In July, the Future for Ukraine Charity Foundation and the NFT project "Mom, I see war" organized the "Children. War. Future" charity exhibition. In the future, the children's drawings depicting genuine evidence of the war in Ukraine will be exhibited in different countries to show the truth to the whole world.
We talked with the co-founder of the "Mom, I See War" project Danylo Tsvok about how the idea of collecting the drawings emerged, how the smallest Ukrainians see the war, and how the NFT auction can help them.
How did you come up with the idea to create the project of drawings that will forever remain on the Internet?
Even before the war, our team –– representatives of creative industries, marketing, tech, and intellectual property –– was already considering the launch of NFT projects, but on February 24, everything changed.
We understood that the moment requires doing something that would help Ukrainians, children in particular. So, having professional potential, we redirected all the efforts to the project, which was named "Mom, I see war".
On the third day after the full-scale invasion, we were already launching and actively developing the project. We didn't have time to think, so we did everything on the fly, as quickly as possible, to get genuine testimonies from the children through their expressions in the drawings. The main task for us as adults was to convey this message to the world, to record it in a digital environment so that future generations would see the truth.
What emotions are depicted in children's drawings?
It is important to understand that different emotions could be seen in children's drawings at certain stages of the unfolding of the events. Drawings also differ depending on the places and conditions in which they were created. Accordingly, the events that had the greatest impact on children were expressed in these pictures. The pictures represent the entire palette of feelings: from fear, despair, and pain –– to faith in victory and support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the establishment of certain values and symbols.
But mostly, drawings translate resistance, faith in victory, and that Ukraine will beat the enemy. And it shows the courage and strength of little Ukrainians, who already have these traits and values from an early age.
Where do you plan to hold the "Mom, I See War" exhibition, apart from Kyiv and Warsaw?
We are in the process of agreement with several countries. I will not reveal all the plans in detail and name specific cities yet. First of all, these are the countries of Europe, the USA and Canada. Our task is to show the truth of this war through the eyes of children, to remind the world that the war continues. And that it concerns not only the future of the Ukrainian children but also the future of the children worldwide and humanity as a whole.
What did you expect from your project of NFT auction?
First of all, we would like to thank the children and their parents, who sent such a large number of these drawings, for such a response to the initiative. We now have about 14 thousand drawings and the number continues to increase. In some cases, you can even see the conditions in which the drawings were created, pictures from bomb shelters and basements. Even in such conditions, children continue to create, and it is truly impressive.
Today, this is the largest collection of drawings created by children during the war.
We create an NFT collage from all the drawings, through which we have to convey this message to the world. The collage will be placed in an international digital auction, and the proceeds will go to programs helping children affected by the war. We expect the NFT auction to bring in a substantial amount. This is a unique phenomenon, with more than 10 thousand drawings! The question is if the world is ready to understand the value of such an NFT initiative and take care of the future of those children who created it.
Why did you decide to cooperate with Future for Ukraine?
At the start, we began to look for foundations that could become our partners in the implementation of children's support programs. The most important criterion was the coincidence of the values. Secondly, a focus on helping children. Both moments completely coincided with the Future for Ukraine.
The Foundations results are visible and the work is transparent. The FFU is increasing its resources in helping Ukrainians and Ukrainian children. Empathy with the FFU team has developed already at the first communication. A collective vibe of help was felt even through Zoom calls, since the FFU team were in Warsaw, and we were here in Ukraine. I am convinced that we can still do many useful things together.
Also, I should note that the Future for Ukraine has a cool and efficient team of girls. It is very pleasant, easy and constructive to work with you.
How do you see the future of Ukraine?
No doubt, a victory over the enemy. And I will also say that now in such difficult conditions, in fire, a nation of unique strength is being born, which will create the future of the entire free world. And yes, this is our superpower. We are Ukrainians!
