The event brought together a unique audience, comprising moderators of the Docudays UA human rights media literacy film clubs, representatives of the DOCU/CLUB Network team, as well as invited experts and guests. The main tasks of the event included building film clubs’ capacity, mastering new tools of public engagement into legal literacy, and teaching moderators how to work efficiently with complex and sensitive issues in the current challenging times.

Nina Khoma

At the opening of the Conference, Nina Khoma, Head of the DOCU/CLUB Network, said: “It is crucial for us to maintain close contact with our moderators, jointly creating the space of trust and opportunities for everyone’s growth. Our moderators are the drivers of transformation in their communities for the better and of support for the public, especially in wartime. We appreciate the joint search for new important topics and approaches in the work of film clubs, alignment of our ‘compasses and watches,’ and valuable feedback on the practices and methods we’ve developed.”

The first session of the Conference was dedicated to the power of the moderators’ community: participants were introduced to specific film club practices and learned about the innovative experiences of many film clubs. Particularly interesting was the presentation on the results of this year’s advocacy campaigns in communities across Ukraine and the awards ceremony honoring the winners of the DOCU ACTS 5.0 Program for advocacy projects.

Oleksandr Pavlichenko

The discussion of social impact of film clubs logically continued with the lecture by Oleksandr Pavlichenko, board member of the NGO Docudays and the director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union. He immersed the audience into the intricacies of participatory democracy by elaborating on the principles of democratic life and efficient methods of inclusion of the public into decision-making processes. Participants had a chance to apply new knowledge in practice and share their own developments during the “World Cafe” interactive activity, where the authors of award-winning advocacy projects shared their experiences promoting change within the community and establishing communication with local authorities.

Olha Babchuk’s session

The Network team exclusively dedicated the second day of the Conference to applied tools that help film clubs develop, engage new audiences, and retain the viewers’ attention with quality. Olha Babchuk, communication manager of the DOCU/CLUB Network, shared professional marketing secrets that help find and retain “own audience,” turning occasional visitors into reliable partners and friends of the film club. In the second half of the conference day, she touched on the challenges complicated discussions pose for moderators. The Conference participants learned to analyze challenging situations and identify effective facilitation solutions to resolve conflicts in the audience. 

Tetiana Husar

Due to the fact that modern perception of information is inextricably linked to the quality visual content, the learning marathon continued with the contribution from Tetiana Husar, SMM manager of the DOCU/CLUB Network. In her training block, she elaborated on the theory of video editing for social media, and then guided the participants toward practical application of skills during the exercise “Film Club in the Frame.”

Kateryna Holtsberg 

The final day of the Conference helped participants integrate all the technical and methodological skills they had acquired with mental resilience. Kateryna Holtsberg, a prominent child and family psychologist and author of acclaimed books, shared her unique techniques to help moderators discuss sensitive and traumatizing topics while remaining resourceful and avoiding professional burnout.

At this year’s Conference, the Network team offered participants, for the first time, a new format of work – self-regulated sessions.During the first few days of the conference, the moderators proposed topics for discussion – areas in which they felt confident and that could be useful to the entire community, – and in the final days, they briefly introduced these topics to their colleagues. Practical experience in inviting filmmakers to screenings, seeking additional funding for the film club, writing grant proposals, bringing the community together around the film club, using art activities during screenings for children, and methods for engaging “quiet” children in discussions – these topics sparked keen interest among the moderators, and the Network team was once again persuaded in the relevance and necessity of such information exchange.

Participants of the conference

Of course, the moderators who traveled to Kyiv took advantage of the incredible opportunity to attend the 23rd Docudays UA International Human Rights Film Festival. Screenings of the festival films, meetings with directors and subjects, and discussions on human rights left a lasting impression and helped moderators feel a special connection to the world of documentaries.

The three days of the conference passed surprisingly quickly. Inspired by the experience, the participants returned to their communities with new knowledge and ideas to expand the reach of their film clubs and promote documentary films as effective tools for protecting human rights.

The project is implemented with the support of the DOCU/CLUB Network, funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine, Fondation de France, and the German Marshall Fund of the United States of America. 

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.