kraine’s civil society has long worked to counter Russia’s aggression against Ukraine–since before Russia’s full-scale military invasion one year ago. Volunteers, NGOs, charities, and citizen activists have all been working together to counter this aggression and build a better future. It is a difficult fight. Russia’s invasion has significantly worsened the socioeconomic, psychological, and security institutions throughout the country. Yet it is a fight that Ukraine, and its civil society, continues to face. For Ukraine’s civil society, the leadership of women has been a key part of its resilience.
Ukrainian Civil Society Responses to the Challenges of the War
By February 2022, most civil society organizations (CSOs) in Ukraine had strategic plans in place for the year. All of those plans were upended with the start of a full-scale war. The chaos that ensued was made worse for CSOs with forced evacuations, casualties, property destruction, and mounting stress along the way. During times of war, CSOs are especially vulnerable–more so than the business world or government institutions. Yet Ukraine’s CSOs continue to actively work for the good of Ukraine despite these challenges.
Problems brought about by this war are especially complex, as Ukraine often lacks not only resources but also the institutional capacities to enact solutions. Amid the chaos of conflict and these shortages, civil society is responsible for ensuring the government can continue to operate. Ukraine’s civil society has had to be resilient in the face of these challenges to ensure:
- The state can continue to perform its normal functions.
- That the state is prepared for various aspects of the war.
- That the state has appropriately developed algorithms responding to crises arising as consequence of the war.
Clearly, civil society is responsible for far more than the development of analytical documents. In addition, civil society includes thousands of grassroots initiatives that, often, have not been institutionalized. These grassroots initiatives have been a critical part of quality decision making by fragmented social groups during martial law and other emergency situations.
During these periods, decisions that can equitably and effectively consider the needs of disparate social groupings are the most valuable. While this means CSOs have been a key part of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion, they will also have a critical role to play in post-war recovery. Ukraine’s civil society will be needed to help form the country’s agenda both during and after war time.
For now, Ukrainian CSOs have been faced with unique new tasks and challenges, forcing them to adapt. Some CSO members have been stranded in hostile areas, others have had to flee the country. Property and lives have been lost. Needs of the state and social groups have changed. Yet a recent survey conducted by the Educational and Analytical Centre for Community Development indicates that almost 50% of CSOs in Ukraine continued their work despite the full-scale invasion, and 60% submitted new non-profit projects.
Women have played a critical leadership role in many CSOs as they struggle to adapt and be resilient to the challenges posed by Russia’s invasion.
Women’s Leadership During War Time
During active conflict, civil society remains primarily focused on supporting the military, helping those who are displaced or injured, and the general security situation. Less attention is paid to more traditional realms such as education, science, and civil activities. While this is understandable, it remains important to continue work that supports Ukraine’s socio-cultural context. One Ukrainian CSO which is looking to continue carrying out socio-cultural analytical and advocacy activities is the women-led NGO League of Professional Women (LPW). The challenges faced by LPW are illustrative to those faced by other Ukrainian CSOs.
Like many CSOs in Ukraine, LPW was forced to close its offices early in the invasion and seek to relocate its people and resources to safer spaces, but employees were scattered around and outside of Ukraine. An internal energy crisis due to Russian shelling of infrastructure meant that even remote work was a real challenge. So like other CSOs, LPW had to not only pivot its activities to meet changing requirements amid the war, but also to regain the capacity to operate at all. Thus, LPW’s early tasks were:
- Recovering operational capacity.
- Developing new and reinforcing old partnerships in Ukraine and abroad.
- Recovering capacity for analytical and advocacy activities.
LPW outlined how it met these challenges here. To share best practice for other CSOs, while disseminating information through other channels such as webinars and video presentations. LPW’s leadership, recovery, and resilience have been on display for the past year, an experience which proves the importance of character in its leadership and in its broader (in this case composed of women) network. This resilience has allowed LPW to continue providing critical civil society services such as this policy paper on adult learning, which helped inform a currently under-consideration draft law.
Sustainability has also been a key focus of women leaders in Ukraine. They have worked to build partnerships and coalitions, leveraging their networks and resources to promote long-term solutions to the challenges posed by the war and post-war recovery, in particular adult learning.
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Women's Civil Society Leadership During Russia’s Invasion
Image via Adobe Photostock.
