For several generations of Khmelnytskyi residents, “Dytyachyy Svit” is not just a shopping mall, but a part of our city’s history. Not to lose this symbol, but to breathe new life into it — this is the ambitious task set by the Khmelnytskyi City Council.
On October 24, in the presence of representatives of GIZ Ukraine and UNDP in Ukraine, an official opening event of the renewed “Dytyachyy Svit” took place.
“In 2023, we won the competitive selection and received grant funding within the framework of a joint project of the German government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine “Supporting the rapid economic recovery of Ukrainian municipalities”. As part of this project, we managed to completely renovate and equip the “Dytyachyy Svit” shopping mall and create a modern business space here,” comments the city mayor, Oleksandr Symchyshyn.
In order to transform a huge Soviet-style shopping center into a modern business space, the facades were insulated and window blocks were replaced, the premises of the 2nd floor and the main staircase were renovated (interior decoration, renovation of the bathroom, electrical work), the elevator was replaced, and equipment for creating a business space was purchased.
“Thanks to cooperation with UNDP, we managed to implement a project that is unique for GIZ. Unique because it contains an infrastructure component, that is, the restoration of the building, which involves expensive repair work — this is a new practice for GIZ. The business space with the opportunities it opens up for representatives of light industry will be Khmelnytskyi’s calling card, since it can host events for manufacturers not only at the local level, but also at the national level,” says Valeria Kolesnichenko, regional project coordinator for GIZ Ukraine, about the shopping center renovation project.
In the renovated business space, local clothing manufacturers shared their success stories: Serhiy Paraska, co-owner and CEO of the Stimma clothing brand, and Maryna Vasilyeva, founder of TM Pollardi.
“We are very grateful to the German people and the German government for the opportunity to implement such a project. We understand how valuable this resource is now, how wisely we must manage it and invest our efforts in what will truly strengthen our society, give it the strength to win and move forward. We continue to work to ensure that this business space meets the hopes placed on it and becomes a platform on which entrepreneurs could develop and receive new opportunities,” emphasized Mustafa Sait-Ametov, Head of the UNDP Regional Development Program in Ukraine.
The culmination of the event was the first fashion show “MoDni”, in which local manufacturers took part: the women's clothing brand BESSА and the children's clothing brand SUZIE. In addition, a national-style clothing collection created by students of Khmelnytskyi National University was shown.
The Project partners were:
- All-Ukrainian Association of Local Governments "Association of Cities of Ukraine", which promotes capacity building of municipalities and local project teams.
- Smart People Business School, which promotes mobilization of business communities in the municipalities participating in the Project and works on establishing links of cooperation between local authorities and businesses.
- Promprilad Foundation, which works on strategies for the functioning and development of the infrastructure created within the framework of the Project.
This material was created by the Khmelnytskyi City Council within the framework of the project "Supporting the Rapid Economic Recovery of Ukrainian Municipalities" (SRER), implemented by UNDP in Ukraine with the support of the international cooperation project ReACT4UA ("Application and Implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in the Field of Trade"), which is funded by the German government and implemented by the German federal company Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.