**Online Event: How has Ukrainian civil society evolved to be an engine of freedom and security?**

📅 Date and time: 06 March 2025 at 18:00 (Kyiv) 17:00 (Budapest) 16:00 (London)

What were the turning points for civil society that enabled Ukraine to defend itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion?
How does civil society help embed a more human-centric and decentralised approach to advance democracy?
What can be learned about the relationship between democracy & security?

Speakers:

Olha Aivazovska is Chairwoman of the Civil Network OPORA, international expert in electoral matters, parliamentary and development of draft laws. Ms. Aivazovska was a director of national, nonpartisan observation missions in Ukraine with over 25,000 activists and participated in electoral observation in more than ten countries of Europe. Olga represented Ukraine in the political subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group (Ukraine-Russia-OSCE), settling the conflict in Eastern Ukraine (2016-2018), and the Head of the Board of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors. She was included in the top 100 most influential and most successful women of Ukraine from 2014-2021. Olha Aivazovska is an alumnus of the Draper Hills Summer Fellowship on Democracy and Development Program at Stanford and the Ukrainian school of political studies.

Oleh Rybachuk is a Ukrainian statesman and public figure with expertise in European integration. He was a member of the Ukrainian Parliament (2002-05), Vice Prime Minister for European Integration (2005), and Head of the Secretariat of President Viktor Yushchenko (2005-06). He’s been focusing on public activities since ‘09. Rybachuk is a co-founder of the analytical and advocacy organisation Centre of United Actions, and one of the initiators of the New Citizen campaign and the CHESNO movement. He is an active advocate for Ukraine's European integration, civil society development, government transparency, and effective and balanced democracy.

In partnership with the Civil College Foundation