120 participants from all over Ukraine took part in the training sessions. Among them were moderators of film clubs, civic activists, educators, and librarians, including those who have not yet joined the Network but are eager to bring change to their communities and ready to implement it through documentary films.

The DOCU/CLUB team aimed to demonstrate that advocacy is not a one-time campaign or a spontaneous community reaction to an isolated issue, but a long-term process aimed at addressing systemic problems. It ensures protection of the rights of vulnerable groups, fosters social change, and engages communities in decision-making processes. 

Photo from the DOCU/CLUB Network archive

“Advocacy is about sustainable solutions rather than slogans. It is all about trust, partnership, and consistent actions. If a community is aware of an issue and develops a plan, even a small initiative can become the driving force behind major change,” noted Nina Khoma, Head of the DOCU/CLUB Network.

She emphasized that the Network had already successfully supported 95 advocacy projects implemented during previous rounds of the DOCU ACTS program. This year, 10 advocacy campaigns will receive organizational, methodological, and financial support from the DOCU/CLUB Network.

The intensive three-day exchange of information was designed to help participants understand how to promote change in their communities through advocacy and implement campaigns that have a tangible impact.

Seasoned experts shared their knowledge and experience with the participants. Olena Afanasyeva, Head of the NGO “Totem Center for Cultural Development” and graduate of the Advocacy Institute (USA), and Creative Director of Urban CAD (Kherson), and Oleksandr Burmahin, media trainer with extensive experience in implementing advocacy campaigns, guided participants through the process of transforming civic engagement into tangible results.

Olena Afanasyeva

Olena Afanasyeva talked about the principles of effective creative communication and shared her own formula: “Idea = Insight + Unexpected Solution.” According to her, the power of creativity in advocacy campaigns lies in the ability to identify a clear core message and build around it an emotional “hook” that resonates with people’s hearts. She emphasized the importance of liberating oneself from conventional thinking and maintaining emotional honesty with one’s audience, which is the foundation of trust between changemakers and society. 

Oleksandr Burmahin

Media trainer Oleksandr Burmahin focused on the practical steps of developing advocacy campaigns. He presented an algorithm for planning that includes problem analysis, goal setting, mapping the “playing field” and identifying key stakeholders, developing messages, engaging partners, assessing available resources, and conducting ongoing monitoring and evaluation of results.

The expert emphasized that effective advocacy is impossible without a clear understanding of one’s own capacities, a realistic assessment of necessary resources, and the search for external sources of support — be they financial, media-related, or organizational. This structured approach helps transform ideas into real change, and initiatives into sustainable mechanisms of impact.

On the final, third day of the seminar, Nina Khoma, Head of the DOCU/CLUB Network, spoke about the conditions for participation in the program and answered questions from participants planning to submit their ideas to the DOCU ACTS 5.0 advocacy project competition.

“For us, it is crucial that the participants realize: the strength of advocacy lies in consistent, systematic steps and persistence in pursuing one’s goal. It is through advocacy campaigns that communities can achieve positive decisions, develop local policies and programs, change attitudes toward socially significant issues, and influence the decision-making process,” emphasized Nina Khoma.

For the DOCU/CLUB team, organizing and conducting this training is an investment in strengthening the capacity of local leaders to act strategically and creatively, reinforce their communities’ belief in their own ability to shape their environment, and support and develop strong, effective teams.

The development of the DOCU/CLUB Network is funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and Fondation de France.

The opinions, conclusions, or recommendations are those of the authors and compilers of this publication and do not necessarily reflect the views of the governments or charitable organizations of these countries. The authors and compilers are solely responsible for the content of this publication.