The Human Bonds portal outside of Copenhagen City Hall (Photo: Alla Shorina/IMS).
Ukraine-Denmark partnership: IMS and MykVisti join the Human Bonds initiative by UN Live and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
The teams of International Media Support (IMS) in Copenhagen and MykVisti Media in Mykolaiv joined the Human Bonds initiative, which brings people in Denmark and Ukraine together through direct conversations about recovery, resilience, trust, narratives and human connection.
Developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and Museum for the United Nations – UN Live, the initiative gathers international organisations and institutions committed to supporting Ukraine’s recovery and strengthening people-to-people ties between Denmark and Ukraine.
Through a series of digital portals connecting Copenhagen and Aalborg in Denmark with Mykolaiv in Ukraine, participants can engage in live conversations, share experiences of everyday life, discuss hopes and challenges and exchange perspectives on the future during Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. According to the organisers, the project aims to strengthen human connections and highlight the human dimension of the long-term partnership between Denmark and Ukraine.
Human Bonds: humanity at the heart of every partnership between Denmark and Ukraine
At the core of the project are digital portals that allow people in Denmark and Ukraine to meet directly, not through headlines, statistics or official speeches, but through real conversations and personal experiences.
Mykolaiv holds a special place in the initiative. Mykolaiv occupies a central place in Denmark’s long-term support for Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery. As a result, many Human Bonds discussions focus on the experiences of Mykolaiv residents and local organisations.
“What happens when people from Denmark and Ukraine meet face-to-face? Not through a conference. Not through statistics. Not through another discussion about Ukraine. But through genuine human interaction, face-to-face, eye-to-eye,” says Katja Iversen, CEO of UN Live. “This initiative invites us to rethink solidarity, not only as something we give, but as a connection we build together.”
According to Gohar Khodjayan, Programme Manager at IMS, International Media Support has worked in Ukraine for more than 15 years, and particularly intensively since 2022.
“Behind every project, programme and event are people – and hundreds of personal stories. In both Denmark and Ukraine, dedicated people are working every day to ease the consequences of a war that continues to devastate lives and communities across Ukraine. This is why Human Bonds means so much to me personally. It creates a space where people involved in projects in Denmark and Ukraine can pause, look one another in the eye and simply talk – not only as colleagues or partners, but as old friends,” says Gohar.
A wide network of international, Danish and Ukrainian organisations has taken part in Human Bonds, including UNDP Ukraine, KVINFO, Nefco, Mission East, Danish Refugee Council, UNOPS, Confederation of Danish Industry (DI), DTDA, World Food Programme, DanChurchAid, SOS Children’s Villages, ActionAid, Danish Youth House, DIGNITY, Caritas Denmark, the Danish Red Cross and IMS.
The political significance of the initiative was underscored by the participation of Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Denmark’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, who joined one of the Human Bonds sessions connecting Copenhagen and Mykolaiv.
“As a media professional, I was particularly interested in joining the discussion on ethical storytelling together with IMS and other participants. Beyond that, the very idea and format of Human Bonds left a strong impression on me. These dialogues through the portals connecting Copenhagen and Mykolaiv became a valuable experience.
“They gave me a stronger sense of personal connection between our countries. Behind hundreds of projects are real people, and initiatives like this create opportunities to talk as equal partners who share common values and experiences. You begin to realise how much we have in common and how much space there is for genuine human connection,” says Eliza Moskvina of MykVisti Media in Mykolaiv, who participated in the session on ethical storytelling and shared her own and her team’s experience.
According to Sasha Rodricks, Director of the Global We Programme at UN Live, the organisers of Human Bonds sought to create a space in Mykolaiv, Aalborg and Copenhagen that would make warm, trusting and somewhat informal conversations possible. The use of a shipping container, both as a symbol and as an identical physical space for participants in Ukraine and Denmark, formed part of that vision.
“We wanted to create conditions in which participants could engage with a high level of trust. We wanted them to talk about what matters to them, their hopes and fears, while also finding opportunities to build new relationships. People enter this portal as equals, not as those helping someone less fortunate.”
As the UN Live team explains, the shipping container that serves as a portal between Denmark and Ukraine carries both practical and symbolic significance. “Many people around the world do not have the opportunity to stay connected with others outside their city, community, country or immediate social circle. Portals create opportunities for people to connect across borders, cultures and languages, despite the differences that often seem to divide us. When a portal arrives in a city or community, it creates a space where people can meet individuals they might never otherwise encounter. Participants do not need to travel far or spend significant resources to establish such connections. We bring this platform into communities so that residents can step inside and feel more connected to the wider world,” explains Sasha Rodricks.
Photography Exhibition accompanying Human bonds
Alongside the Human Bonds portals at Copenhagen City Hall Square (Rådhuspladsen), visitors could explore the photo exhibition Ukraine: The Tip of the Spear, created by Danish war photographer Mikkel Hørlyck and organised by UNDP. The exhibition formed an official part of the broader Human Bonds campaign.
The exhibition tells the stories of Ukrainians who continue working for their country’s recovery despite the war, including veterans, scientists, energy workers, deminers, doctors, entrepreneurs, local government representatives, specialists working in community recovery and workforce retraining.
Rather than focusing on destruction, the project highlights the people who move Ukraine forward every day and contribute to rebuilding the country.
Human Bonds serves as a reminder that Ukraine’s recovery is about more than rebuilding infrastructure. It also requires fostering trust, mutual understanding and human connections. Through the participation of media organisations, civil society groups, public institutions and citizens from both Ukraine and Denmark, the initiative demonstrates that genuine partnership begins where people meet one another, share values and goals and engage in honest conversations about what truly matters.
More information on other IMS programmes and projects in Ukraine
Fifteen years of change in media as Ukraine marks 35 years of Independence
Thirty-five years of Ukrainian journalism: facts, paradigms, stories
MERIT Forum 2026: Who are this year’s voices of Ukraine?
We invite you to learn more about journalism in Ukraine in the news article on the emotional state of media professionals, as well as in the news piece on investigative journalism.
