The “HOVORY” Project Launches in Lviv Schools

Since October, a safety button called “HOVORY” has appeared in the digital student diary of every school in Lviv. Children can use this button in case of a problem to confidentially report incidents of bullying, harassment, violence, or verbal and physical abuse. This initiative is part of the broader child protection project “HOVORY.”

“This allows us to respond quickly and effectively to cases of bullying and inappropriate behavior toward children — not only between teachers and students, but also among students themselves. A child cannot always speak openly about such issues. The fact that the request is confidential gives every child the courage to reach out. There is already a clear mechanism in place for how schools respond,” said Andrii Zakaliuk, Director of the Department of Education and Culture of the Lviv City Council.

By clicking the button in their online diary, students can describe what is troubling them. The school principal, the designated school safety officer, and the Department for Education Development receive the report.

“The school safety officer role is a new position introduced in all Lviv schools in September. Together with school leadership, the safety officer must resolve the situation in such a way that the child later confirms in the system that the issue has been resolved. At the same time, all reports are also sent to the Department for Education Development, where the data is collected and analyzed,” explained Khrystyna Shabat, Head of the Child Dignity Center at UCU..

This system enables local authorities to analyze trends and see which issues occur most often in schools and how effectively administrations respond to them. As part of the project, all students can complete the online course “Your Safety at School,” while class teachers can use interactive lesson materials developed by the Child Dignity Center.

According to Khrystyna Berezhanska, Principal of School No. 31 in Lviv, during the pilot phase, the school received no reports: “Of course, we hope this button will never be used. But even more, we hope to see many happy children, our future. Every teacher spoke with students, and the children shared what truly concerns them.”.

The “HOVORY” project goes beyond education. It builds a system for protection against bullying and violence, establishes safety standards, and teaches both children and adults how to act in difficult situations. In the future, the project aims to expand into other sectors working with children — including sports, healthcare, transportation, culture, and more. Its goal is to help cities and institutions become more child-friendly and safe.

“This is extremely important for the city. It is symbolic and powerful that this initiative began in Lviv. It started with four pilot schools — now it includes all schools in the Lviv community. I believe it will become a model for schools across Ukraine,” said Iryna Kulyanych, Deputy Mayor of Lviv for Humanitarian Affairs.

The organizers plan to scale the project to other regions of Ukraine.

The complete news story is available in video format.