Teams participating in the Act to Drive Change accelerator programme, one of the components of East Europe Foundation’s “Phoenix: The Power of Communities” project, gathered for a three-day Community Camp in the Lviv region to take stock of interim results, exchange experience, and gain new knowledge from subject-matter experts.

The event was held with the support of the European Union and formed an important part of the accelerator programme, whose winners were announced in spring. Over the past six months, the teams have come a long way in developing their ideas, from initial drafts to solutions that are already being tested, refined, and brought closer to practical application.

Vira Nedzvedska, Vice President for Strategic Partnerships at East Europe Foundation (EEF), emphasised that the impact of such programs often goes far beyond individual teams:

“The strength of such programs lies not only in what each team receives individually. It also lies in the new connections, partnerships, and shared ideas that emerge among participants. We hope that some of the acquaintances that begin here will continue after the programme ends.”

This is the third accelerator programme of this kind that EEF is implementing with the support of the European Union. According to Serhii Solovko, the Foundation’s Vice President for Operations, the growth in the caliber of participating teams and the quality of their solutions is noticeable with each new cycle of the programme.

“It is especially valuable for us to see the capacity and quality of the solutions proposed by organisations grow every time. This demonstrates not only the development of individual participants, but also that Ukrainian civil society continues to grow, becoming stronger and more professional even amid the full-scale war,” Serhii Solovko noted.

Over the three days, participants had the opportunity to work with data and learn how to make data-driven decisions, complete a design thinking workshop on using it as a method for creating innovations, and learn more about how to apply for international programmes and present themselves.

A separate highlight was a candid conversation in the Fuckup Night format, where speakers from the civic tech sector shared their own experiences of mistakes and challenges on the path to successful products.

Diana Standratiuk, coordinator of the Act to Drive Change accelerator programme, explained why such gatherings are an important part of the comprehensive support that the Foundation, with the assistance of the EU, provides to teams.

“Our programme is not just about funding. It is about giving teams space for communication, real connections, and inspiration, which are often lacking in day-to-day work on a product. That is why we designed the Community Camp so that teams, who are currently immersed in their projects, could pause for a few days, unwind a little, hear about the experience of others, and exchange their own thoughts, and then return to their projects with a fresh perspective,” added Diana Standratiuk.