#WomenRebuildingUA

Oksana Khymych is a researcher at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. With over 18 years of experience in finance, entrepreneurship, and startup development, she is passionate about fostering resilient business ecosystems, particularly during times of crisis.Oksana Khymych:If I could bring one thing from the Netherlands to help rebuild Ukraine, it would be its strong culture of entrepreneurship and innovation-driven cooperation.While in the Netherlands, I saw how well-structured entrepreneurial ecosystems - supported by universities, incubators, and government initiatives – can drive sustainable economic growth. Inspired by this model, I am dedicated to exploring how entrepreneurship, particularly in creative and crisis-affected sectors, can contribute to Ukraine’s economic resilience and recovery.To advance this mission, I am eager to collaborate with researchers, policymakers, and organizations that share the vision of a strong, innovation-led post-war economy in Ukraine.Dear Oksana, many thanks for participating in our project!

Today we present the short story and answer of our co-founder, professor Olena Sinkevych:Before the war and now:When the war began, I was the professor Professor at the Department of Constitutional Law at Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv, Ukraine. Since 2022 I live between Ukraine and France, creating the safest environment for my children I can.Bridging Two Worlds: citizen participation in local self-government.In France, mechanisms such as participatory budgeting, local councils and public consultations allow citizens to directly influence municipal decisions and ensure that policies reflect the real needs of the community. This active citizen participation strengthens democracy at the local level and fosters trust between authorities and society. The people really shape the reality around them, transforming it thanks to the local authorities. And they volunteer a lot!Inspired by this model, I co-founded the Étude Académique des Droits de l'Homme et du Constitutionnalisme, an initiative that explores how…

The colleague I personally admire, professor Yuliia Leheza, who now works as a researcher in one of German universities, replies to the question of our project: What would they like to "bring back" from Germany to help rebuild Ukraine? As a federal country, Germany has a highly developed system of local self-government. The experience to be implemented in Ukraine is the experience of decentralisation of the energy system, which requires the preparation of an appropriate legislative framework. Follow Professor Leheza's news to read more about her research in this area.

All the founders of our NGO will speak - and I will start. Dr. Natalia Mishyna I left Ukraine in 2022 and now I'm living in France. If I could borrow one thing from France to help rebuild Ukraine, it would be the culture of associations. There were so many that supported me and warmed my heart here - les Restos du Cœur, Promo Ukraine, SAU, also Fidelio Association, which supports the Opera du Rhine (my great love is opera and I am happy to be part of the opera life in Strasbourg and to learn more). This association - Etude Académique des Droits de L'Homme et du Constitutionnalisme - is inspired by my sheer admiration of how associations (and French people through them) make life better every day!

While we are doing paperwork and prepare the web-site, I start the project I was thinking of for about a year. Women rebuilding Ukraine with European inspiration - #WomenRebuildingUA This project gives a voice to Ukrainian women who had to leave their country because of the war. Now living in different EU Member States, they are experiencing life in stable and well-organised societies. They work, study, raise children and observe what makes these countries strong and prosperous. They know what could help rebuild Ukraine when they return home. We are collecting their stories, ideas and insights. What would they like to "bring back" from European countries to help rebuild Ukraine? It could be education systems, health care models, social policies, urban planning, women's rights, or even small but powerful everyday practices. Women have a crucial role to play in rebuilding societies. Their experiences across the EU can inspire solutions for…