WHO ARE WE?
Our story
Veteran Diplomacy Club “Ambassador”
In 2017, the project team filmed two documentaries about women at war: “Invisible Battalion” and “No obvious signs”. The films premiered on national channels, followed by more than a hundred screenings across the country. The films took the Leipzig Film Festival’s award and the award from the DocuDays International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Kyiv, as well as the Ukrainian Helsinki Association award. The documentaries were also presented at the Security Council of Europe, the Parliaments of Canada and the United Kingdom, and in several dozen cities around the world, from Chicago to Shanghai. Viewing and discussing the documentaries with veteran women drew significant attention to the issue of Russia’s war against Ukraine at the international level opening up a dialogue outside the official language of politicians, eliminating Russian media manipulations.
Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement.
In order to strengthen, protect, and support women veterans, the team has initiated the Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement. In the spring of 2018, the creation of the Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement began; during that time, 9 women veteran gatherings took place. A number of educational workshops and facilitation sessions were held for women veterans from all over Ukraine; memorial alleys honoring the fallen women veterans were planted, and more than 40 women were provided with permanent psychological assistance. During the creation of the Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement, the “Veteran Travels” volunteer initiative gave more than 70 women veterans with families the opportunity to spend a vacation in various European countries.
NGO “Institute of Gender Programs”
The project is run by the NGO “Institute of Gender Programs”. The organization was established in 2016, implementing civil rights and advocacy projects as one of the key institutions for the development and support of civic democratic processes.
The mission of the NGO “Institute of Gender Programs” is developing democratic values, ensuring the achievement of gender equality in Ukraine, strengthening the position of women in the modern Ukrainian society, assisting women veterans in their re-integration and social adjustment in order to engage them in peace building and restoration processes in Ukraine.
The project's main tasks and lines of effort are:
promoting legislative changes that guarantee women equal rights and opportunities in Ukraine, in particular, in the security and defense sector; advocacy for gender equality and women’s rights, research and analysis of women’s gender equality in society in general and in law enforcement agencies and the Armed Forces in particular;
education aimed at forming a new awareness mindset, informal education in the field of gender equality; strengthening women veterans through education in the rule of law, human rights, advocacy and the establishment of a peer-to-peer support network;
studying international experience, especially the experience of the NATO and post-Soviet countries that have succeeded in integrating women into law enforcement and the Armed Forces, and applying best practices in Ukraine; research on gender-based violence in the Armed Forces;
research of problems related to rehabilitation and reintegration of ATO women veterans, in particular, in psychological, economical and other spheres.
Currently, the “Institude of Gender Programs” team is working on educational, cultural, and advocacy-oriented projects that contribute to the formation of an open civil society of equal opportunities, protection, and support of women veterans and servicewomen, as well as on the development of an active veteran community.
Our projects
We only do what we believe in. Our team works exclusively on projects that expand Ukrainian civil society, make us strong and open. We make films, conduct sociological research and host conferences, create advocacy campaigns, and deploy diplomatic missions. And at the same time, it’s all about our veterans. We do not take money from the oligarchs, we do not play political games, we do not steal grant money. We work for Ukrainian veterans, first of all – our sisters-in-arms. Here you can read about our projects, and support the ones you like.
Duration: 2015 — 2017
“Invisible Battalion 2.0: the Return of Women Veterans to a Peaceful Life”
Duration: 2018 — 2020
“Invisible Battalion 3.0: Sexual Harassment In The Military Sphere In Ukraine”
The goal of the “Invisible Battalion 3.0” campaign is to conduct research on the issue of sexual harassment and propose effective solutions to improve the military situation
Existence: since 2018, and until today.
Geography: the entire world.
The heroines of the “Invisible Battalion” have become cultural ambassadors of Ukraine. Through their own stories, they tell the international community about the threat posed by Russian aggression. Currently, more than 20 veterans have become ambassadors of veteran diplomacy, who successfully represent Ukraine in meetings with politicians, MPs, diplomats, and journalists from around the world. They participated in meetings and gave speeches in the Canadian Parliament, Congress, UN and NATO Headquarters, the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States, the Ministry of Veteran Affairs of Canada, and more. During this time, more than 50 events took place in 15 countries. The club cooperates with the Ministry of Veterans and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Club members have visited 14 countries and more than 40 cities. Veterans’ visits to the United States were also organized jointly with the Open World Program. The club was founded in August 2018 and currently counts 32 veteran members.
