Rest, Creative Development and Psychological Recovery: Another Session of the Blogger Camp From the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation Is Over
This summer’s last session of the Blogger Camp from the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation for children aged 8 to 14 years old who suffered from the war in Ukraine has come to an end. It was a very busy two-week program, during which the participants of the session rested and recovered, made new friends, worked with a psychologist, and mastered the skills of a blogger. In addition, they got acquainted with the world of professions in practice, namely in the field of cinematography.
During this session, the children’s visitor in the camp was Yaroslav Voytseshek, screenwriter of the world-famous Ukrainian animated film Mavka. The Forest Song produced by Animagrad Studio (https://FILM.UA Group). He prepared and conducted an interactive two-day master class on the topic How to plot your own film. Yaroslav shared his impressions from the interaction with the young participants of the camp session.
“It is impressive that they are rather brave. Adults tend to have a lot of prohibitions: you cannot think or write this or that way... But children do not have that. It is nice to observe this freedom and openness, which is inspiring. And they are straightforward. If they are interested, they talk about it openly. If it is not interesting, they drop off to sleep,” admits Yaroslav with a smile.
Currently, Mavka is the highest-grossing Ukrainian film and animated film released in the entire history of our Independence. It was bought for screening in 80 countries of the world. The screenwriter explained why it is important to hold such master classes and introduce various professions to children.
“When I was about to finish my school, no one told me that I could even dream of becoming a cinematographer. I hope that after the master class, someone will choose to develop in cinematography, and we will get a film artist who will be glorifying Ukrainian cinema and Ukraine,” says Yaroslav.
The sessions of the Blogger Camp from the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation give children the opportunity to shift their focus from the war and their related worries, strengthen their health and psychological state. Each camp session offers a lot of socializing, physical activities, and creative artwork. This is a kind of experience that brings a positive effect to boys and girls and will help them keep some warm memories of a time spent well together.
The participants of the project Rinat Akhmetov for Children. Peaceful Rest for Children of Ukraine are children who have been through a lot because of the war. Among them are children who were deported to Russia and returned to Ukraine; those who lost their parents because of the war; children from foster families and family-type orphanages; children under guardianship and adopted children; as well as those living in the front-line areas and those who suffered from the armed hostilities.
In the spring and summer of 2023, 150 children took part in the sessions of the Blogger Camp. Overall, almost 5,000 children from various parts of the country received professional psychological assistance and health-improvement support in the framework of the project. The call for the next camp sessions will be announced soon.
