Leading Organisation
European Institute of Chornobyl
Duration
6 months, starting the 1st of September 2025
Location
Kyiv, Ukraine, with a focus on the Dnipro River Basin and its tributaries (Lybid, Irpin, Syrets, Prypyat, Uzh), engaging urban and suburban communities
The Kyiv Whale, originally built from community-collected plastic waste, stands as a local icon of ecological resilience. Now, it becomes the centerpiece of an ambitious initiative to create a Water Story Lab that fuses citizen science, participatory art, and environmental education in Ukraine’s capital.
Set against the backdrop of war-related displacement and river degradation, the project supports inclusion and ecological storytelling through:
- Sound and light installations driven by live river and air quality data
- A solar-powered EcoHub accessible to displaced youth and people with disabilities
- Artistic workshops where children and local artists co-create visual pieces reflecting water crises
A citizen science program monitors the Dnipro and Lybid Rivers, transforming data into visual installations, school curricula, and digital stories. Meanwhile, an online tracker follows Kyiv’s plastic trail to the Black Sea, linking local waste to global water cycles.
The project’s key partners span education, activism, art, and design, collectively delivering:
- Creative accelerators for youth
- Distributed water literacy
- A scalable model for urban-river connectivity and plastic awareness
Expected Impacts:
- Behavioral: Reduced plastic pollution through awareness and civic participation
- Inclusive Access: Programs for displaced children and people with disabilities
- Scientific Literacy: Integration of citizen science into public life and school curricula
- Creative Impact: Expansion of eco-art practice across Ukraine through open-source accelerators
- Visibility: Outreach to up to 500,000 people through exhibitions, media, and digital storytelling
Contact Persons
Valeriy Korshunov <thevgk@gmail.com>
Coordinator and creator of the original Kyiv Whale sculpture, experienced in community outreach, EU project management, and digital art curation
