Report on the activities of the NGO "Public Movement "Social Unity" in 2022

ACTIVITIES BEFORE THE FULL-SCALE INVASION OF RUSSIA IN UKRAINE (January-February 2022)

• Strategic planning of activities for 2022. The plan of actions, events and projects of the non-governmental organization was approved. Planned projects and programs for further submission to state and international competitions with the aim of further implementation.
• We began to implement the direction of creating entertaining and educational content for people with hearing impairment (interesting information about deaf stars, motivating success stories of people with hearing impairment, interesting facts about Valentine's Day, etc.). Publications of useful content were carried out on the National social portal "Vilno!" and in social networks "Vilno!", as a continuation of the implementation of the 2021 program "A country without barriers for the deaf". Launch of the inclusive online information platform "Vilno".
• We continued our activities within the framework of the National Strategy to create a barrier-free space in Ukraine and to inform people with hearing impairments about the existence of the Strategy, its advantages and features, as well as the opportunities that this Strategy provides for people with various forms of disabilities.
• Several working meetings were held on the implementation of barrier-free principles in the State Emergency Service system with the participation of the Deputy Chairman of the State Emergency Service for Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitalization Roman Prymush.
• We popularized specialized software for round-the-clock access to the services of online sign language interpreters in state and municipal institutions, in particular, in health care institutions, continuing to implement the main ideas of the "Country without barriers for the deaf" program. Monitoring the availability of socially significant infrastructure facilities".
• They took part in the live broadcast of the Parliamentary TV channel "Rada", where Anton Gulidin, the secretary of the non-governmental organization, talked about the introduction of barrier-free access at the level of the relevant Ministries of Ukraine.

ACTIVITIES AFTER FEBRUARY 24 UNTIL THE END OF 2022

FEBRUARY 2022 — the most significant events

• In the first hours of the full-scale Russian military invasion of the territory of Ukraine, an urgent meeting was held and the directions of activities for the period of martial law were approved.
• Immediately, on February 24, 2022, a volunteer call center was implemented — a center for information support for people with various forms of disability. We focused on quickly providing people with hearing impairment of varying degrees, as well as people with partial vision loss, with relevant and important information.
• We continued to implement the key tasks of the program implemented during 2021 — "Country without barriers for the deaf". Creation of conditions for social adaptation of people with hearing impairment". We provided unlimited access to the services of online sign language translators in the mobile application for the opportunity to receive vital information without barriers. Thanks to the implementation of this event, more than 6,000 active users of the "Interpreter SL" mobile application were provided with barrier-free communication with people who do not know sign language.
• Adaptation to sign language with audio description of all official addresses of the country's officials — translation of briefings, news stories, etc.) was introduced to ensure barrier-free information content for the deaf in the most critical period. The total number of videos released in 2022 is more than 1,000. Reach from all communication channels (sites, social networks, Telegram channels, mobile application) is more than 2 million users. 
• We began to actively promote all current content in more than 10 communication channels. For example: What to do if a child is lost during evacuation and how to prevent it; How to organize shelter at home; Electronic office of a person with a disability; Psychologist's advice on how to live during the war. 
• State agencies and organizations were asked to provide the non-governmental organization with information as soon as possible, which is important to popularize among people with hearing impairments in order to further ensure barrier-free information content.
• We established contacts with volunteers and charitable organizations throughout the country and abroad: Romania, Poland, Moldova, Denmark, Bulgaria for the purpose of further cooperation and prompt assistance to all who turn to the non-governmental organization for help.
• They started running the evening column "Know, don't sleep!" – video clips in sign language with audio description, where the key and most important events of the day were gathered, about which every Ukrainian should be aware. The video was published every night from February 28, 2022 to July 31, 2022 inclusive (154 videos in total). 
• Negotiations with partners from other countries have begun with the aim of obtaining humanitarian aid for people in need (clothing, shoes, medicine, food, water, hygiene items, etc.).
• We launched a "Useful information" block for deaf people and people with partial vision loss (sign language and audio description): what to do in case of a nuclear attack, how to behave in a chemical attack, how to provide first aid, etc.

MARCH 2022 — the most significant events

• Appeals to international organizations and donors were published on the website, presentation materials were made on the activities of the non-governmental organization before the war and during the military invasion of Russia in Ukraine with a request to support the team's activities in order to provide assistance to people with various forms of disabilities who are applying.
• Popularized the information related to the evacuation of women with children, less mobile population groups, people with various forms of disability — from different cities in Ukraine to safer regions of Ukraine, as well as abroad.
• Assistance in evacuation and resettlement was organized, in particular, from the Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Poltava, and Kyiv regions.
• Received the first truckload of humanitarian aid from the Ivano-Frankivsk community. Hundreds of kilograms of food for our defenders, warm clothes, medicines, hygiene products, baby food, blankets and pillows and much more. Helmets, bulletproof vests, walkie-talkies, and a whole batch of anti-tank "hedgehogs" that were immediately sent to the cities where it was most needed.
• Organized storage, sorting and delivery of humanitarian aid to people who contacted the non-governmental organization and informed about their need. More than 30 tons of humanitarian aid were distributed to people by the humanitarian headquarters of the non-governmental organization.
• They signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities in order to ensure the maximum effectiveness of the measures taken to achieve common goals.
• Organized and handed over useful items and ammunition for the Armed Forces, as well as to the Sviatoshynskyi PD MDPD in the city of Kyiv.
• In cooperation with the Sumy Regional Charitable Fund for the Promotion of Healthcare Development, together with the Floris Medical Center, they provided the residents of Sumy and temporary migrants in need with humanitarian aid, including more than 300 kilograms of food for children.
• Humanitarian assistance was provided in: Sviatoshynskyi PD MDPD in the city of Kyiv, ROO Zhitlo LLC, Vyshneve and other settlements.
• Places were arranged for the accommodation of citizens who left their main place of residence due to hostilities, spending about 77,000 hryvnias.

