Participants of the Create Ukraine program joined a mentoring session with Nadiia Pototska, a strategic communications, crisis PR, and government relations consultant. The discussion focused on crisis communications, which, as the expert emphasized, should begin long before a crisis unfolds.
During the session, participants discussed:
- the specifics of communications in the public sector, especially in the absence of a unified stakeholder register and clearly defined roles;
- the alignment of a communications strategy with the institution’s overall strategy;
- approaches to international communications that convey not only emotion but also Ukraine’s strength, resilience, and economic development — even during wartime;
- the importance of researching target audiences to mitigate communication risks;
- the need to tailor messaging for specific audiences, from international partners to Ukrainian businesses.
“Communications matter. They make it possible to implement reforms, launch projects, and drive change. You can create an excellent product or service — one that could change millions of lives — but if you don’t strategically plan your communications or invest time, effort, and resources into them, that product will remain unknown and won’t fulfill its purpose,” — emphasized Nadiia Pototska.
Participants also shared the challenges they face in their current roles and explored ways to build effective communication teams and engage with international partners and diverse audiences.
Mentoring sessions are a vital part of the Create Ukraine program. They give participants a deeper understanding of how the public sector operates and how to drive meaningful change. Previous speakers have included Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Anna Novosad, former Minister of Education of Ukraine; Svitlana Kotliarevska, an expert in building and scaling teams in the public sector; Mariia Zakharenko, head of the Reform Support Team at the Ministry of Economy; and Sergiy Nikolaychuk, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine.
Create Ukraine is co-funded by the European Union and the Government of Lithuania within the framework of the EU4Youth program, aimed at supporting young people. The project is managed by the Lithuanian organization Central Project Management Agency and implemented by the KSE Foundation at the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.