The war in Ukraine disrupts everyday life and weakens trust between people, leaving communities more isolated than before. Close to 4.6 million Ukrainians are internally displaced, and more than 1.3 million have served in the armed forces, many now returning to civilian life. Both groups have to rebuild not only their everyday lives, but also their sense of belonging.
The project Common Ground works with Ukrainian partner Cedos and three local organisations to turn community centres in Boyarka, Nizhyn and Dovhe into genuine “third places” — spaces outside home and work where displaced people, veterans and other residents can simply meet. In Nizhyn, where 65% of households have a family member who has served in the armed forces, the veteran space “Nezlamni” already offers legal and psychological support. In Dovhe, the centre “Fortress” has welcomed more than 2,000 displaced people passing through the region.
Building on Cedos’ earlier work establishing centres in 21 communities, the project addresses what practitioners call the “infrastructure trap”: buildings get built, but the local capacity to run them democratically and sustainably often doesn’t follow. Common Ground tackles this directly — through small grants for accessible, welcoming spaces, and a hybrid training programme that will equip at least 30 Ukrainian civil society organisations with the tools to design and govern their own third places.
The project combines hands-on support to the three pilot centres with a broader knowledge-sharing effort: online courses, a workshop in Kyiv, mentoring, and a media campaign reaching Ukrainian civil society well beyond the three communities.
The goal is simple but ambitious: that Ukrainian communities, even in the middle of war, have places to gather, rebuild trust, and shape their own future together.