This is a charitable, educational, and rehabilitation project, running since the beginning of 2018. The co-founders are the “Mandry” magazine and the “Feeria Mandriv” travel company. The project allows women veterans to travel across Europe and Ukraine.
All must fill out an application form, which can be found here. Our veterans have already visited the resorts of Ukraine, as well as France, the Netherlands, Georgia, Belgium, Italy, Iceland, Denmark, Egypt, Portugal, Latvia, and Poland.
The primary target audience is women who have been or are currently enrolled in the military. The project team also asks to pay for a certain part of the trip (i.e., part of the flight or food cost). Children and relatives of the fallen heroes are also sent on a trip if there is one planned but it is not possible to find a veteran who is ready to go on time.
Among our travellers are women who have had injuries, surgeries, have a disability. This is not a travel restriction, so don’t hesitate to fill out the application form!
Since 2018, more than 70 veterans have visited over 10 countries.
The first four veterans entered the master’s program of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in the summer of 2018, majoring in Public Administration.
The scholarship covers the full cost of the master’s program; successful students are being paid an additional academic scholarship.
The project is supported by the NGO “Institute for Gender Programs” in Ukraine, while the international support is being provided by the NGO “Razom for Ukraine” and the Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation of America.
Funds are raised through the efforts of volunteers, including diaspora.
The main idea of the project is that veterans are brave, strong people with great potential and the need to find a new mission in peaceful life. Quality education significantly expands the horizons of opportunities.
Quality education is the veteran’s new weapon!
The scholarship allows to pay veteran tuitions for master’s programs at the best universities of Ukraine: National University “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”, Kyiv School of Economics, Ukrainian Catholic University, Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman. The scholarship also covers some fields of study at the Projector School.
The project is named after Bohdan Radchenko, a first-class Kyiv-Mohyla Academy student who volunteered for the military campaign in Eastern Ukraine and died in 2016. Bogdan was a journalist before the war. He took an active part in the Revolution of Dignity. He went to the front line as a volunteer, mobilized in the summer of 2015.
The scholarship program named after Bohdan Radchenko was founded and currently operates in the National University “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”, Kyiv School of Economics, and Ukrainian Catholic University from the 2018-2019 academic year. 16 participants of the anti-terrorist operation became fellows of this scholarship, entered top master’s programs, and are successfully studying at the moment.
The scholarship fellows are Roman Antyukhov, Dmytro Sychenko, Andriana Susak, Andriy Matseyko, Yevheniy Redchyts, Kateryna Pryimak, Yulia Kirillova, Yaroslav Lepyavko, Yaroslav Shurgot, Alina Mykhailova, Maksym Nazaruk, Oleksandr Lenivy, Ilya Shpolyansky, Maksym Vikyrchak, Oles Kromplias, Orest Paliychuk.
Since October 2018, veterans have the opportunity to attend weekly English classes.
The classes are twice a week, 2 hours each. Separate groups have been created for beginners and intermediate-level attendees.
The classes are free for veterans and volunteers, however, there is a symbolic voluntary registration fee.
The premises for classes are also provided free of charge by the Ministry of Defense in the Central Officers’ Club.
The association of Ukrainian women veterans, created for mutual assistance and the empowerment of sisterhood. Veteran gatherings for working and having fun together 🙂
We work to help women veterans in rehabilitation after war, to help them discover their new selves in peaceful life. Our goal is to create a Ukrainian women veteran association.
A woman in our army faces a number of problems — from legal restrictions to apply for combat positions to the lack of rehabilitation programs and the unwillingness of society to accept women veterans. Our work highlights the participation of women in the establishment of peace and security, improves the status of women in the military, promotes legislative changes that will allow the formation of the army on a professional basis, rather than gender stereotypes.
Duration: 2018 – now.
Over the course of the project, there were 9 gatherings of women veterans, numerous monthly training and facilitation sessions, at which the mission, vision, values, fundamental documents, and structure of the Movement were developed.
Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement is the first all-Ukrainian association of women veterans, established tocreate a community of mutual support and to develop democratic values. Currently, the Movement is registered as a non-profit and is actively expanding. Several hundred veterans from all regions of Ukraine are active participants of the.
Team
The project has been run by:
