bozichevich have been translated into Ukrainian, published, and are available for ordering (additional video discussion about the books).