Oleksandra Koltsova, singer and frontwoman of the band Kryhitka, received the Aspen Institute Kyiv award for the development of a culture of dialogue

The Aspen Institute Kyiv annually honors community members who have demonstrated value-based leadership. This year, Oleksandra Koltsova, singer and frontwoman of the band Kryhitka and alumna of the seminar “Responsible Leadership”—16, received the award for developing a culture of dialogue.

During the full-scale invasion, Oleksandra, among other activities, promotes Ukrainian culture on social media and during her performances at various events. The artist believes it is necessary to work for different audiences, outside and inside.

Oleksandra points out that at this stage, many important cultural projects, programs, and products strengthen Ukraine’s positioning and enhance society’s resilience. However, we need to consider new directions for popularizing culture, which Oleksandra outlined in one of her speeches:

• Returning cultural figures and works that are not known to the younger generation to the public discourse;
• Creating Ukrainian-language content for children that could compete with Russian and English-language content;
• Following the example of Iceland or Japan, developing a state program to support music in secondary and higher education institutions.

“We need to understand that identity is culture. There is nothing more essential than taking back the youth and the minds of our people from other cultures,” the singer emphasizes.

Additionally, Oleksandra regularly raises other socially influential topics on social media and cooperates with the Leleka Foundation and Come Back Alive charity foundations.

We thank Oleksandra for raising important issues and encouraging a broader conversation.