Projects

The project was implemented in the mountain village of Urych, where the archaeological monument of the medieval fortress Tustan is located. The project aimed to increase society’s sensitivity to cultural heritage and show its potential for sustainable development to a wide audience, including children, as well as to teach the local community to use specific tools and world practices through a comprehensive educational campaign. As a result, the project produced a powerful educational campaign targeted at the local community and the general public, including articles and promotional videos on the value and importance of heritage preservation, various products for children, educational activities for the local community, publishing a guide on protection and use of cultural heritage and a landscape album. In addition, a promotional campaign was conducted for the tourist destination, and a communication strategy was developed for further use of cultural heritage for tourism development. The intended long-term result is increasing the attractiveness of Tustan as tourist destination, enhancing the quantity and quality of tourist-oriented products, improving the economic performance of the local community, increasing the tourist flow.

We share the results of the project here:

• Promo video (30 sec) “Tustan: The power of the cliffs”
• Promo video “Feel the power of the cliffs”
• Promo video “Urych, a unique village with Boyko authenticity”
• Video “Vasyl Rozhko & Mykhailo Shchur. When the world is more interesting”
• Video “Tustan people: the birth of cooperation”

Lectures for farmstead owners:

• Lecture-webinar “Preparation for the reception of tourists”
• Lecture-webinar “Communication with the client”
• Lecture-webinar “Conflict resolution”

Program articles:

• About the Great Tustan: How the Tustan Reserve makes a unique ecosystem for museum, community, and business collaboration
• About the creation of space: Tustan as a tourist destination: you need to create something new to draw attention to history
• About the heritage of Tustan: 14 facts about Tustan you did not know yet
• About grants and projects: How to create bright tourism projects for grants. Tustani’s experience
• Tustan’s communication strategy
• Album of Tustan and Urych landscapes
• Quest tour for children
• Case-study guide “Heritage for People: How Tustan Develops”

The project was prepared with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. The position of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation may not coincide with the opinion of the authors.

The Ukrainian Cultural Foundation is a governmental institution established in 2017 as a new model of providing state support and promotion of initiatives in the sphere of culture and creative industries on a competitive basis. As per current legislation, the activities of the Foundation are an integral part of the policies and identified priorities of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

Tustan is one of the tourist destinations in Ukraine where the interests of the community, entrepreneurs, and visitors are considered, and a holistic ecosystem based on sustainability and partnership is formed. However, there are numerous obstacles and barriers along the way, and Tustan’s future depends on addressing these issues. Experts in marketing, communications, regional development, heritage economics, tourism, psychology, and sociology studied them during June-October 2020.

A comprehensive approach was used to conduct the study, which included the collection of secondary and primary information on the research topic, structuring, analysis, identification of patterns and prioritization of problems, generalization, and development of recommendations. 

The study included several stages:

• desk research with processing of existing sources of information relevant to the project, a total of more than 180 sources (statistics, manuals, scientific works, previous research materials, publications in periodicals, etc.);
• in-depth interviews with government representatives, entrepreneurs, tour operators, community leaders. In total, 11 in-depth interviews were conducted, lasting 45-60 minutes each;
• focus groups with community representatives, tourists, and tourist service operators. A total of 3 focus group meetings were conducted, lasting 90 minutes each;
• survey of residents of the villages of Urych, Sopit and Pidhorodtsi. A total of 184 people aged 18 and over were interviewed;
• survey of tourists traveling through Ukraine, including visitors of the Tustan destination and the “Tu Stan!” festival. A total of 922 people over the age of 18 were interviewed. 

The scripts for the in-depth interviews, focus groups and questionnaires were based on four main thematic blocks:

1. Cultural monument and tourist attraction.
2. Entrepreneurship and economic potential.
3. Spheres of influence.
4. Communication and interaction. 

This approach enabled the researchers to view the situation from the 360° perspective. Each expert and each environment have contributed their own vision, which aided to compose a series of recommendations and suggestions for further development of the destination. 

The results of the study are likely to capture the interest of everyone who works in the cultural tourism sector, cares about preservation of landmarks and loves to travel in Ukraine, as well as representatives of communities interested in the development of the heritage economy.

Based on the study results, an analytical report was prepared according to the standards of Ministry of Education and Science with the total volume of 12 printed pages (over 300 articles), and other information materials. 

The project was prepared with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. The position of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation may not coincide with the opinion of the authors. 

The Ukrainian Cultural Foundation is a governmental institution established in 2017 as a new model of providing state support and promotion of initiatives in the sphere of culture and creative industries on a competitive basis. As per current legislation, the activities of the Foundation are an integral part of the policies and identified priorities of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

Project objectives:

1. Preserving the traditional character of Urych architecture.
2. Creating a new tourist-oriented product: the route of traditional architecture and Boyko culture in Urych.
3. Launching a festival for promotion of the Boyko culture.

