{"id":54410,"date":"2017-10-12T17:13:29","date_gmt":"2017-10-12T14:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.ldaily.ua\/?p=54410"},"modified":"2020-03-19T10:58:35","modified_gmt":"2020-03-19T08:58:35","slug":"za-shist-misyacziv-do-bosforu-ya-vzagali-ne-vmila-plavaty-krolem","status":"publish","type":"interviews","link":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/interviews\/za-shist-misyacziv-do-bosforu-ya-vzagali-ne-vmila-plavaty-krolem\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSix months before the Bosphorus I did not know how to swim the crawl\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

About the new reformers of Ukraine, the amazing projects that make daily life better, the way to victory in the length of the Bosphorus, about traveling, friendship, inspiration \u2013 all that is in the life-affirming interview of the head of the local economic development program of WNISEF Irina Ozimok <\/strong>specially for\u00a0LDaily<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always looking for a wow effect in my life. But in fact it is a bad trait, because when everything is not perfect, I get very upset\u201d \u2013 our heroine shares with us. In search of her desired wow affect Irina Ozimok helps smart dreamers to turn the world around to the better every day, she shows the youth that it is possible to create mobile applications that solve specific problems, collect city heads and charge them with perseverance to create changes \u2026 But this is not enough for Irina, because she aspires to \u201cdo more and better from what you can.\u201d And being in the team of LIVE.LOVE she has already overcame her first Bosphorus. Sometimes it becomes very frightening for her; it seems that she will get a leg cramps. But the fear decreases. She learned to overcome it thanks to a whole team of \u201cinsane brave souls,\u201d the invisible support of loving parents and worried friends. That\u2019s real wow! What more to do?<\/p>\n

Such work \u2013 to change the world\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

LDaily<\/span>:\u00a0Irina, tell us about your activities, what are you currently working on?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. Ozimok:<\/strong>\u00a0I have the honor to be the head of the local economic development program at the Western NIS Enterprise Fund, which introduces technical assistance in Ukraine today with the support, in particular, for the development of innovation and entrepreneurship. Now we support a number of projects that help us invest in people, some agents of change who live and work in Ukraine. First, the work of the fund was planned until 2018, now it was extended until 2023. Our budget is 35 million dollars.<\/p>\n

LDaily<\/span>:\u00a0Give examples of successful projects of the Foundation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. Ozimok:<\/strong>\u00a0When I started here, we supported the ProZorro public procurement system which is known today. Then, at the start, we became the first one who financed this system. By the way, today ProZorro shows a saving of UAH 31 billion in the budget.<\/p>\n

As part of the local economic development program, we are working on a number of projects that somehow contribute to the development of urban ecosystems. We are also the organizers of the International Mayors Summit, where city heads and an active community from different parts of Ukraine can get acquainted with the world\u2019s leading practices and analyze their own achievements and positive changes in other cities.<\/p>\n

Another interesting project is the school of urbanistics CANactions, where the foreign mentors are involved in. The school is designed for young people, activists, who want to work and work in the departments of urban planning and architecture. And the accompanying program \u201cActivate your dream\u201d helps active and courageous citizens get microfinance (up to $ 5,000) in order to make an urban transformation in their own city, involving business and local authorities. By the way, in the School of Urban Studies has already about 80 graduates, many of them moved to other cities to implement changes there.<\/p>\n

All our programs have a great social impact. They give Ukrainian tools in order to make life better in those spheres, where they work in<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

LDaily<\/span>:<\/strong>\u00a0Is there any feedback from abroad on the results of the Foundation\u2019s work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. Ozimok:<\/strong>\u00a0Again I will return to ProZorro, which was the biggest success. The New York Times wrote about it, the Washington Post and other authoritative publications. It received prestigious awards in London and Paris. Success and recognition contributed to the further development of this project. Now ProZorro is going to enter the international level. The first results are already seen. For example, recently we went to Moldavia, where we signed a memorandum with the Minister of Finance of the country. The Moldavian version of the program is called MTender, but it is a prototype of ProZorro and even its developers are Ukrainians.<\/p>\n

LDaily<\/span>:\u00a0Does WNISEF Foundation have the ultimate goal?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. Ozimok:<\/strong>\u00a0Firstly, we give people the belief that they CAN. Secondly, the tools for implementing their ideas. And the super-goal of our fund is, of course, positive changes in Ukraine. We want to create a fashion for an intelligent product and responsible leadership, the methods of work, because one of the key ways to change is education.<\/p>\n

We think it\u2019s much more useful to give knowledge to people, not money. So most of our projects are built on co-financing<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

