The Ministry of Culture announced the launch of Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidential initiative “Tysyachovesna”, which is positioned as an alternative to Russian content. Its goal is to support culture in times of war and create a Ukrainian information space in which young people will grow and develop. Four billion hryvnias have been allocated for the implementation of the program. This is reported on the initiative’s website.
Among the main goals of the program are to fill the information space with Ukrainian stories, strengthen the cultural stability of society, and form a generation that feels a connection with the country, thinks in Ukrainian terms, and is able to resist external information influences. Key tasks also include creating a competitive cultural product, developing creative industries, building a Ukrainian environment for youth, and countering Russian propaganda.
The Ministry of Culture emphasizes that even in the fifth year of a full-scale war, Ukrainians, especially young people, continue to consume Russian content. According to Gradus Research, 71% of Ukrainians still watch or listen to Russian-language content, and almost a quarter do so every day. The most vulnerable category is said to be adolescents aged 14-17. At the same time, Russian cultural product often contains propaganda narratives, and the Russian Federation spends over a billion dollars on their distribution every year.
The study shows that the choice of content depends on its quality, accessibility, and emotional closeness to the audience. When there is a lack of a competitive Ukrainian product, this space is filled by foreign content, most often Russian. That is why the initiative is aimed at creating a product that will be interesting to viewers not because of obligation, but because of sincere interest.
Legal entities – creative unions, public organizations, budgetary institutions, as well as individuals – entrepreneurs and other business entities registered in Ukraine can participate in the program. The topics of the projects cover a wide range of areas: Ukrainian history, war, culture, language, mental health and the future of the state.
Of the four billion hryvnias, 1.9 billion hryvnias are planned to be allocated to feature films and series, 240 million hryvnias to non-feature, i.e. documentary, films and series, 490 million hryvnias to animated films and series, as well as films and series for children’s audiences, 300 million hryvnias to contemporary music, 400 million hryvnias to performative art, 260 million hryvnias to audiovisual shows and videos for social networks, and another 300 million hryvnias to visual art.
The financing mechanism provides for several models: up to 100% of the costs will be covered for animation, debut works and children’s content, up to 80% – subject to co-financing, and for certain formats a 50/50 model will apply. After winning, participants will be able to receive an advance payment of 80-90% and will be obliged to regularly report on the implementation of the project.
Submission of applications will last from April 3 to May 28, after which the competition will be held in three stages.
The first stage will last from May 29 to June 5 and will involve checking all submitted documents. The second stage will take place from June 10 to July 21 – during this period, each project will undergo expert evaluation. The Ministry of Culture website does not specify who exactly will be part of the jury. The third stage is scheduled for August: then public presentations of projects will be held before the competition committees in face-to-face, remote or mixed formats, i.e. in the form of pitching. The evaluation will take into account the quality of the presentation, the degree of readiness for implementation, the reasonableness of the budget and international potential.
The deadlines depend on the type of product: short projects must be completed by the end of 2026, more complex ones by the end of 2027, and the production of films and animations can continue until 2028. The program covers seven areas of support, including cinema, music, visual and performing arts, as well as content for social networks.