APRIL 2022 — the most significant events

• We continued to provide humanitarian aid to people in need of food, water, clothing, hygiene items, and medicine. In particular, in the liberated territories of Ukraine — Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, and Kharkiv regions.
• Launched the project: "Promoting the creation of conditions for the social adaptation of people with hearing impairment in emergency circumstances of martial law", with the support of ICAD Yednannia within the framework of the "Initiative of sectoral support of civil society", which is implemented by ICAD Yednannia in a consortium with the Ukrainian Independent Center for Political Studies (UNCPD). and the Center for Democracy and the Rule of Law (CEDEM). As part of the project, 1,000 users of the "Interpreter SL" mobile application received 60 minutes of free communication with an online sign language translator. Also, 30 videos of the evening section "Know, Don't Sleep!" were published with the support of ICAD Yednannia.
• Conducted outreach to the deaf community (using video format content adapted to sign language with audio description) on how to act when it is necessary to report the facts of Russian aggression and remain protected.
• We officially joined the implementation of a large-scale humanitarian mission with the support of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine and with the participation of Ukrainian volunteers. 
• The provision of humanitarian aid to the Armed Forces of Ukraine continued. 
• Storage places, sorting and forming assistance for packages were organized, as well as delivery to destinations, which amounted to about 300,000 hryvnias, was carried out.
• Purchased food products (cereals, tea, flour, oil, sugar, stew, pastes, various canned goods), baby food, baby diapers of various sizes, drinking water, hygiene products, and medicines. They provided clothes, shoes, and basic necessities, the total cost of the goods was about 3,850,000 hryvnias.

MAY-JUNE 2022 — the most significant events

• We established cooperation with Belgium. But they brought to Ukraine humanitarian aid in the form of baby food, things for children, hygiene and child care products, canned goods, toys, etc. We also continued cooperation with Famil Fund in the direction of helping Ukrainian refugees in Antwerp. They also provided assistance from representatives of Stryi TD.
• The project "Give books a new life" was launched. They collected books for children and teenagers in the Ukrainian language and gave them to Ukrainian children who were forced to flee abroad.
• The NGO Public Movement "Social Unity" together with partners and with the support of Olena Zelenska, in cooperation with the Canadian-Ukrainian Foundation and the Meest company, organized 1,132 food kits for the elderly, people with various forms of disabilities and low-mobility population groups in the regions of Ukraine, which needed it the most.
• The secretary of the non-governmental organization "Public Movement "Social Unity" as part of the official delegation represented Ukraine at the UN — the 15th session of the Conference of States Parties, namely the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
• During 2022, cooperation with relevant ministries continued to be deepened in order to achieve the common goals formulated in the signed Memorandums and to respond to new challenges that arose before the state and society in connection with the full-scale Russian military invasion of the territory of Ukraine. In particular, at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, with the aim of ensuring the most effective protection by the Ministry of the rights of Ukrainian citizens with special needs who, due to Russian military aggression, were forced to temporarily leave Ukraine and receive asylum in European countries, recommendations were made to take additional measures aimed at as soon as possible and more effective response to appeals to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of one of the most vulnerable part of Ukrainian citizens. Implementation of the recommendations provided by the Organization in the work of the Ministry will allow citizens of Ukraine with disabilities to have free access to consular services.

JULY-DECEMBER 2022 — the most significant events

• We continued to work in those directions that were identified as priority: meeting the food needs of the civilian population under martial law, providing clothing and footwear, basic necessities, hygiene products for the civilian population, providing medical equipment for the civilian population, evacuation/removal/relocation of the civilian population from areas where hostilities are taking place and dangerous territories to safe places, provision of humanitarian aid, arrangement of places of accommodation for internally displaced citizens.
• We continued to provide people with hearing impairment with up-to-date information, to adapt useful advice and recommendations of relevant Ministries.
• Provided deaf people with access to specialized software and, accordingly, services of online sign language interpreters.
• Provided help to people with hearing impairment in solving their personal issues (except for translation).
• We started work in the direction of finding partners from small enterprises to large businesses with the aim of popularizing the current problem of barriers that people with various forms of disabilities face every day, in particular, deaf people who need constant support of sign language interpreters. The goal is to establish cooperation and create a barrier-free space in the field of providing non-state services.
• We are working on the launch of the "Micro-business" project, the purpose of which is to help internally displaced persons who have lost their jobs, as well as Ukrainians who want to return home from abroad and start their own business. Within the framework of this project, several large European manufacturers of production equipment were approached in order to attract them to participate in the project.

Funding sources:

Project	Amount, UAH
MSP support to displaced persons during aggression	4 700 000,00
MSP charity project CALL-CENTER eDopomoga	445 210,00
MSP charity project CALL-CENTER eDopomoga	200 055,00
ICAD Yednannia	575 000,00
SIMPLE TO HELP!, AUCF	600 000,00
Donations	641 354,28
Donations	63 779,56
Donations	25 209,24
MSP charity project CALL-CENTER eDopomoga	200 022,00