The project “Ancient and Modern Ukraine: The Songs and the People. Sharing experience in promoting traditional culture” was completed in 2008 by the Panorama of Cultures Association in partnership with the Swicza Association based in Równe. It was part of the Region in Transition (RITA) programme launched by the Polish-American Freedom Foundation. The project co-ordinator was Jagna Knittel.

 
Traditional music is now degraded and rejected in its natural rural environment. It is gradually dying along with the last generation of its performers - we are the last generation that can enjoy it firsthand and act to re-evaluate and preserve it. This heritage has great artistic and historical value, but it can also serve as an important reference point in the process of reconstructing the identity and sense of dignity of local communities. Together with our Ukrainian partners, we want to save it from oblivion and raise its status by raising the prestige of traditional music performers, both in their rural communities and in a broader context of cultural life.   

 
The project involved people who document and perform traditional rural music in Poland and Ukraine, rural communities in Ukraine and a wider cultural audience in Ukraine and Poland.

 
The aim was to establish a Polish-Ukrainian partnership and share Polish experiences in promoting the celebration of local heritage. The project focused on joint efforts to re-evaluate and promote the local heritage of the borderlands, mostly traditional rural music, both in its local environment and among a wider audience in Poland and Ukraine.

The project involved an expedition to document the most interesting rural performers of traditional music, two concerts in local communities, the shooting of a film entitled The Songs I'm Looking For (Takich pieśni sobie szukam), the release of a DVD with this film and recordings of songs from the villages of Stari Koni and Perebrody and a photo exhibition celebrating the authentic traditional culture of Polesie.

The materials were presented at 3 multicultural seminars in Równe, Lublin and Warsaw and at many cultural centres dedicated to the promotion of local heritage.

The second instalment of the project, “Meetings in Polesie: Ancient Songs in the Modern World. Engaging local communities,” was launched in July 2009. As in 2008, Polish and Ukrainian participants staged two concerts in the Polesie villages of Swarycewycze and Zeleń and shot a film about Swarycewycze.