In August 2025, KiNO delivered a unique educational initiative with the support of Svitlo School and the Canon Young People Programme.

‍

Svitlo School develops educational programmes through which outstanding students are given the opportunity to travel from Ukraine to the UK to take part in Summer Schools free of charge. Beyond their educational mission, these programmes offer participants a rare experience of everyday life without war, without power outages, without air raid sirens, and with the possibility to travel calmly and safely.

One of the distinctive aspects of this initiative was that some of the participating students had previously taken part in KiNO’s online programmes and, over the years of study, had achieved significant results. For example, Alina Kurila, whose films have received awards at film festivals. For this reason, meeting in person after three years of online learning became an important and symbolic moment.

This year, a street photography workshop was organised for ten students. Its aim was to inspire participants to create distinctive and original images, explore unconventional perspectives, and work with more complex compositions. Following the lecture session, a three-hour photowalk took place in the Paddington and Maida Vale areas, followed by a group review and detailed analysis of the resulting works.

Afterwards, the cameras were left with the students for one week. During this time, they explored different areas of London and also travelled to Bath and Oxford. At the end of the week, we met online again to review and discuss the photographs they had taken.

Workshops of this kind provide participants with the opportunity to work with professional equipment, engage with a new environment, and experience their surroundings from a different perspective. Using a camera helps draw attention to details that might otherwise go unnoticed and, equally importantly, fosters a sense of connection and mutual support within a community of like-minded peers.

Photos by:

Аліна Курило 

Anastasiia Shumilova

Anna Melnyk

Дар'яна Шеверова 

Iryna Kasylova

Kseniia Fomina

Oleksandra Vasylenko

Соломія Сурмач 

Viktoriia Serhiichuk

Yelizavieta Cherneha

Backstage: Zoe Ruter

‍