How a producer from Novy сhannel became the director of a public organization to reform school physical education classes, and what came out of it — an interview with the founder of JuniorS, Maria Pavlichuk, for HMH.
— What was your professional journey before JuniorS?
— I worked at Novy channel for 18 years — first as an administrator, then as a producer. I loved it very much and thought I would work there forever, with no desire for change. But I believe that a public figure cannot exist without making a social contribution. I dreamed of combining children and sports, and I wanted Oleksandr Pedan to be involved because children adored him. However, he told me that I also had to jump into this project. At that time, everything was going great for me — Novy channel, producing, working on great shows like Revizor and Pride of the Country… Why would I want any changes? And now, it’s unclear whose project this is more — mine or Pedan’s. Because, for me, this is now a 24/7 job.
For a while, I kept asking myself, what is my story here? But I found it quite quickly. I’ve always loved children. I remember when we were graduating from kindergarten, everyone was asked what they wanted to become. And I wanted to be someone who takes care of children. At the age of 7, I knew that the most influential person who could manage a large group of children was the kindergarten director. So, I said that I wanted to become one. Everyone was thrilled, they gave me flowers, and the director even cried. By the way, my children now attend that same kindergarten. And when I started working at JuniorS, I realized this is my calling. That’s why I absolutely enjoy what I do.
— Tell us more about the combination of children and sports. What did it mean to you at the beginning of creating the JuniorS organization?
— At JuniorS, we don’t take the word “sport” literally as a path to the Olympics. For us, sport means active games and, above all, an active childhood, like in the days when there were no gadgets, no war, no COVID, and all the other things. When children played in the yard and developed through movement.
For me, the main goal of our organization is to fight for the space for childhood.
Although our initial mission was to make school physical education lessons interesting and accessible. So that children wouldn’t “forget” their gym clothes, and parents wouldn’t buy them fake medical notes. On the contrary, we want children to say, “Cool, it’s PE today!”
The foundation of our public organization is a community of physical education teachers from all over Ukraine. There are more than 400 JuniorS teachers who share our values and implement the new model program in schools. These teachers range in age from 20 to 60+. Our core team consists of about 15 people (it’s gradually growing), and our network of trainers working with us includes over 100 people.
— How has the full-scale invasion changed the direction of your activities?
— We started thinking about how to care not only for the physical but also the psychological well-being of children. All our current projects are aimed at reducing children’s anxiety. Additionally, the war has expanded our team and, in a way, decentralized it. We have few people in Kyiv, our team is scattered across different parts of the country — Lviv, Kovel, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa etc. I realized back when I worked in television that people in Kyiv often lag behind, while the regions are much more enthusiastic.
— Do you communicate with the Ministry of Education and Science?
— Yes, in the early years of our existence, we signed a memorandum with the Ministry of Education and Science, stating that we would change the physical education program. It took 4 years. But it turned out that half of the physical education teachers still don’t know that the program has changed! This involves working in the regions, specifically with each mayor, education chief, and school director. It’s a multi-layered process where every level is important. I even joke that we’ve accumulated a lot of memorandums. They keep coming at us from all sides (laughs)! We have memorandums with schools, local authorities, governors, ministries, and businesses.
— Who are your main partners?
— As people from television, we immediately turned to the business sector. The first one was “Morshynska”. It was a great story. We came in and said, “Let’s do something together”. They responded, “We’ll think about it”. But that answer didn’t sound promising. However, after some time, they told us, “Okay, let’s work together. But your logo is awful. If we work on it, we’re ready to collaborate, create a JuniorS bottle, and pay you 2% royalties for the development of school sports”. This collaboration still exists today.
We also work closely with UNICEF. And we have a very unconventional partnership with “Ukrzaliznytsia”. They are probably the only ones with whom we don’t have a signed memorandum (laughs) because their head hates memorandums. He says they are a hindrance to work. In 2022, we jointly created a temporary shelter for people who had lost their homes.
Perhaps the thing we’re most proud of is the JuniorS sports zone at the central train station in Kyiv, within the large children’s area called Iron Land. It’s designed according to our principles — a child must have a choice. This also applies to physical education lessons — each lesson should offer at least three different sports to choose from.
Among interesting collaborations, I can mention “Nova Poshta”. Since 2019, we’ve been involved in their half-marathons for adults, but with children’s races. Kids run, for example, 100 meters or 500 meters, depending on their age, and each of them receives a medal. My younger son still has those medals hanging above his bed. This award is important because it means that everyone is a winner, as we win against ourselves every day. It provides motivation to move forward in both life and sports.
Because now I’m thinking about how to help children understand that failure is not the end.
— What challenges do you face when implementing your projects?
— I recently answered this question at a forum in front of young people. There were many speakers from different Kyiv organizations and youth from regional communities. And these speakers started, one after another, saying that they didn’t face any difficulties, “we solve everything without problems, everything is fine — with the authorities, with this, with that…”. And after the third speaker, I saw in the eyes of the youth, “okay, we’re worthless if we don’t succeed on the first try.” So I took the microphone and shared that when we started JuniorS, there was absolutely nothing decent. We were kicked out of offices and not taken seriously (even despite the media presence of Pedan).
Our current challenge is our main product with which we want to be associated in educational institutions. It’s the JuniorS club. So, we are gradually transitioning from a purely public organization to a social business. Parents cover half of the cost of club activities, and for the remaining funding, we need to find a social investor.
— Overall, what are your funding sources?
— During the war, they shifted more towards foreign funds. But we want to redirect them towards Ukrainian businesses.
— What are your plans for the future?
— To expand the network of JuniorS clubs. This is our current priority.
— You mentioned that you regularly engage in physical activity yourself. What types of activities do you do?
— I can’t boast like Sasha Pedan with wakeboarding, kitesurfing, climbing Mont Blanc, and so on. I prefer something more grounded — badminton, squash. I also enjoy fly yoga. And overall, I notice that through each type of sport, you can develop new qualities in yourself because new neural connections are formed.
— What is your favorite book?
— Right now, it’s a book given to me by a board member of “Ukrzaliznytsia,” written by my acquaintance Marichka Paplauskaitė, “The Train Arrives on Schedule.” It’s a book that makes me weep.
— Who inspires you?
— Patriots of my country who, despite their fatigue, continue to do something for victory. It’s not just the military — it’s also teachers, volunteers, ministers, and their deputies. There are many of them right now.
