«Psychological support of volunteers»: implementation of an international project at the Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University
Volunteering in our time is not only noble deeds and a manifestation of physical, psychological, spiritual asceticism, but also a way of self-realization in a situation of fighting for national identity and building an open civil society.
Teachers and students of the Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University have been involved in volunteer activities since the first days of the Russian war against Ukraine. The Department of Social Work and Psychology of the Faculty of Social Sciences was not left aside.
In the conditions of a full-scale war and the humanitarian crisis caused by it, which went far beyond the borders of the Ukrainian state, not only Ukrainians but also citizens of many countries friendly to us became volunteers. One of the first was and remains Poland. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Poland has officially accepted the largest number of internally displaced persons from Ukraine since the beginning of the war (1.5 million people).
In this difficult situation, the joint Polish-Ukrainian project of Prof. Agata Chudzitska-Czupala and Prof. Nadiya Gapon – «Strengthening People’s Commitment to Volunteering for Refugees from Ukraine. Volunteer Motivation and Volunteering Intentions – the Role of Psychological and Social Factors» – has matured intellectually and emotionally.
It was initiated and organized with the support of the Foundation for Polish Science and within the framework of the «For Ukraine» program by the Institute of Psychology of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (SWPS), the Faculty of Psychology in Katowice (Poland), and the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.
The project planned and conducted thematic lectures and workshops. The target audience is volunteers as active representatives of local governments, public organizations, various institutions and establishments in Poland and Ukraine.
In Ukraine, volunteers from Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ternopil, and Kremenets took part in the implementation of the international project. Thematic online workshops were conducted with students of the Psychology Department by Professor Nataliia Savelyuk.
The events were accompanied by active discussions of implemented charity and plans for the future, exchange of experience in helping others and psychological self-help, empathetic discussions, and team insights. These meetings were so resonant that after their completion, the relevant discussions continued on social networks – in particular, in a specially created Viber chat «Psychological support for volunteers».
All workshop participants received free up-to-date methodological materials for volunteers «How to help yourself and others in times of war» (edited by Prof. A. Khudzitska-Chupala and Prof. N. Gapon).
The completion of the project did not actually become a «completion», but embodied the famous words of the Ukrainian poet Lina Kostenko: «And every finish is, in fact, a start.» Its implementation added new significant psychological resources to all participants – organizers, mentors, trainers and volunteers.
We express our sincere gratitude to the Defense Forces of Ukraine, Ukrainian and Polish volunteers, scientific colleagues and colleagues with hopes for further fruitful interaction, mutual assistance for a common future victory!
