“All leaders—men and women—emerge in response to a challenge—where there are problems that need to be solved and people who are ready to take on responsibility,” — Zarema Bariieva

On June 17, Zarema Bariieva, manager of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, and Natalia Fenchyshyn, the CTRC’s communications manager, took part in the SHE LEADS UKRAINE forum “Women’s Leadership in Kyiv: War Experience and Participation in Recovery,” organized by the UN structure “Women in Ukraine” in partnership with the Kyiv City State Administration.

The forum brought together 70 active women from the capital and aimed to strengthen the role and visibility of women who shape the socio-economic and security policy priorities of Ukraine’s capital, promote gender equality, economic empowerment, and democratic governance.

According to Zarema Bariieva, women currently make up 54% of Kyiv’s population, and over the past four years of full-scale war, many of them have become not just leaders, but a true and reliable backbone, a driving force for change, and a pillar of support for the entire country. They lead volunteer headquarters, rebuild businesses, ensure the operation of critical infrastructure, and make crucial decisions in the Kyiv City Council or the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine—decisions on which depend not only the functioning of our city today but also the architecture of future victory and the reconstruction of all of Ukraine.

“As part of two panel discussions—‘Women’s Political Participation in Decision-Making in the Capital’ (Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the European Union; Alla Shlapak,

deputy of the Kyiv City Council and member of the “European Solidarity” political party’s parliamentary faction, Myroslava Smirnova, Deputy of the Kyiv City Council and member of the All-Ukrainian Union “Batkivshchyna,” Olena Govorova, Deputy of the Kyiv City Council and member of the “UDAR” parliamentary faction, Olha Aivazovska, Chair of the Board of the OPORA Civil Network) and “Women’s Leadership in Crisis Response in the Capital” (Natalia Bogdanova, Deputy Head of the Department for Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men at the Ministry of Social Policy, Family, and Unity of Ukraine, Viktoria Ishkovych, Director of the Department of Information and Communication Technologies of the Kyiv City State Administration; Tetiana Mostipan, Director of the Department of Health of the Kyiv City State Administration; Oleksandra Soia, Director of the Kyiv Military Hub; Nataliia Lyashchenko, Director of the “Kyiv” TV Channel; Yanina Levkovska, Chair of the NGO “Union of Samaritans of Ukraine”—discussed not only positive success stories but also the real challenges women face when taking on responsibility not only for their families but also for business, the capital’s security, and the future of the entire country,” – the human rights activist emphasized.

The CTRC manager added that the “She Leads Ukraine” forum served as a powerful platform for networking and making new connections. She spoke with and established partnerships with incredible women leaders: representatives of state authorities, local government, entrepreneurs, female veterans, and internally displaced persons in Kyiv.

and the Kyiv metropolitan area.

“This event provided a unique opportunity to hear about the real-life experiences of colleagues, adopt best practices in management decisions, and draw inspiration from effective role models of women’s leadership, which I am confidently carrying forward,” – Bariieva added.

The human rights activist noted that during the forum, she and her colleague Nataliia Fenchyshyn had the opportunity to participate in one of the most interesting thematic groups. Together with the incredible trainers Vasyl Oryshchuk and Maksym Valin, they honed their skills in the field of AI (artificial intelligence) and improved their digital literacy in working with tools such as NotebookLM, Gemini, Google Flow, and HeyGen.

“It was an incredibly useful experience that exceeded all our expectations and will definitely come in handy in our daily work!” – summarized Zarema Bariieva.