A 5-Step Creative Curriculum for Post-War Ukraine

The following article is from Adweek’s special issue “On Ukraine, by Ukrainians,” published April 25, 2022, and created entirely by Ukrainian writers, editors and artists amid the ongoing all-out war in their homeland. Education is essential for the post-war recovery of industries—the creative ones among them. The more knowledge we accumulate, the more flexible and visionary we become. All this helps go on. Below are five major directions the Ukrainian creative market will most likely follow post-war—they are just in the air. And I’d like to share my vision on what skills and knowledge will help our creators fit this new environment better. Creative education in Ukraine has always been independent and non-academic—and this always helped it adapt and react faster and smarter. Now we need it more than ever. 1. The creatives will become flexible generalists After the war, companies will be saving their budgets. The money they invested in creativity will be spent on operational needs, production, salaries and taxes. As projects get smaller budgets, agencies and design bureaus will reduce their teams to cut costs. To get more contracts, some agencies may expand the list of services. For example, they may engage in architectural, design or communicational post-war renovation projects. To be ready to hop into any nice project in their field, a Ukrainian creative is to become a generalist—get extra specializations, and do it fast. So, the first and most important thing is to master diverse skills and apply them right away, while studying. We no longer have time to readjust and spend years on theory. 2. Focus on getting noticed To be truly competitive, you need to know your strengths—and communicate them well. For this, it is important to build your personal brand and make it a tool for driving clients in. Many Ukrainian creatives were famous before 2022—like Synchrodogs, a group of photographers with projects for global clients, and photographer Sasha Maslov, who was commissioned by The New York Times. Still, the list should include much more names, hundreds of them. Dynamic peer-to-peer communication and collaboration in creative communities will help Ukrainians get noticed. As I see it, educational courses must become the platform where such communities are born. They are platforms where one can share experiences, discuss new insights, get and receive feedback, and work in teams. Any course should provide for such communities. 3. Commercializing creativity Since late February 2022, most creatives have created and launched tons of creative initiatives as part of their volunteering mission. Many agencies have developed projects for their clients for free to support Ukrainian businesses. Most of what we are making now is pro bono. But one day, we will fully return to the entrepreneur reality—to invoices, contracts, taxes. The only difference is that now creatives will have even more work from abroad, and they should know how to deal with it. To be OK with it, one doesn’t need a law or economics degree. Some basic understanding of the business financial side, both locally and globally, would be enough. So, short-term courses on financial management or copyright will be in great demand. 4. Make A-list original content a top priority The sad fact is that the Ukrainian audience used to consume quite a lot of russian entertainment content. But now as the perspective has radically changed, we are disgusted by anything created there—including movies, TV shows, podcasts and digital media. There should be tons of new Ukrainian media content, addressing new challenges and points. But not just that. This content should be cool enough to engage the Western audience, as well—just because the new themes are worth communicating both locally and globally. Creative schools are to fill the gap by nurturing a new generation of Ukrainian content makers with a strong digital background. The more skills in video production, film editing and music creation they gain, the more A-list content would emerge, fitting both local media outlets and global platforms like MTV or Netflix. 5. Getting more deeply integrated One can’t offer robust solutions without overcoming cultural barriers. We all must become anthropologists. Understanding the needs and values of other markets will help Ukrainian creators be in higher demand. Grasping the basics of the creative DNA of countries that are leaders in the industry will help Ukrainian creators fit into the global context. They will get a deeper insight into how advertising agencies of NYC work, how creative teams handle briefs in London, and how production processes out there differ from those here. There are a few ways Ukrainian schools might help it. They could provide students with international briefs, launch courses by foreign experts, bring international festivals here and support translating nonfiction books about the industry. Prior to the large-scale war, creative schools arranged numerous events in Ukraine. For instance, the Projector school partnered to bring the OFFF festival to Kyiv in 2019, and in early 2021, the SKVOT school had an online lecture by Fernando Machado, CMO of Activision Blizzard and ex-CMO of Burger King. Events like this do help Ukrainian creators integrate into the global scene. To bloom, the economy needs solid creative communities, new agencies and studios, strong professionals, and their insights. Education plays a key role in creating the environment where this could happen. It provides the skills which come as an advantage today—and as a must tomorrow.

Ukraine

A 5-Step Creative Curriculum for Post-War Ukraine

How schools and professionals can respond to the challenges of a new era

Inna Chut

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Inna Chut