Together for Democracy

#StandwithUkrainianWomen: In this German-Ukrainian project, EAF Berlin collaborated with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung to work with women involved in local and gender equality policy in Eastern Ukraine. The goal was to strengthen the participants in their political and personal engagement and to support them in contributing competently to the development of democratic structures and a stable, peaceful coexistence at the local level. Through networking, increasing visibility, and exchanging information and experience with German women's networks and local actors, the project aimed to encourage and recruit more women for local political engagement.

In cooperation with four local partners, EAF developed a training tool for the target groups mentioned. The qualified and committed Eastern Ukrainian partners, who bring organizational and project experience from politics, media, civil society, and academia, were tasked with supporting the project on the ground and acting as cultural mediators and points of contact.

The project launched in the fall of 2021 with a five-day contact trip through Eastern Ukraine. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine changed its direction. Overnight, it transformed into an emergency aid program. Since then, it has advocated politically for support for Ukraine and, above all, provided practical help for the project partners on the ground. The relationships have deepened over the course of the project. We hold regular online meetings with our Ukrainian partners to discuss current needs and collaborate on content in online workshops. Together, we have organized conferences and three delegation trips to Berlin. We have collected donations and forwarded them to those responsible on the ground. Through our regular #StandwithUkrainianWomen newsletters, we provide a platform for the experiences and perspectives of our partners.

A first delegation of four project partners visited Berlin for a working visit at the end of July/beginning of August 2022. At the end of October/beginning of November, a larger delegation of local and women politicians from Eastern and Southern Ukraine came to Berlin and Dresden. At the end of February 2023, a 5-person delegation traveled to Berlin. These visits always focus on the current situation in Ukraine and the various needs in the guests' municipalities and regions. Currently, the focus is on establishing town twinning arrangements for smaller municipalities in Ukraine, initiating cooperation in the health and higher education sectors, and developing cultural projects.

Our project partners are qualified and committed women from Eastern Ukraine who bring organizational and project experience from politics, media, civil society, and academia.

We want to give a voice to those in Ukraine. Through close and regular contact with our partners, we gain personal and moving insights into their daily lives during the war. They report to us on their activities in maintaining public order and defending the country.

You can get an impression in this presentation by our project partner Natalyia Deliyeva

In the spring and December of 2022, EAF Berlin launched fundraising campaigns to support cities and municipalities in southeastern Ukraine in equipping shelters—so-called "warmth points"—for the population during gas, electricity, and water outages, and in providing for internally displaced persons. With a total of approximately 50,000 euros in donations, the women's organization Smarta was able to distribute hygiene products for women and girls and children's toys in Kramatorsk, and beds and mattresses were purchased for the Dnipro State University. In Odesa, the women's organization Diya helped improve basic medical care for children in the embattled city of Mykolaiv.

On this project page, we provide regular updates on the current situation and the progress of our support projects. In our special newsletter, #StandwithUkrainianWomen, we share reports from the field, updates on the situation of our partners in Ukraine, and give them a platform to share their own stories.

You can sign up for this newsletter here.

The project ended in February 2023. For now. We firmly believe that the connections we have forged, the trust and solidarity we have built, and the experiences and expertise we have exchanged will continue. Future collaborations are already in the works: for instance, a lecture series has been agreed upon between the University of Customs and Finance in Dnipro and the University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration in Meißen, Saxony, which will begin in the coming semester. This partnership was facilitated by the Vice-Rector of the University of Dnipro, Irina Gritsay, one of our project partners from the very beginning. Yuliia Siedaia, an expert in health and gender issues, will initiate a professional exchange between the Charité University Hospital in Berlin and hospitals in her hometown of Kharkiv. We have also committed to helping several female mayors and community leaders in eastern and southern Ukraine find partner municipalities in Germany. In this effort, we are relying on the support of the Association of German Cities and the network of female local politicians from the Helene Weber College.