From practice to system: a forum of social facilitators took place in Kyiv
The national forum “From Practice to System: Models of Social Facilitation in Ukraine” brought together international partners, representatives of civil society organisations, social facilitators and community specialists working with people in various support contexts in the capital.
A social facilitator is a specialist who supports people in adapting to new conditions: assesses needs, coordinates access to social services, ensures communication between the client and relevant organisations, and provides basic social support.
At the forum, Rokada presented its own model for coordinating social facilitators. The Foundation’s teams currently help 70 specialists in ten regions improve their work.
“Rokada has considerable practical experience in developing social facilitation. We have scaled this work into different formats – from work in communities to supporting people in difficult life circumstances, where what is needed is not only information or referral but also accompaniment, trust and a clear route to services. Our facilitators work in communities, in social adaptation, in supported living, in residential care facilities, during emergency response, and in transit centres, including in Domanove,” explains Olena Demirska, coordinator of the Foundation’s social support and protection area.
The main value of the forum lies in a shared conversation about how to build a more sustainable and understandable support system in light of what already works, where barriers arise, which roles need better alignment and how to make support more accessible to people.
Panel discussions, thematic groups and “world café” discussions – the forum format made it possible not only to share practices but also to develop effective solutions for interaction with local support systems, integration and referral.
“We had the opportunity to compare different experiences, see the strengths of each approach, better understand which elements of the models work effectively and what needs strengthening, and how different organisations can align their actions around people’s needs. For Rokada, it is important to be part of this process, because social facilitation is directly linked to the quality of support and access to social services,” notes Olena Demirska, adding that the forum’s outcomes will later form the basis for recommendations on improving approaches to social facilitation.
