The Diversity You project will take place for the third time. In previous years, its heroes spoke about the acceptance of diversity in society, but this year, Diversity You 2024 is different—the war has changed it and all of us. While previous heroes of the project were people who had developed health problems for various reasons, this year’s heroes have acquired disabilities due to military actions. The project includes a professional photo session in clothes by Ukrainian designers, the creation of video and text stories for each hero, and a photo exhibition. The project will be supported by the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
According to the project team's concept, all the heroes come from different regions of Ukraine. They are men and women of various ages and professions, but what unites them is that they acquired disabilities due to the full-scale invasion of russia in Ukraine. Despite this, they found the strength to continue living and inspire others every day. What is it? Character traits? Upbringing? Way of thinking? Reaction to loss? The result of reading books? We decided to explore this phenomenon and discover the code of resilience that makes each hero unique and worthy of following. The Diversity You 2024 project provides the heroes with a platform where they can share their strength of spirit and inspire others to change.
It's customary to speak about the strong in hushed tones, to fill in their stories with our own interpretations. But we decided to let them speak for themselves. See them, listen to their stories, get inspired by the resilience of seven super Ukrainians! And this is not an image — they are like this every day. Today, they are simply dressed in designer clothes and featured in a stylish photo session.
Diversity You 2024 is about all of us, so we don't look away on the street from a military veteran with a prosthetic.
Diversity You 2024 is about ensuring children don't shout "this man has an iron hand!" on the streets.
Diversity You 2024 is about telling everyone around us that having a prosthetic instead of a limb is okay; it's our new normal in which disability isn't just about lost opportunities, it's also about gaining strength to achieve new things, to accomplish what seemed impossible before, and a chance to reclaim what was lost.
Project timeline:
August - presentation of the 7 stories.
September - project presentation + photo exhibition in Lviv.
Organizer: Foundation for Support of Artistic Initiatives “Vizia” in partnership with Lviv Fashion Week, supported by the Unbroken Rehabilitation Center, NGO "Agency for Women and Youth Entrepreneurship Development", NGO "Berezani Community Foundation", NGO "Women's Consortium of Ukraine".