Grant recipient

Tustan NGO in partnership with Tustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve

Project donors

Ministry of Culture of Ukraine as part of the “Small towns – great impressions” project 

Project achievements

• The catalog of the exhibition “Unnecessary Stuff” was created.
• A catalog of architectural elements characteristic of Urych was created.
• The sign “Urych is a Boyko village” (branding) was developed.
• The “BoyE” festival of Boyko culture was organized and implemented.

Project objective

Offering cashless payments and informational support using SMART technologies for the convenience of visitors.

Grant recipient

Tustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve

Project donors

Within the framework of local development projects under patronage of the Lviv Regional Council

Project objective

Creating a unique museum depository of scientific and archaeological finds for the preservation and distribution of cultural heritage.

Grant recipient

Tustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve

Project donors

Within the framework of local development projects under patronage of the Lviv Regional Council

Project achievements

In the rented premises of the Urych village school (second floor), major repairs were made, and the museum depository facility of the Tustan Reserve was arranged.

Project objective

Creating an ecological, cozy and safe space for children on the territory of the Reserve.

Grant recipient

Ukrainian Youth Organization “Spadshchyna”

Project donors

Under patronage of the Euroregion Carpathians-Ukraine Association

Project objective

Developing a sustainable functioning model of the “TuStan!” festival, expanding its target audience, generating novel approaches to the interpretation of cultural heritage (virtual reality, laser and projection performances)

Grant recipient

Tustan NGO

Project donors

With the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation

Project achievements

• The website of the Ukrainian medieval culture festival “Tu Stan!” was created.
• A strategic and operational sustainability model of the festival was formed.
• The Tustan VR virtual reality location was created in cooperation with SoftServe.

Project objective

Preserving the cultural and historical heritage of the Carpathians (traditions, crafts, customs, music, and architecture) by the following means: creating a network of organizations operating in this sector; promoting knowledge of regional traditions; conducting practices and activities aimed at restoring crafts; increasing the competencies of individual local communities in the management of cultural resources in the region.

Grant recipient

Tustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve

Project donors

Implemented with the support of the European Union under the Poland-Belarus-Ukraine Cross-Border Cooperation Program 2014-2020.

Project achievements

• Reconstruction of “Chata u Hlubokim” was conducted.
• The Boyko Culture Festival “BoyE” was partially funded.
• A center of local history was established at “Chata u Hlubokim”.

Project objective

Developing a technological solution to enable the display of what the fortress looked like in the 9th-16th centuries using virtual reality technologies.

Grant recipient

Tustan NGO

Project donors

SoftServe

Project achievements

A free mobile application “Tustan AR” has been created. It can be downloaded from the Play Market and iOS (App Store) platforms. The application works in several specified places near the cliffs in Tustan. 

Project objective

Encouraging the influx of artists and other creative people to rural areas as a source of inspiration. Using the results of their work to enhance local development (tourism) and for nature and cultural heritage protection.

Grant recipient

Tustan NGO

Project donors

Implemented within the framework of the EU grant “Creative Europe” in cooperation with the Tustan reserve and Machaon International

Project achievements

Unique art objects were created on the Reserve premises during the art expedition and the Land Art Symposium “Land of Power”.

Project objective

Researching and promoting successful modern practices of preservation of cultural landscapes of Slovakia and Poland in Ukraine.

Grant recipient

Tustan NGO in partnership with Tustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve

Project donors

With the support of the European Commission 

Project achievements

• An educational campaign on the use of local traditions in modern construction and preservation of historically formed planning of villages was conducted.
• Development of the master plan of the Urych village was financed.
• The Reserve staff completed a three-day internship in Slovakia and Poland and studied international practices for the preservation of cultural landscapes.

Project objective

Promoting the Tustan cultural heritage through a designer clothing collection that adapts the image of the Middle Ages to the present.

Grant recipient

Tustan NGO in partnership with Tustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve 

Project donors

With the support of the Promuseum seminar program, International Renaissance Foundation, ICF “Ukraine 3000”, NGO “Ukrainian Center for Museum Development”, Lviv Fashion Week, “Atelier” magazine, information portal MODA 3.14, LFW MODELS.

Project achievements

• A capsule collection of 12 sets of womens and mens clothing inspired by the Tustan Fortress and the surrounding nature has been created. The name of the collection is “Oh there on the mountain”.
• The 15th season of Lviv Fashion Week opened with a presentation of the collection of clothes and accessories created especially for Tustan.
• Workshops and lectures offered by the LFW MODELS modeling school were conducted.

Project objective

Study and visualization of architectural monuments.

Grant recipient

Tustan NGO

Project achievements

An animated 3D model of the Tustan Fortress containing five construction periods has been developed.