In October, the 30th Congress “Neighborhood in the middle of Europe” (Sąsiedztwo w środku Europy) was held in Rzeszow, Poland. This is an annual meeting of German-Polish and Polish-German associations and interested citizens and organizations from Germany and Poland.

This time the event was devoted also to Ukraine: the challenges of the full-scale war and the future development of our country. Assistance to Ukraine and projects in the field of medicine, humanitarian aid, and information support were discussed.

Yulia Smahliukova presented the experience of EEF and the ongoing initiatives. Yulia talked about:

• “Shelter” ‒ initially the project was dedicated to support of IDPs, which has already grown into a program with multi-donor funding. We’ve already helped with the arrangement of more than 40 shelters and have already transferred about 220 tons of humanitarian aid.
• Stiykist’ Programme, which we implement in partnership with ERIM with the financial support of the EU. Within it, we provide grants and pieces of training for CSOs and local authorities.
• A large new direction of our programs dedicated to civilian security, which we implement together with the SES of Ukraine and other partners – we equip shelters in schools, teach mine safety, and inform about CBRN threats
• Launching online courses for adults and children about life and safety during the war on our Online Educational Platform Zrozumilo.
• E-instruments and services that are developed within EGAP Program, about petitions and the SVOI Platform, as well as “IDP Legal Adviser Chatbot”

“I was impressed by how people applauded after my presentation, came up, and asked questions. At such moments I feel, firstly, how much we, Ukraine, are supported in the world, and secondly, what a great organization I work in”, – shared her impressions Yulia Smahliukova.

We are grateful to our partners for their solidarity and support of Ukraine!