High-quality and effective communication is the main topic of the third module of the Veteran Leadership Program by the CHESNO Movement and UCU

Modern politics is impossible without high-quality and effective communications. To be visible, to exert influence, and to receive invitations to interviews and TV broadcasts, it is necessary to understand how information processes are organized.

The image of veterans is still being formed in Ukrainian society, while their stories and experiences can become a kind of pass to conquer political heights. That is why the team of the Veteran Leadership Program dedicated a separate large module with lecture and practical parts to the study of communications: in a real TV studio, veterans competed in mock debates.

“In general, the entire module this month was very interesting in terms of gaining new knowledge,” says veteran Natalia Leshchyshyna from Vinnytsia, ”For example, I am not a very media person, and I was interested to understand how I can present myself, how to develop myself even in my position as a veteran support specialist. This is a very interesting experience, great knowledge that needs to be studied and practiced even more deeply. It is great to have support from the organizers who can tell you where, what, how and why. The team is unrealistically cool, and every month when I come to the training, these three days pass in one breath, because you are equal in your community.”

The third module of the Veteran Leadership Program began with a conversation with Olha Halchenko, a representative of the Renaissance Foundation who works with veteran projects. Participants learned how to win grants to implement their own veteran projects in communities and how to successfully interact with donors.

The lecture part of the program took place at the Sheptytsky Center. Materials for the 25 participants were developed by leading Ukrainian communication managers who successfully implement communication strategies for government and business representatives.

Natalia Ulynets, a lecturer at UCU Business School and CEO of the Perfect PR agency, told the veterans how the PR system works and what strategic and tactical communications are. In addition, Ulynets spoke with the participants about the basics of reputation management and gave advice on how to successfully cope with crisis moments in communication.

 

“Leadership is not about positions, but about actions. The people who were in the audience with me know the value of responsibility and understand the importance of action. Today, their experience is the foundation for protecting and rebuilding the country. Their questions were deep and relevant, and their opinions were strong and caring. A light, open and active audience, ready for discussions and bold decisions. Today, in these extremely difficult times of uncertainty about tomorrow, they give us hope and faith in tomorrow with their desire and willingness to learn,” emphasizes Natalia Ulynets.

In her turn, Uliana Kolodiy, founder of UK comms agency, focused her lectures on the basics and tools of personal branding, as well as on preparing veterans for public speaking: what to consider, how to communicate effectively with the media and behave on camera. Participants of the Veteran Leadership Program actively shared their experience of interacting with journalists.

“I am extremely impressed by the audience's engagement. They are interested, motivated, with an extremely broad outlook and involvement in social and political life. It is clear that veterans are interested in everything! And especially as a communicator, I can't help but be pleased that the aspect of communications is important to them. As a rule, our politicians and civil servants do not pay much attention to communications. But I see that they are very interested in personal branding and public communication. I hope that I was able to provide useful information to the participants and that the tools I shared will be of practical use,” said Ulyana Kolodiy.

The 2.5-hour lecture by Yulia Salizhenko, CEO and creative director of Platfor.ma, an online media and social project agency, was very well received. Yulia based her important material on creating a successful brand on social media, strategy, creativity, and visualization on memes, so the training took place in a very relaxed atmosphere, with jokes and smiles.

“Social media is a superpower for those who plan to become a political leader,” says Salizhenko, ”It helps you to be as close to your audience as possible, to convey your ideas, build trust, and unite people around important changes. This is especially important for female and male veterans entering politics: their voice must be loud and their messages clear and understandable. Social media is a tool, and knowing how to use it effectively and ethically, you can not just “inform” but actually influence and create positive social change. I was very happy to share my experience and the experience of Platfor.ma. The participants are very cool, and I believe that they will soon shape Ukrainian politics and make the country stronger!”

Traditionally, during each module of the Veterans Leadership Program, veterans meet online with “secret guests” - well-known and influential social and political figures in Ukraine. Participants learn the names of the guests just before the conversation begins, so it is always a surprise for them. 

During the third, communication module, the organizers invited Vakhtang Kipiani, a well-known Ukrainian journalist, historian, and active military officer, as well as Dmytro Kuleba, a diplomat and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, to talk to the veterans. Despite the surprise effect, the participants did not get confused and asked the speakers many questions. The dialogues were held in a closed format, off the record, so the conversations were sincere and in-depth, and the veterans received answers to many of their concerns.

The third day of the training was spent in the studio of the Suspilne Lviv TV channel. Here they had a tour and a workshop with leading TV experts. In particular, Vitaliy Hamadyn, editor-in-chief of the western hub of Suspilne, spoke about media consumption in Ukraine, which types of media have the greatest trust and influence in Ukraine, and what are the secrets of storytelling.

In turn, Maksym Voloshyn, production producer of the Western Hub, shared practical tips on communicating with the media, discussed with veterans the challenges they face in the information field of Ukraine, and helped participants create and present election programs during an interactive exercise.

The culmination of the day at Suspilne was the practice and recording in the studio, where the veterans were able to implement all the knowledge gained during the communication module. The participants were divided into four teams and organized a political debate moderated by the host of the Suspilne. Studio project host Mykyta Chybar.

During this practical task, the veterans worked on their skills in front of cameras, learned to formulate arguments and interact with unpleasant questions from the audience, as well as criticize the positions of their opponents. At the end of the recording, representatives of Suspilne Lviv discussed the veterans' public appearances and gave them personal advice.

 

“We are now in a very interesting process, when a new generation of responsible people is being formed who have gained extremely important, difficult, sometimes tragic experience. And these are people with new value approaches who will be able to change their communities and the country for the better,” said Maksym Voloshyn, production producer at the Western Hub. ”It is important for Suspilne to join the formation of public and political figures with whom we can cooperate tomorrow. And when we talk about the political process, we still want it to have more value orientations than it did before the full-scale war. It is very important for us to contribute to the formation of this culture, because we all have a great responsibility to society and our future.”

The inspired veterans are already looking forward to a new meeting in Lviv and classes within the Veteran Leadership Program of the CHESNO Movement and the UCU School of Public Administration. Ahead is the final, fourth module of the Program, where the participants will present their theses and become one step closer to expanding their representation in politics at the regional and national level.

“The Veteran Leadership Program in cooperation with the UCU School of Public Administration has been running for three months now, the time has flown by very quickly and it's hard to believe that we are already at the home stretch,” says Victoria Oliynyk, head of the Veteran Leadership Program of the CHESNO Movement. ”The concept of our certified program includes not only lectures and practical classes, but also a thesis on a political topic that participants must prepare and publicly defend. In this paper, they will be able to present their own knowledge, values, and the vector of political development. We are convinced that this will become a new inspiration for the participants to conquer the political Olympus.”

The Veteran Leadership Program is implemented with the support of the MATRA Program of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ukraine.