By Svitlana Salamatova and Serhiy Shturkhetskyy
ICA Ukraine has broadened its outreach, thanks to a new project called Ukraine Social Community (USC) that makes it possible for organizations and people to network and even broadcast their programmes over the Internet. ICA Ukraine’s programme, called ICA Ukraine Hosted, has boosted its profile. Although the organization is only two years old, it has received a total of 1,350,000 Google searches. In comparison, UNICEF, working in Ukraine for 22 years, has had 3,360,000 Google searches.
ICA Ukraine got involved with USC’s creator, the Institute of Creative Technologies and Mass Media, when it held ToP training for several Ukrainian NGOs in February. Since then, ICA Ukraine has become a partner and assistant in the development of USC.
According to the Institute, USC (http://ukrainasocial.ning.com/) is a virtual community, which “transforms the impossible into the possible. Ordinary people become journalists, community activists find partners, and officials who were previously inaccessible to the public use the new technologies for online communication with ordinary citizens with USC assistance”.
Says another partner of the Institute, social activist Boris Kudar from Mykolayiv in southern Ukraine: “USC is an organization of a new type: without hierarchy, structure and permanent contacts. Some people have united around the idea and keep creating tools to implement this idea.”
One of the architects of the USC network is former Soviet space engineer Nikolai Filatov, who has been working on the project without any financial remuneration. “I’m already 60 years old,” he says. “Therefore, I cannot waste time on making money at my age, as this is not my priority.”
Mr Filatov worked for 14 years in the Soviet Silicon Valley. He designed ground-based equipment for on-board computers of Soviet manned spaceships and tested the first Soviet on-board computer. With his participation, the first space photos from orbit and of the Venus surface were received. He worked in the Outer Space Communications Centre and was one of the specialists keeping space crafts Venus 9 and 10 in touch with Earth. He was also involved in the legendary 1975 session during which panoramic shots of the surface of Venus were received.
After Ukraine became independent, he was one of the first to create a private TV channel with 24-hour news. Today, through his work with the USC, he has built up a community of active and caring people.
“In several months, the number of USC members exceeded 10,000 people,” says an analyst and editor of the network, Sergiy Sukhoboychenko. That is rapid growth, when you consider that the most powerful information resources in Ukraine have only 14,000 to 15,000 fans on their pages in social networks, he says.
USC, “unnoticed” by top national journalists, has attracted the attention of IT companies, public organizations, and those in academic and political circles. “Thanks to the USC media platform, we have an excellent opportunity for weekly online chats to resolve the urgent issues of local government,” says the head of the Kharkiv Regional Council, Sergiy Chernov. “Our Association of Local Councils has received another effective tool for communication, sharing experiences and resolving of complex problems.”
Easy to use tools
The tools for taking part in the USC network are easy to use. They include the Hangouts application for video conferencing. “Technically, it’s easy,” Mr Filatov says. “You have a headset, a microphone, a webcam and access to the Internet, and that’s all you actually need.”
With the help of a specific application, users can hold a video conference and broadcast it on their YouTube channel. The video record of the conference stays on their Google+ accounts and YouTube. If they wish, they can share it through other accounts in various social networks and Internet resources.
During a video conference, up to 10 participants see and chat with each other. Thanks to simultaneous YouTube broadcasts, thousands of others can watch and leave comments. The editor (the person who initiated the conference) can control the cameras and microphones of people taking part, for example by turning them on or off, broadcast videos, presentations, texts and so on. This way, he can create a high quality (HD) video product, good enough to broadcast on television.
Now that they have gathered “a critical mass” of activists around their ideas, Mr Filatov and Mr Sukhoboychenko have offered to turn USC into a media platform for the public. “If you have something to say – please, do it, as it is technically possible,” says Mr Filatov. “The key thing is to have something to say…”
Initially, they used online radio programs. But thanks to Hangout+, they now have a full-fledged public television, with its own editors, presenters, TV stars, fans and a vast array of programs. In August alone, the USC broadcast up to 70 programmes, in which about 1,000 people took part. The viewership is growing rapidly.
ICA Ukraine has also been using these tools to develop communities both in Ukraine and around the world. Its broadcasts included one with ICA Spain on building partnerships concerning the social economy, another with ICA Australia in the development of innovative educational ideas, and a virtual ToP facilitation workshop with ICA USA.
During its ICA Ukraine Hosted programme broadcast at 6pm Kyiv time on Wednesdays, experts from various Ukrainian communities discuss different public issues, problems and possible solutions.
USC has had its share of criticism as well. Rapid growth has led to some discontent and accusations of unprofessionalism. There are complaints about the quality and content of programs, as well as the lack of competent journalists.
However, since September, the number of journalists interested in the media platform has surged.
One USC network user has a weekly program, Kozyatyn online, which broadcasts news of a small town in central Ukraine, its residents, community organizations and common issues. Other broadcast include Online events in the local government , which gives air time to the heads of regional and district councils from all over Ukraine, and The voice of the community should be heard, probably the most important USC program, where public figures and ordinary citizens take part in discussions.
Svitlana Salamatova is head of ICA Ukraine and Serhiy Shturkhetskyy is from the Ostrozska Academia and Rivno Media Club |
