KYIV, 9 April 2024 — On 4 April, in recognition of International Mine Awareness Day, over 3,000 kids in 80 cities and villages in mine-contaminated areas of Ukraine took half in a mass studying of the brand new comedian e-book ‘Patron the Dog and His Adventures’ and undertook a digital actuality (VR) journey to mined areas to be taught mine security guidelines.
“Mine safety has become crucial knowledge for Ukrainian children, as the war has made Ukraine one of the most mine-contaminated countries worldwide,” says Munir Mammadzade, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative to Ukraine. “Our research shows that children are often aware of risks but may not practice safe behaviour. This is linked to various factors, from individual behaviour to institutional and legal levels. For example, adults may exhibit unsafe behaviour or disregard rules, and children may imitate them. This is why parents and caregivers must adhere to rules, while schools and extracurricular activities teach and practice rules of safe behaviour.”
According to statistics from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU), roughly 25 per cent of Ukraine’s territory is affected by landmines and explosive remnants of warfare (ERW). The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has confirmed that mines and different explosive gadgets have brought on 124 little one casualties during the last two years of warfare, killing 25 kids and injuring 99 others, with numbers rising yearly.
To mark Mine Awareness Day, kids aged 4 to 12 learn life-saving ideas featured in ‘Patron the Dog and His Adventures’, a brand new comedian e-book collection about famend Ukrainian bomb-sniffing canine and UNICEF Ukraine official AmbassaDog Patron. The five-part collection was developed as a part of UNICEF Ukraine’s edutainment method and in collaboration with the SESU and Patron’s guardians, who work as deminers and educators for SESU. In his first journey, Patron promotes mine protected conduct and psychological well being practices amongst kids. The subsequent 4 points are scheduled for launch in April and May to finish the collection.
On the identical day, kids aged over 13 launched into an interactive, instructional VR journey by means of the mine-contaminated Donetsk area, finishing quests and duties alongside the way in which. It options actual movies of the area, shot by famend Ukrainian videographer Yevhen Maloletka, who’s among the many creators of Oscar-winning documentary ‘20 days in Mariupol’. On their 20-minute journey, the kids noticed actual landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), in addition to the completely different places the place they are often hidden. This enabled them to be taught life-saving guidelines in a protected, entertaining and interactive method. The VR expertise was developed by UNICEF, in cooperation with the IT Association of Ukraine, and was lately up to date by EPAM IT firm volunteers. MacPaw supplied the Oculus II VR glasses.
Since 2014, UNICEF has been working to scale back the chance of kids being injured or killed by landmines or UXO by educating them and their households vital mine security guidelines. Throughout 2023, over 1 million kids and 340,000 caregivers participated in explosive ordnance danger training periods and actions supported by UNICEF Ukraine.
On the identical day, kids aged over 13 launched into an interactive, instructional VR journey by means of the mine-contaminated Donetsk area, finishing quests and duties alongside the way in which. It options actual movies of the area, shot by famend Ukrainian videographer Yevhen Maloletka, who’s among the many creators of Oscar-winning documentary ‘20 days in Mariupol’. On their 20-minute journey, the kids noticed actual landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), in addition to the completely different places the place they are often hidden. This enabled them to be taught life-saving guidelines in a protected, entertaining and interactive method. The VR expertise was developed by UNICEF, in cooperation with the IT Association of Ukraine, and was lately up to date by EPAM IT firm volunteers. MacPaw supplied the Oculus II VR glasses.
Since 2014, UNICEF has been working to scale back the chance of kids being injured or killed by landmines or UXO by educating them and their households vital mine security guidelines. Throughout 2023, over 1 million kids and 340,000 caregivers participated in explosive ordnance danger training periods and actions supported by UNICEF Ukraine.
Media contacts
Damian Rance
Chief Advocacy and Communications
UNICEF Ukraine
Email: [email protected]
