KONTENTA: How recording studios in Ukraine help local youth create, connect, and inspire

What's the problem?

Today's Ukrainian teenagers are growing up in a time of immense challenges. War, rapid technological change, an overwhelming flood of information, and the pressures of social media combine to create a complex reality where it's easy to lose one's sense of self. The desire to create and be heard becomes more important than ever.

Self-expression is not only a way to showcase ideas and talents—it also helps teens find vital support, preserve mental health, and reinforce the belief that every voice matters. However, opportunities for development, access to technology, and platforms to create art are often limited.

What's the solution?

The answer is KONTENTA, a nationwide network of audiovisual studios launched by the Ukrainian NGO Cultural Platform Zakarpattya with support from UNICEF. This initiative enables young people to explore creative industries and express themselves through art. At KONTENTA studios, teens can gain new skills, execute their ideas, and create projects that have a meaningful impact on society.

How does it work?

Since 2016, the Cultural Platform Zakarpattta has been helping young people discover Ukrainian culture and identity through initiatives focused on art, music, and wooden church architecture. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the organization shifted its focus to social cohesion and providing psycho-emotional support for young people through creative practices.

Over two years, workshops and masterclasses under their programs, Spilno Camp and Spilno Camp. Communities, which focus on culture, media, content, and design, reached over 65,000 participants across 64 Ukrainian communities.

Through this work, the team confirmed that young people crave updated educational programs and more inclusive interaction formats to feel represented in society. The first step the organization wanted to make was to provide free access to the tools the youth could use to create and share their art with the world. This sparked the idea for KONTENTA.

The project allows teens and young adults to explore Ukrainian music traditions, develop their own projects, and exercise their right to self-expression.

What is KONTENTA?

KONTENTA is an audiovisual studio designed to help teens and young adults engage with creative industries. It offers space for individual work, group events, and cultural activities. Users can record vocals and instruments, produce tracks, and create video blogs, podcasts, and live streams.

The studio has professional gear and software, including Ableton Live and Native Instruments. It comes in two formats:

• Stationary studio: Integrated into existing youth centers.
• Mobile studio: Fully portable and adaptable, set up and moved to various locations thanks to its compact design.

In these studios, young people can record vocals and musical instruments, produce music tracks, create vlogs, podcasts, and live streams, and host cultural or educational events for their communities. The program introduces teens to professions such as sound designer, musician, composer, voice actor, blogger, streamer, radio host, podcaster, journalist, and film editor. Importantly, all equipment and services are free to use.

The project's founders stress that the studios are designed to support mental health, foster socialization, and improve emotional well-being through creativity and community building.

"Young people globally face mental health struggles and motivation issues. Now imagine if they had to hear air raid sirens or the sound of a missile — what would that do to them?" says Yevhen Zabarylo, nonprofit leader. "Ukrainian youth endure all of this yet can create something new. Most of them are remarkably resilient, and that's a phenomenon no one can fully explain."

Does it actually work?

The first KONTENTA studio opened in Chernihiv on January 22, 2024. Over the next nine months, 20 more studios were launched in 19 communities across 12 regions of Ukraine, including Chernihiv, Nizhyn, Pereiaslav, Valky, Kehychivka, Balakliia, Kropyvnytskyi, Oleksandriia, Kamiansker, Chornomorsk, Stryi, Sambir, Lutsk, and Uzhhorod.

The project team selected locations based on their experience at the Spilno Camp. Communities initiative, focusing on areas with a strong concentration of cultural institutions or unique local phenomena, such as notable figures, artistic traditions, or existing art colleges and youth centers that could host the studios.

The Cultural Platform Zakarpattya has held a variety of events, such as:

• The KONTENTA project presentation to show potential to youth, local creative communities, media, and authorities.
• Ableton basics workshop
• Sound design workshop.
• Studio training for youth workers: Practical instruction for managing studio operations.
• Traditional cultural evenings: Live performances and open discussions with contemporary artists.
• Podcast recording: the youth discusses socially significant topics. Past guests included MP and military officer Roman Lozynskyi, blogger Valeriia Shashenok, and musician/producer Yevhen Filatov (The Maneken).
• Online educational course: A technical and theoretical guide to using Ableton Live, with an alpha version already available, and music theory.

