On 23 October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with representatives of civil society. The meeting focused on the contribution of Ukrainian civil society to Ukraine’s victory and its opportunities to promote the Victory Plan.
The meeting was initiated by the President’s Office and moderated by Oleksandr Sushko, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation.
According to the President, civil society can help unite both Ukrainians and the international community in support of Ukraine.
“Today we are talking about the first stage – the possibility of defending Ukraine. To win. To win. So if we are talking about reality and results, I would like our meeting to be the beginning of our united movement from feelings to real results,” the President said.
Among the participants in the meeting were the management and board members of the International Renaissance Foundation, leaders of human rights and civil society advocacy organisations.
“These are the leaders whose position has never been conformist and who remain independent. Yes, we understand that the whole of Ukraine is a boat that needs better navigation, and an open dialogue between the public and the authorities is the right way,” summed up Oleksandr Sushko, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation.
The meeting was also attended by Maksym Butkevych, co-founder of the Zmina Human Rights Centre and a soldier in the Ukrainian Armed Forces who was recently released from Russian captivity. He thanked everyone who helped him return home and noted that his story was proof that exchanges work, which is very important for all Ukrainians illegally detained by Russia.
Maksym Butkevych also stressed that Ukraine’s partners must understand that prisoners of war, especially those convicted in fabricated cases, are hostages used by the aggressor state.
Other partners of the Foundation present at the meeting were Alyona Getmanchuk, Director of the New Europe Centre, Daria Kaleniuk, Executive Director of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, Maria Berlinska, Project Manager of Victory Drones, Hanna Hopko, Chair of the Board of ANTS National Interest Protection Network, Volodymyr Yavorskyi, Programme Director of the Centre for Civil Liberties, Olha Aivazovska, Chair of the civil network ‘Opora’, Liubov Halan, Chair of the NGO ‘Principle’, and others.
“We have seen the President’s willingness to listen and to hear. That is important. We were not able (and did not plan) to cover all the important issues, so we focused on national defence, cohesion, human rights, international policy and advocacy, and public diplomacy,” – said Oleksandr Sushko, – “There is no other way but to build a culture of cooperation and constant dialogue between the government and citizens. The state is our common cause, our republic.”
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Photo: Office of the President