LDaily<\/span>:\u00a0What forced you to take part in the program of local economic development?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. Ozimok:<\/strong>\u00a0I was not forced, I agreed with a pleasure. During my career, I worked on many projects.This is both work in the analytical center, and in the French Ministry of Finance, and European integration projects funded by the EU. However, everywhere my work had an advisory nature and ended with a pile of papers, recommendations, white books, which were then postponed and said \u201cin our realities this is impossible to implement.\u201d Western NIS Enterprise Fund has become a more logical transition from theoretical changes to practice. Working here is an opportunity to make real changes with not so much money, because we do not finance anything that ends up with papers.<\/p>\n

For example, the Foundation issued a social loan for the start-up Pizza Veterano, which was opened by the guys who returned from the anti-terror operations. The second example is \u201cNut House\u201d, a bakery in Lviv, where they produce extremely delicious cookies. The bakery is also a rehabilitation center for women who became victims of domestic violence, went through difficult life situations. These ladies work in a bakery, receive counseling assistance from psychologists and generally learn to live a new life. And there are many such examples!<\/p>\n

LDaily<\/span>:<\/strong>\u00a0If you had the opportunity, would you like to move to another country?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. Ozimok:<\/strong>\u00a0My old dream was the UK, London. But after the Maidan started, this idea has disappeared, because in Ukraine the approach to entrepreneurship and reform has changed. It has become a country of possibilities. I think it\u2019s very sad to live all my life in one place, if all borders are open, but now I feel that Ukraine needs me, as I need it.<\/p>\n

Project LIVE.LOVE Swim<\/strong><\/p>\n

LDaily<\/span>:<\/strong>\u00a0Irina, how did you end up in LIVE.LOVE?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I.Ozimok:<\/strong>\u00a0I always wanted to learn swimming. I went to the pool, but it did not work. I still felt insecure in the water. I have heard about two-month swim challenge from my friend. At first I thought that for a person who cannot learn swimming, this is a senseless adventure. But then for the sake of interest I decided to take part in at least a few classes. The first training days were horrible, I drank so much water from the pool, I smelled it for the whole days. But I did not quit. A huge role was played by our talented star coaches Oleg Lisogor and Vlasta Shovkovskaya, people who became my friends, with whom I went to the pool at six in the morning and, of course, the the goal \u2013 somehow, but still swim a distance of 1 km.<\/p>\n

LDaily<\/span>:\u00a0What emotions do you experience while swimming?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. Ozimok:<\/strong>\u00a0This is a solid buzz, complete relaxation (smiling). I used to think that I look stupid in the water, but now I\u2019m confident and I know that I can become someone else\u2019s opponent, and overtake another swimmer (also an amateur).<\/p>\n

S&B model<\/strong><\/p>\n

LDaily<\/span>:\u00a0What has changed in your character after LIVE.LOVE? Have you become a more categorical leader?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. Ozimok:<\/strong>\u00a0Swimming made me learn to control my thoughts, I learned to influence my body with thoughts (yes, it is quite possible!). I began to work better in the team, feel even greater responsibility for the overall result.<\/p>\n

The project LIVE.LOVE proved to me that you cannot postpone your dream to 33 years. If there is something that rules you, practice it now!<\/p>\n

I am categorical, but this is an important character trait for my work, because almost every day I have to refuse to people. The main criterion for refusal for me is the insincerity of those who are being submitted for the grant, and the lack of benefits for society. It should be noted that the sport trains the ability to understand people; because you need to know which team you can rely on in difficult times, and who should not be trusted.<\/p>\n

LDaily<\/span>:<\/strong>\u00a0Do you plan to continue the program LIVE.LOVE?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. Ozimok:<\/strong>\u00a0I definitely will continue to swim, but now I will choose the program depending on the purpose that I personally need. For example, recently during a trip to Italy I visited an amazing lake Garda. It turned out that you can also swim there. I think this is a great location for a sport purpose. And next year I have the Bosphorus, the 30th jubilee championship. It\u2019ll be cool!<\/p>\n

Inspiration<\/strong><\/p>\n

LDaily<\/span>:\u00a0What inspires you in life except sport?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. Ozimok:<\/strong>\u00a0My most powerful drug is traveling. I\u2019m an active traveler, and I like to travel around Ukraine. Formerly I even had a Facebook page in English, where I was telling to the foreigners about the amazing places in our country. I\u2019m inspired by dreams and the prospect of realizing them, for example, there was a project that seemed quite unreal \u2026 and now it\u2019s over.<\/p>\n

But most of all I\u2019m inspired by people. I learn more from them than from books!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":114498,"template":"","issues":[],"interviewstag":[368,616],"class_list":["post-54410","interviews","type-interviews","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","interviewstag-wnisef","interviewstag-yryna-ozymok"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/interviews\/54410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/interviews"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/interviews"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"issues","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issues?post=54410"},{"taxonomy":"interviewstag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/interviewstag?post=54410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}