On February 28, 2024, our team gathered for an intensive “War Room” meeting with one clear goal: to turn a vision into action. The outcome was the foundation for what has become one of our most important initiatives for 2025 – a national Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) Olympiad in Ukraine, focused entirely on protecting children and youth from the dangers of mines and explosive remnants of war.

The project, led by DSGU in close partnership with UDA (Ukrainian Deminers Association), is rooted in a clear humanitarian mission: to deliver life-saving knowledge about explosive threats to children and adolescents across Ukraine. With a total budget of USD 60,000, the project will run from Maj to November 2025.

From Strategy to Execution

During the meeting, roles were distributed across project management, content development, strategic planning, and budgeting. Birte worked on the financial framework and drew from previous EORE efforts, Sara and Frederikke planned content and digital updates, while Nikolaj and Mette developed the project concept and implementation strategy. The project lead coordinated the workflow and ensured steady progress.

At the core of the project is the EORE Olympiad – a nationwide digital campaign for children and adolescents (ages 6–17), where participants complete an online EORE training course through an updated educational platform. Based on their scores, the top 100 participants move on to a creative phase, where they organize their own EORE session for peers and submit a short video or presentation documenting their activity. A professional jury will select the most impactful entries, which will be rewarded with prizes and recognition.

In parallel, the EORE game “Walk Safe”(which we developed last year in collaboration with our donors) will be distributed to younger children (ages 6–11), and in-person EORE training sessions will take place in the most affected regions: Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv oblasts.

From Awareness to Behavior Change

This project is more than a campaign – it is a meaningful investment in the safety and empowerment of Ukrainian children. By actively engaging young people and equipping them to educate their peers, the project creates a strong peer-to-peer learning effect that will extend its impact far beyond the project’s official timeframe.

We look forward to following the journey of the many children who will take part in the EORE Olympiad – and we firmly believe that this approach will not only save lives, but also foster a generation that is better equipped to navigate the dangers that still surround them.