Under One Sky: Chronicles of Memory
The Local Challenge
The Byshiv community in Ukraine, composed of 15 villages including Yablunivka, grapples with the social and psychological impact of war. While Yablunivka avoided direct destruction, neighboring areas were damaged, and residents live with ongoing air raid alerts and collective anxiety. Communities face fragmentation, intergenerational disconnection, and limited access to mental health support or cultural infrastructure.
The local library in Yablunivka is one of the few civic spaces still available. Though modest, it holds the potential to become a safe environment for dialogue, reflection, and care. The challenge is to restore emotional connection, rebuild trust, and strengthen a shared sense of identity in a region where displacement, trauma, and uncertainty have disrupted daily life.
The Initiative
“Under One Sky: Chronicles of Memory” transforms the Yablunivka Village Library into a hub for healing, intergenerational dialogue, and community-led memory work. Residents participate in workshops led by experts on trauma-sensitive interviewing, oral history methods, and mobile audio-video recording. These sessions equip community members with the skills to collect, document, and reflect on lived experiences—stories of resilience, loss, tradition, and identity across generations. Selected stories are shared online, while all contributions are preserved in a digital archive. The library hosts a dedicated “Voices of Our Land” corner for ongoing access and future additions. The initiative also creates a symbolic Memory Garden, where each tree or plant represents a story or tradition. The final planting serves as a collective act of remembrance and renewal, physically linking memory with the natural environment.
What’s Next?
With this initiative, the Yablunivka library hopes to evolve into a trusted civic hub for storytelling, informal education, and community healing, positioning it as an anchor for future cultural and civic initiatives in the Byshiv community.
The “Voices of Our Land” archive will continue beyond The Europe Challenge, along with the presence of the Memory Garden as a living monument, and the skills retained within the community. The success of this initiative will not only be measured quantitatively, but also also by the depth of connection, wellbeing, and belonging fostered through the process.
Contact theeuropechallenge@culturalfoundation.eu if you have any questions or want to be connected with the team behind the project.
