For many children in Ukraine, a “normal” childhood today means spending entire nights in bomb shelters, attending school online or in basement classrooms, living with constant air raid alerts, and being exposed to repeated displacement and ongoing stress. As attacks on cities and civilian infrastructure continue, children are growing up in a permanent state of emergency — with serious consequences for their health and development.
To mark International Children’s Day, we would like to invite you to an online discussion on the violation of children’s rights during times of war and the perspectives of young people from Ukraine. Our guests will share first-hand insights into their everyday lives, safe spaces, development, and future prospects in wartime.
Our guests:
Stasy Kucheriavenko, a high school student, will speak about why she regularly visits the Uyava Teen Hub and what everyday life in Kharkiv looks like for her. The hub is a space for teenagers from Kharkiv and the broader region, who have been displaced, forced into distance learning, and left without their friends. It offers young people new opportunities for connection, creative expression, psychosocial support, and self-determination.
Malgorzata Biczyk is Programme Officer Ukraine at our partner organisation “Terre des Hommes”, together with whom we implement projects in eastern Ukraine. She will place the situation of Ukrainian children in a broader children’s rights context and speak about how international support can strengthen children in war-affected areas.
Dasha Hlebnikova, project manager of “We are brothers – we are Ukrainians” in Kharkiv, will report on a children’s centre located in a basement in Saltivka — one of the most heavily destroyed districts of the city. There, in the midst of war, children have the opportunity to play, learn, and be creative.
Kira Bozhevska from “Angels of Salvation” will speak about the work of a children’s centre in Dnipro: What does everyday life look like for the children there? What activities and support are offered? And how does the team try to provide protection, structure, and hope during the ongoing war?
The discussion will be moderated by Dr. phil. Imke Hansen, Deputy Executive Director and Head of the MHPSS Department at LIBERECO.
Together, we will ask: What does childhood in times of war mean in concrete terms? Which children’s rights are being violated — and how can local initiatives and international partners help ensure that children have access to safe spaces, support, and prospects despite the war?
The event will be held in English, and admission is free.
Registration: www.libereco.org/registration