On Thursday, July 27, the Crimean Tatar Resource Center spoke about the results of the work of Yaking care about IDPs chatbot, which incorporated all the necessary information for internally displaced persons, in particular, from among the indigenous peoples and national minorities of Ukraine.
Speakers were:
Eskender Bariiev – Head of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, member of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people;
Anatolii Stelmakh – Deputy Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories;
Igor Lossovsky – Deputy Chairman of SEFC;
Tetiana Podvorniak – communications manager of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.
During the press conference, the speakers noted that now the problem of IDPs remains very relevant. It is very important to facilitate their integration into new communities and help them adjust to new conditions.
“First of all, I want to remind you why we decided to create this chatbot. First of all, it was created to make life easier for IDPs, their rapid integration and adaptation to new communities. The problem of IDPs did not arise now, it appeared in 2014 after the events in Crimea and in the east of the country. After that, many representatives of indigenous peoples faced problems with how to find kosher or halal food, a synagogue, a mosque, cultural facilities”,- said Eskender Bariiev.
Tetiana Podvorniak reminded the audience about the features of the Taking care about IDPs chatbot, which will help meet the basic needs of everyone, and in addition, preserve their identity for representatives of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine and national minorities. In particular, a video about the chatbor was demonstrated.
According to Tetiana, more than 9,000 people used the chatbot, lawyers and operators received dozens of requests from people. The most common question, of course, is when new cities will appear. Most of all, people clicked on such items as humanitarian and cash assistance, housing for IDPs, food, useful groups for IDPs, and the like.
“So far, our chatbot covers 4 major cities: Kyiv, Lviv, Chernivtsi and Ivano-Frankivsk. However, in the future we plan to spread the geography and add even more important information that IDPs may need, because we see a demand for such a product”,- Podvorniak said.
Bariev noted that the CTRC will initiate the expansion of the geography of our chatbot so that our compatriots, regardless of ethnicity and religion, can feel like a part of our state in every corner of Ukraine.
“This chatbot can be considered as one of the responses and contribution of the CTRC to the fight against Russian aggression. After the presentation of this product, we saw that the chatbot is easy and convenient to use. It is really needed to preserve the identity of different cultures. We thank the CTRC for the work done”,- said Ihor Lossovskyy.
Anatolii Stelmakh thanked the Crimean Tatar Resource Center for the work done.
“This is a practical component that helps people in difficult situations. This chatbot is very important for IDP adaptation. The Ministry of Reintegration is also interested in expanding the chatbot not only on the territory of Ukraine, but also abroad, because this is important for the return of our citizens”,- he explained.
This project is implemented by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center as part of its project implemented under the USAID/ENGAGE activity, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development and is implemented by Pact. The contents of this project are the sole responsibility of Pact and its partners and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.