#001 — Launching Ukrainian IT Community from scratch
Date: May 15, 2026 | 20:00 London / 22:00 Kyiv
Format: Solo · ~40 min
YouTube: youtube.com/live/wht8lf-h9N8
Key Takeaways
- Launching an online community for Ukrainian IT professionals worldwide
- Idea grew from Zengineers.Community — weekly Thursday meetups in Zaporizhzhia (2017–2021)
- After 2022 the community scattered globally, old connections broke — this project fills that void
- Format: every Friday, 20:00 London / 22:00 Kyiv, ~40 min
- IT is not only code: career, relocation, burnout — equally important topics
- Community name vote — winner: ІТ П'ятниця (>50% of votes). Candidates: Friday DevPub · Свої в ІТ · DevPub · May the Friday be with you · Placeholder
Host
Oleh Levchenko — Senior Full Stack JavaScript Developer (React / Node.js / AWS)
The AA · Cardiff, UK
YouTube @zloyleva · itfriday.community
7+ years in web development. Founder of IT Friday and Zengineers.Community (Zaporizhzhia, 2017–2021).
Timecodes
- 00:00 — Intro: the first IT community stream, meeting Oleh
- 01:31 — About the host: JavaScript Fullstack developer, React/Node/TypeScript/Nest stack
- 06:52 — Start of the IT journey: 2017, leaving the automotive industry
- 08:29 — Edison Space — first encounter with the IT community in Zaporizhzhia
- 12:56 — Z Engineers Community — the Zaporizhzhia IT meetup group and its activities
- 21:09 — The power of talks: how speaking at meetups accelerates learning
- 31:20 — Covid, community breakup, the war — why the live community disappeared
- 37:24 — The idea of revival: why an online IT community is needed today
- 41:06 — Stream format: technical deep-dives, live coding, interviews, news
- 46:35 — Communication channels: Telegram and Discord for the community
- 51:29 — Community name vote and organizational details
- 54:04 — How to join: subscribe, hit the bell, Friday schedule at 22:00 Kyiv time
- 55:54 — Why it's worth being a speaker: communication skills, confidence, LinkedIn
- 01:17:51 — How beginners can become frontend developers: projects, demos, feedback
- 01:26:48 — Wrap-up of the first stream and the official community launch