OK TOWN, a Sumy startup, is helping to develop the tourism industry in regional centers and small towns with the support of a program funded by the European Union.

The big goal of local tourism.

OK TOWN, a Sumy startup, is helping to develop the tourism industry in regional centers and small towns with the support of a program funded by the European Union.

There is probably no one who does not dream of a vacation. OK TOWN, a Sumy-based startup for finding vacations , is not standing still. OK TOWN differs from many others in its love and respect for its tourists and its city, if you dream of giving yourself new sensations or returning to your favorite places, then you should visit OKTOWN.com.ua.

OK TOWN is a new optimized marketplace for finding services in the field of local tourism and recreation. The goal of the product is to create a new method of advertising tourism and recreation services in the city.

House of Europe is a program funded by the European Union to support professional and creative exchange between Ukrainians and their counterparts in the EU.

The Goethe-Institut in Ukraine manages the House of Europe program. The British Council, the French Institute and the Czech Centers are partners of the project consortium.

Goethe-Institut is a worldwide network of cultural centers of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Hackathon 2.0 by House of Europe, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, and Digitizing.Space took place over three days (July 16-18). Hackathon 2021 (July 16-18) is 48 intensive hours online + cool people and teams + ideas and solutions + mentors + active interaction = breakthrough ideas ready for implementation. 103 teams registered for the event, which together included more than 1000 participants from different parts of our country. For three days, they developed their ideas under the guidance of 78 mentors.

The OK TOWN team received a grant at the Hack the Culture 2.0 Hackathon.

Why did OK TOWN come up with the most interesting ideas with high potential? OK TOWN focuses on all regional centers and even small towns. They have a lot of historical heritage, a large number of excursions, and the opportunity to go camping and other types of recreation. In this way, we want to activate local tourism throughout Ukraine." They developed a demo version of an online audio tour for a mobile application for the city of Sambir, Lviv region, in response to the tourism crisis caused by COVID-19. Thanks to mentors and participants who joined the event, the team developed and presented their project to the judges.

This means that any tourist will be able to buy an online tour and take a tour to hear about various sights and places.

At the Hackathon, the team was completed in a few days, and the team is headed by Olena Kasyan (Sumy State University, Advertising and Public Relations, Public Administration and Management), Artem Rudychenko (student of Sumy State University, Accounting and Taxation), Yanina Grechikhina (KNUTE, Hotel and Restaurant Business) and Oleksandra Mazurkevycha (Sumy State University, Telecommunications).

During the Hackathon 2.0, Victoria Godik from Kyiv joined the OK TOWN team. Victoria has extensive experience in both formal and non-formal education, innovation, sustainable development, and youth work. She participates and manages educational, cultural, social and charitable projects in Ukraine and abroad.

At the moment, the OK TOWN team is still being staffed and is ready to accept specialists with a desire to help and discover new professional opportunities. The team also has a public relations department headed by Marina Sadymaka and Anna Mitrofanova, students of Sumy State University majoring in advertising and public relations.

Authors of the article: Sadymaka Marina

Mitrofanova Anna