In our blog series “So, what is social commitment for you?”, we regularly introduce you to scholarship recipients and graduates of the SBW Berlin scholarship program. They talk about their social commitment, give tips for those who would also like to get involved socially but don’t know how to start, and share what they understand by social commitment.

Helping others with art, culture and music…

The SBW Berlin team asked Vasylysa a few questions on this topic. You can find her answers here:

Vasylysa Furmanova

1. How do you define social engagement?

For me social engagement means [willingness] to help people or a cause.

2. How long have you been socially engaged?

Since I was 12, which means at this point for 10 years on and off. Where I’m coming from – Ukraine, there were always issues that needed people to get involved and help and me and my mom started doing that together pretty early on with doing art therapy and playing music for soldiers in hospitals since 2014, for people with disabilities and later on for people who escaped Ukraine after 2022.

3. Why are you socially committed? And what motivates you to do so?

My commitment is based on music and art. I use that as a tool to spread awareness about Ukraine and I do it because I deeply-deeply care about my country and want to help it with the skills I have. I raise funds for humanitarian help in my [home country] and showcase our culture abroad. My main motivation is this incredible passion I have [for] my home. I genuinely love and miss my home and want to do whatever is in my power to help it and to help people who still live there.

4. What tips do you have for someone who wants to get socially engaged in Berlin or their hometown?

[My] main tip is – only do it if you actually care. If there’s no little fire inside of you that drives you to keep going, it won’t work. More on the practical side of this question my answer would be – look for communities to get involved with. It’s quite hard to start something by yourself, so maybe look for an existing organization that is socially engaged within your zone of interest and try to get involved with them or get in touch and ask questions on how to start.

Stay tuned for more interesting posts from our scholarship recipients and graduates on the topic of “Social Commitment” in the blog series “So, what is social commitment for you?”