Women of all ages and backgrounds have often been left without support as a result of the Russian invasion, having to cope with supply shortages, caring for children and/or elderly relatives, organizing refugee reception centers, and much more. Putin’s war has spawned a wave of civic engagement and self-organization, carried primarily on women’s shoulders. But their political representation is still too low, despite quotas on electoral lists and growing social acceptance of the role of women in driving policy change.
“She Can” – Empowering Women in Ukrainian Communities
Target audience
Women local politicians in Germany and Ukraine
Partner
Supported by the Federal Foreign Office
Period
2023
Funded by
Building a German-Ukrainian network
“She Can”, an initiative launched in June 2023, aims to weave together a German-Ukrainian network featuring mayoresses, local politicians and policymakers. In addition, the plan with this initiative is to strengthen and further train local civil society activists working in the fields of education, humanitarian aid and local government, as well as other politically engaged women from different regions of Ukraine, with a view to getting them democratically elected to a variety of positions. The network will also be gradually opened up to a wider public, with women in politics becoming ever more visible and influential and with a particular focus on involving young people as a target group.
Municipal partnerships
Support for Ukrainians affected by the ongoing invasion has increasingly come from German municipalities that already had civil society or twinning contacts with Ukrainian towns and municipalities. The focus of the project is therefore to strengthen existing partnerships between German and Ukrainian municipalities and to initiate new solidarity-oriented and municipal partnerships between Ukrainian and German towns and regions.
Together for Democracy
For over 18 months (as of fall 2023), EAF Berlin has been involved in supporting, promoting and networking women active in local politics in Ukraine, most recently in the project “Together for Democracy”. After all, the municipalities are the wartime control centers for supply and represent priceless hubs for reconstructing communities at the local level. Many women are working on this civil-society front, as fighters, carers and decision-makers.
“She Can” is a cooperative project between Austausch e.V. and the EAF; other partners are the organizations “Dialogue for Understanding” (D4U), and AEPD.
Contact