March 9, 2023
Ukraine's civil society has worked to counter Russian aggression for years, remaining resilient to secure the future despite worsening socioeconomic, security, and psychological situations. Female leadership has been key to this resilience, write Drs. Nina Chala and Olena Lazorenko.
U
kraine’s civil society has long worked to counter Russia’s aggression against Ukraine–since before Russia’s full-scale military invasion one year ago. Volunteers, NGOs, charities, and citizen activists have all been working together to counter this aggression and build a better future. It is a difficult fight. Russia’s invasion has significantly worsened the socioeconomic, psychological, and security institutions throughout the country. Yet it is a fight that Ukraine, and its civil society, continues to face. For Ukraine’s civil society, the leadership of women has been a key part of its resilience.
Ukrainian Civil Society Responses to the Challenges of the War
By February 2022, most civil society organizations (CSOs) in Ukraine had strategic plans in place for the year. All of those plans were upended with the start of a full-scale war. The chaos that ensued was made worse for CSOs with forced evacuations, casualties, property destruction, and mounting stress along the way. During times of war, CSOs are especially vulnerable–more so than the business world or government institutions. Yet Ukraine’s CSOs continue to actively work for the good of Ukraine despite these challenges.
Problems brought about by this war are especially complex, as Ukraine often lacks not only resources but also the institutional capacities to enact solutions. Amid the chaos of conflict and these shortages, civil society is responsible for ensuring the government can continue to operate. Ukraine’s civil society has had to be resilient in the face of these challenges to ensure:
- The state can continue to perform its normal functions.
- That the state is prepared for various aspects of the war.
- That the state has appropriately developed algorithms responding to crises arising as consequence of the war.
Clearly, civil society is responsible for far more than the development of analytical documents. In addition, civil society includes thousands of grassroots initiatives that, often, have not been institutionalized. These grassroots initiatives have been a critical part of quality decision making by fragmented social groups during martial law and other emergency situations.
During these periods, decisions that can equitably and effectively consider the needs of disparate social groupings are the most valuable. While this means CSOs have been a key part of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion, they will also have a critical role to play in post-war recovery. Ukraine’s civil society will be needed to help form the country’s agenda both during and after war time.
For now, Ukrainian CSOs have been faced with unique new tasks and challenges, forcing them to adapt. Some CSO members have been stranded in hostile areas, others have had to flee the country. Property and lives have been lost. Needs of the state and social groups have changed. Yet a recent survey conducted by the Educational and Analytical Centre for Community Development indicates that almost 50% of CSOs in Ukraine continued their work despite the full-scale invasion, and 60% submitted new non-profit projects.
Women have played a critical leadership role in many CSOs as they struggle to adapt and be resilient to the challenges posed by Russia’s invasion.
Women’s Leadership During War Time
During active conflict, civil society remains primarily focused on supporting the military, helping those who are displaced or injured, and the general security situation. Less attention is paid to more traditional realms such as education, science, and civil activities. While this is understandable, it remains important to continue work that supports Ukraine’s socio-cultural context. One Ukrainian CSO which is looking to continue carrying out socio-cultural analytical and advocacy activities is the women-led NGO League of Professional Women (LPW). The challenges faced by LPW are illustrative to those faced by other Ukrainian CSOs.
Like many CSOs in Ukraine, LPW was forced to close its offices early in the invasion and seek to relocate its people and resources to safer spaces, but employees were scattered around and outside of Ukraine. An internal energy crisis due to Russian shelling of infrastructure meant that even remote work was a real challenge. So like other CSOs, LPW had to not only pivot its activities to meet changing requirements amid the war, but also to regain the capacity to operate at all. Thus, LPW’s early tasks were:
- Recovering operational capacity.
- Developing new and reinforcing old partnerships in Ukraine and abroad.
- Recovering capacity for analytical and advocacy activities.
LPW outlined how it met these challenges here. To share best practice for other CSOs, while disseminating information through other channels such as webinars and video presentations. LPW’s leadership, recovery, and resilience have been on display for the past year, an experience which proves the importance of character in its leadership and in its broader (in this case composed of women) network. This resilience has allowed LPW to continue providing critical civil society services such as this policy paper on adult learning, which helped inform a currently under-consideration draft law.
Sustainability has also been a key focus of women leaders in Ukraine. They have worked to build partnerships and coalitions, leveraging their networks and resources to promote long-term solutions to the challenges posed by the war and post-war recovery, in particular adult learning.