The NGO regularly hosts mentoring sessions by industry professionals, including artists like Artystka Chuprynenko, Bohdan Kuper, and BRYKULETS.

From music creation to countrywide change

Since its launch, KONTENTA's studios have hosted over 400 events, engaging over 5,000 young people aged 14–24, including 13% internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Take Bohdan Balaban, a 17-year-old musician from Valky who had dreamed of creating a recording studio in his community for years. He shares:

"Because of the war, young people in Valky are really closed off, especially musicians. It's like they're afraid to share their voices and creativity. I believe KONTENTA can help with that, encouraging us to communicate more and create together — and that's crucial. For me, it's an opportunity to professionally work with sound. It's a new chapter in my music journey, where I can now record professionally."

Bohdan has been making music since he was five. He finished music school for accordion and now studies at a professional college. He tried to set up a small DIY recording studio at home to experiment with electronic music and explore his sound, but now he can access KONTENTA's professional equipment.

Meanwhile, Dasha Skaliun, a youth worker at the Chernihiv Regional Youth Center, shares:

"At our youth center, I organize music and literary evenings called Veresaiky, where anyone can come to perform or just enjoy the creativity of others. To prepare for these events, my colleagues and I learned how to use all the KONTENTA equipment and set it up properly. This has significantly improved the quality of our events. KONTENTA is a fantastic resource and opportunity! It has inspired me to start creating my music instead of just playing covers."

Young people in communities close to the front line need their voices to be heard and need the tools for personal growth and community development. The Cultural Platform team says KONTENTA helps them create cultural content and bring young people together at youth centers, building the foundation of a healthy, democratic society. In regions like Lviv, Uzhhorod, and Lutsk, the studios also help displaced youth integrate and provide platforms to exchange ideas and solutions for community growth.

KONTENTA isn't about chasing fame. It's about ensuring young people can participate in the contemporary world, which revolves around digital devices and content today. The skills they gain at the studios also enable them to monetize their work on global digital platforms.

Through its programs, the Cultural Platform encourages youth to study laws, especially those related to youth policy, so they understand their rights, what the state offers, and how to create youth organizations, raise funds, and develop their communities.

The organization emphasizes that young people become more active in society by gaining professional skills. They seek opportunities for self-expression, get involved in their communities, and build international connections. For this growth to continue, the government must provide opportunities for education, personal growth, and emotional intelligence, which are key to future success.

"The Soviet legacy still lingers in Ukrainian education with outdated methods and limited resources — old instruments, lack of infrastructure, and no awareness of global trends,"  says Yevhen Zabarylo, the nonprofit leader. "This makes it nearly impossible to foster a new generation of Ukrainian composers who should be joining the ranks of our musical greats: Mykola Leontovych, Mykola Lysenko, Valentyn Sylvestrov, Kyrylo Stetsenko, Volodymyr Ivasiuk, and many others."

Even more helpful solutions!

Today, thanks to KONTENTA, the Cultural Platform Zakarpattya has partnered with 20 youth centers, professional colleges, and music schools nationwide. The organization plans to continue transforming youth hubs and educational systems by building a network between studios, not just through mentors but through the connections they create.

 "We want the youth in Lutsk to know what's happening in Chornomorsk and for Chornomorsk's youth to understand what their peers in Chernihiv are interested in," says Yana Polupanova, the project's communications lead. "They should come together not because someone told them to but because they share common goals and have the tools to enhance each other's expertise, find solutions, and exchange ideas through the studios."

The organization also plans to launch the first online youth radio station, where young people can host shows and connect with KONTENTA studios across different regions.

The project aims to spark a multidisciplinary conversation about updating music education and arts programs in schools. Ideally, KONTENTA would be integrated into every music and arts school nationwide.

"Our motivation is to change the future by investing in youth," says Polupanova.

She adds that KONTENTA plays an important role in developing critical thinking, strengthening society's cultural foundation, and building Ukraine's positive global image.