On March 30, representatives of East Europe Foundation—Vice President for Strategic Partnerships Vira Nedzvedska and EGAP Program Project Manager for Digital Community Development Sofiia Sakalosh—took part in the regional Ukrainian Women’s Congress “The Power of Women. Vinnytsia Region,” dedicated to the role of women in shaping strong and resilient communities.

The event aimed to create a platform for discussions and consultations on community recovery and European integration among female leaders of territorial communities, civil society, and government authorities.

The discussion platform brought together representatives of national and local government, international organizations, civil society, and business. The first panel discussion was opened by women leaders who, through their own examples, demonstrated how life challenges shape personal leadership—and how this leadership, in turn, contributes to community development and success.

During her speech, Vira Nedzvedska noted that East Europe Foundation is currently implementing several grant projects focused, among other things, on women and women’s organizations. Within these projects, internally displaced women with children receive psychological support and learn new professions to restore their inner resources and become self-sufficient in their new places of residence. In addition, the Foundation supports the institutional development of civil society organizations, which are often led by women.

“For us, it is important to support new organizations. There is a stereotype that donors prefer to work with large, well-established organizations. In our case, this is not true—we always support newly created organizations. So apply—these competitions are for you and about you,” said Vira Nedzvedska.

“I would also like to draw the attention of communities to the fact that grants designed for civil society organizations, even if not provided directly to local governments, can still be beneficial for you. We always support and prioritize organizations that have partnerships with local communities. If we see that a project has been discussed within a community and that local authorities are partners of a CSO, this signals a real problem that needs solving—and the chances of success for such a project increase significantly. Make use of these opportunities, and together with my colleagues we are working to expand them.”

Sofiia Sakalosh, EGAP Program Project Manager for Digital Community Development, also spoke during the discussion platform. Her intervention focused on the practical dimension of women’s leadership—through governance, service delivery, and everyday decisions that ensure the stability of community operations.

She shared examples of how women at the community level transform personal experience into concrete solutions in digitalization, education, civic participation, and service development. These included the introduction of e-tools, the development of participatory budgeting, educational initiatives, and projects aimed at improving digital literacy.

“No tool—even the best one—works on its own. It requires people who are ready to take responsibility, explain, demonstrate results, and engage others. This is what turns the introduction of technology into real change in a community,” Sofiia Sakalosh noted during her speech.

Following the discussions, the organizers of the Ukrainian Women’s Congress will develop and publish recommendations for government authorities based on real cases and community needs, and will conduct an advocacy campaign to support their implementation. This activity is supported within the framework of the “Phoenix: The Power of Communities” project, implemented with the support of the European Union.