“Even if I feel like a drop in the ocean, being that drop can make a difference”, says Valentina Urtan, a human rights advocate in Ukraine.
Urtan, 28, recently discussed her beginnings as a youth activist in 2014 and how her work has changed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 on “Holosy” (“Voices” in Ukrainian), a new podcast by UN Women and The Hague Humanity Hub.
The podcast is an initiative of UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia and The Hague Humanity Hub, within the framework of the Regional Refugee Response Programme. Learn more about the podcast here.
New podcast explores gender issues during the war in Ukraine
The first episode, “The power of youth engagement in times of crisis”, launched on 16 October and explores how young activists have been affected by the war and the barriers they have faced while engaging in humanitarian efforts.
Also featured in that episode is Steliana Rudco, an activist in the Republic of Moldova whose volunteer work helping women and children fleeing Ukraine prompted her to leave her job and found the Moldova for Peace Initiative, a refugee assistance group.
“After three months [of doing humanitarian volunteering], I decided that I cannot get back to my job knowing that there are still women and children at the border that need to be assisted”, Rudco, 27, said.
Upcoming episodes of Holosy will examine the specific needs of the internally displaced LGBTQIA+ community, women entrepreneurs building digital businesses in wartime, and women’s vital role in peacebuilding and recovery.
Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
