How Can Small Cities Realise Their Cultural Potential Through Efficient Communication?

With the support of Ukrainian Cultural Fund, NGO Lviv Media Forum had conducted a large-scale study of small cities’ communication strategies.

The aim was to analyse small Ukrainian cities’ cultural and creative potential and ways to realise it.

For 5 months, the project’s analytics and experts have been researching 12 towns in Ukraine: Mariupol, Sloviansk, Oleksandriya, Myrgorod, Shostka, Uman, Berdiansk, Nova Kakhovka, Ostroh, Drogobych, Mukachevo, and Kamianets-Podilskyi.

The experts have conducted

✓ 67 hours of expert interviews with representatives of creative industries, authorities, and local media;

✓ monitoring of cultural-creative content in 36 local newsrooms and local communities in social media;

✓ 56 active citizens of 7 towns that took part in focus groups;

The research resulted in recommendations that facilitate in forming efficient cities’ communication strategies. The research might be a guideline for local communities when developing cultural policy and city brand, says the Ukrainian Cultural Fund CEO Yuliya Fediv.

The research helps

• develop or improve the strategy and promotion of the city as the one comfortable for living and exciting to visit;

• learn how to monetise cultural products;

• decrease the migration to big cities, expand job opportunities for youth, ethnic minorities, women, and marginalised groups in local communities;

• use traditional advantages such as cultural and historical heritage, geography, infrastructure, human resources while developing a city;

The research was conducted by:

Igor Balynskyy — head of the project research group; media expert, media researcher, coordinator in analytical centre of communication research “Networks”;

Iryna Starovoit — project expert; cultural studies researchers, literary critic; Candidate of Philological Sciences, associate professor of UCU Cultural Studies; PEN Ukraine member.

Oksana Dashchakivska — project expert; leadership and community development researcher; Candidate of Political Science, professor of UCU Department of Political Science; head of the IRF regional office in Western Ukraine.

Iryna Magdysh — project expert; cultural manager, editor, art critic; interpreter, and cultural projects manager.

Zoya Krasovska — head of project monitor group; media expert; Lviv Media Forum media researcher; author of NGO «Detector media» TV news reviews.