Anna Khvyl

Tandem and I, we started approaching each other even before the programme was created. Somehow I always believed in cultural exchange. From the moment I was five, travelling for the summer to my grandma’s town and hanging out with local kids. Then everything went smoothly. I graduated in Culture Studies and was involved in academia, researching social transformations in urban space, while simultaneously participating in different types of activism. For a longer time I was looking for an opportunity to interconnect theory and practice on a more profound level.

Before joining the Tandem team as a local coordinator, I took part in projects implemented in the framework of Tandem in Ukraine. Sometimes intentionally and sometimes by chance: visiting events, participating in discussions, giving workshops and dancing at parties. And each time I found myself in a wonderful world of infinitely courageous and creatively naive people. This is how you come to believe that behind your shoulders there is this diverse crowd of people from so many different places working together to make a change.