WFUWO European Conference to take place in Budapest

Around a hundred participants from 14 countries will gather in Budapest for the European Conference of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women Organizations (​​WFUWO) on May 10th and 11th. The conference’s theme will be the support of Ukrainian women – war refugees.

The meeting will begin with a solemn tribute to Olena Pchilka on the 175th anniversary of her birth. The evening will also feature a special guest, Ariadna Bartai, who is the great-granddaughter of the distinguished Ukrainian public and political figure, Mykhailo Drahomanov   and the great-niece of the renowned Ukrainian poetess, Lesia Ukrainka.

Conference participants will have a chance to visit the photo exhibition “The Blooming of Kosach-Drahomanovs” by Tetiana Tsihotska, organized by the Ukrainian Cultural and Documentation Center in Hungary and the Ukrainian Cultural Society in Hungary.

Among the distinguished guests of the conference are Gergely Karácsony, the Mayor of Budapest; Mariana Betsa, the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Ukrainian Community at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Halyna Zhukovska, Senior Referent of the Office of the Government Commissioner for Gender Policy; István Balogh, the chargé d’affaires ad interim in Hungary; Krisztina Baranyi, the mayor of the 9th district of Budapest, a twin town of Bucha in Kyiv Oblast, as well as representatives of the regional council of Zakarpattia. Irene Yarosewich, the representative of WFUWO to the UN, and representatives of charitable and religious organizations will also join.

On May 11th, Saturday, round tables on the following topics are planned: “Preservation of the national identity of Ukrainian women – war refugees through integration into the Ukrainian community and support for their reintegration”, “Opportunities and mechanisms for supporting Ukrainian women – internally displaced persons: rights protection, social assistance, and combating violence”; women who have left their homes after February 24, 2022, will also be invited to speak.

The President of the Ukrainian World Congress, Paul Grod, the IECDR Director, Iryna Kliuchkovska, and the Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, have already welcomed participants at the conference.

“This is the first conference of the Ukrainian diaspora on the topic of forced migrants, integration, reintegration, and protection of their rights. 80% of Ukrainians who were forced to seek shelter from the war outside of Ukraine are women. Therefore, it is very important to help them protect their rights, integrate, and when the opportunity arises, return home,” said the Chair of WFUWO, Second Vice President of the Ukrainian World Congress, Jaroszlava Hartyányi. “The further the war goes, the more problems we will have with the return of Ukrainians. That is why today we want both Ukraine and Europe to work on return programs.”