Cultural issues relevance for young people - results of a study by UCF and the U-Report project

How relevant is the issue of culture to young audiences in times of war? What cultural activities do young people prefer? What is the reason why they don't spend more time on cultural activities?

U-Report and the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation made a poll and asked young people about their cultural activities and attitudes to the cultural sphere in general. The main task was to understand the relevance of culture for young people and determine the level of demand for Ukrainian artistic products.

Where do young people get information about cultural events in their city?

The largest number of respondents (82.5%) receive information from social media and the Internet. 34.8% find out about cultural events from friends and people they know, and 18.6% learn about them from advertisements on billboards or in public transport.

The average level of satisfaction with the organization of cultural leisure in a city or town is 3.4 points on a 5-point scale.

How do young people think the war affected the cultural sphere? Which activities have young people begun to spend more time on?

34.2% of young people have started to communicate more with family and friends. 32.8% of respondents devote more time to social projects and volunteering. 30.6% focused on self-education, including short courses and watching educational videos. 22.7% of respondents said they started reading more, and 19.4% mentioned that watching movies and videos was their main activity. 

Besides the war, what else are the reasons that keep young people from attending cultural events more often?

57% of all respondents mentioned that since the beginning of the war, the frequency of their attendance of cultural events has significantly decreased. 

36.3% mentioned mental health as the reason: general fatigue, lack of mood. 30.3% of young people mentioned lack of money and financial difficulties as the main reason. Lack of time for cultural leisure was mentioned by 28.2%. 22.1% of respondents do not have company to attend events, and 13.8% named the lack of information about interesting cultural events and activities as the reason

"It is now important to involve young people in the cultural life of Ukraine as much as possible and to understand that they are an essential part of the Ukrainian cultural space. This is necessary for the formation of a solid Ukrainian identity and the realization of their own cultural identity. Moreover, post-war reconstruction requires the broad involvement of all segments of Ukrainian society, including one of its most active and capable parts, the youth", - said Lyudmyla Kozhekina, head of the analytical work sector at the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.