New сomics featuring Patron the dog and VR Sessions for mine safety training

On April 4, in honor of Mine Awareness Day, we organized a series of events for children of various ages in collaboration with the UNICEF Office and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, ensuring that every child knows the rules that can save lives.

The NGO “Responsible Citizens” held readings based on our Child-Friendly Spaces, which we established as part of a joint project with the UNICEF. Children aged 4 to 12 participated in the events, while older children aged 13 and above took part in interactive virtual reality sessions.

“Fostering a culture of safety, especially educating children on these issues, is a crucial part of our joint work carried out in our Child-Friendly Spaces in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions. We find ourselves in a reality where the ability to identify explosive objects and knowledge of what to do in the event of mine danger can be needed by children throughout their lives. Instilling such knowledge about mine safety plays an essential role in making safety measures a habit in children’s behavior, ultimately saving their lives and the lives of those around them,” commented Olga Kosse, Head of the Board of the NGO “Responsible Citizens.”

“Patron the Dog and His Adventures” is a series of comics consisting of 5 issues, each containing two stories about Patron’s adventures on the topics of mine safety and mental health.

In honor of Mine Awareness Day, the first issue of the comic has been released, and the remaining four issues will be published throughout April and May. All issues of the comics will be immediately available in our Child-Friendly Spaces.

The VR session for children aged 13 and older is an interactive educational journey featuring Patron the Dog, presented through 3D graphics and 360-degree scenes specifically filmed in mined settlements in Donetsk region by renowned videographer Yevhen Maloletka.

The VR experience was created by UNICEF and volunteers from EPAM in collaboration with the IT Association of Ukraine and will be available thanks to Oculus II VR headsets provided by McPaw.

Safety education has been an important component of the activities of the NGO “Responsible Citizens” for years. Our organization operates in frontline areas, where training on life-saving rules is conducted regularly.