Kyiv needs not only new tourist routes but also a new culture of hospitality and accessibility.

It is precisely for this purpose that the educational and practical platform Kyiv Tourism Lab – School of the Community Guide was created. It is a project Department of Tourism and Promotion of the KMDA (Kyiv City State Administration).

The School of Community Guides is not just a training course. It is the shaping of a community that will help make Kyiv a city without barriers, whose routes will aid mental recovery.

The goal is to create an environment friendly to veterans, both men and women, their families, people with disabilities, IDPs and other vulnerable groups of the population.  

The project is carried out jointly with FRTU – Ukrainian Federation of Employers in Tourism with the support of:

Kyiv Military Hub;

UHRA – Ukrainian Hotel & Resort Association;

Associations of hotel unions and hotels of the cities of Ukraine;

Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine / Ukrainian CCI;

the National Restaurant Association of Ukraine;

the public union “Ukrainian Restaurant Association”;

Association of Incoming Tour Operators of Ukraine;

All-Ukrainian Association of Guides;

the public organisation “Guild of Guides”;

of leading higher education institutions and partners in the tourism industry.

The KNUBA Veterans Institute “Architecture of Resilience” has also joined. The institute's head, Artem Honcharenko, and his deputy, Yevhen Komarov, will be speakers on the course.

They will share their experience of employing veterans in the tourism sector and give practical advice on the path to barrier-free access and the accessibility of tourist sites, hotels and restaurants.

Artem Honcharenko, the Ministry of Education's ambassador for accessibility, noted: “Accessibility is not only ramps and signs. The most important thing is whether a person feels a full member of the community. When a guide can correctly run a tour for a veteran with a prosthesis or a person with PTSD, the city ceases to be a space of limitations and becomes a space of opportunities.”

Yevhen Komarov adds:
“Physical accessibility is only the first level of a barrier-free environment. The second, far more difficult, is the readiness of the person beside you to communicate correctly, to support rather than to traumatise. The School of the Community Guide works precisely at this level: it teaches you to see behind every route a particular person with their experience and needs.”

Training at the “School of the Public Guide” will begin in September.

Participants will be able to present their projects in the competitive programme in the following categories:

Mental Recovery & Space (“Space for the soul”);

Inclusive Tours (“Immersive excursions”);

Unity Events (“Events of Unity”).

Graduates will receive internationally recognised certificates, and the authors of the best initiatives the opportunity to realise their projects.

You can submit an application via the link: https://forms.gle/EKkM1i27UFc1AHbG7