On Monday, 1 May, a roundtable discussion “Employment of people with disabilities: European perspectives in Ukraine” will be held. It is organised by the League of the Strong NGO and the Network for the Protection of National Interests “ANTS”. The event will be held with the support of the Council of Europe project “Strengthening Social Protection in Ukraine”.
“According to the statistics we have, only 17% of people with disabilities are currently employed in Ukraine. In European countries, this figure is many times higher. The situation in Ukraine can be changed in two to three years. We can reach 50% of employed people in this time, but this requires a large number of changes. We will discuss these changes with experts during the roundtable,” explains Daria Sydorenko, Executive Director of the League of the Strong.
The roundtable will include two panel discussions. Representatives of the relevant ministries, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and NGOs will discuss the key issues of the current legislation in the field of employment of people with disabilities. Experts will also share European experience in solving the problem and Council of Europe standards in this area.
In particular, participation in the panel discussions has already been confirmed:
- Oksana Zholnovych, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine
- Tetiana Berezhna, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine
- Halyna Tretyakova, Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Veterans’ Rights
- Suzanna Mnatsakanyan, Project Manager of the Council of Europe “Strengthening Social Protection in Ukraine”
- Serhiy Nizhynskyi, Advisor to the Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, UNFPA expert, Brand Ambassador of the US Charitable Foundation “Help Heroes of Ukraine”
- Olena Rym, consultant at the Council of Europe
- Vitaliy Muzychenko, Director General of the Social Protection Fund for Persons with Disabilities
- Daria Sydorenko, executive director of the League of the Strong
- Andriy Tymoshenko, Director of KPMG in Ukraine, Head of Strategy and Operational Improvement, Head of Infrastructure, Transport and Logistics
- Vitaliy Pchoklin, Chairman of the Board of the NGO “Active Rehabilitation Group”
- Tetyana Lomakina, Advisor to the Presidential Commissioner for Barrier-Free Access,
- Yulia Resenchuk, President of the Association of Inclusive Country,
- Haydn Hammersley, Social Policy Officer at the European Disability Forum, are planning to join the event online.
The discussions will be moderated by Uliana Pcholkina, board member of the Active Rehabilitation Group, chairman of the Board of the League of the Strong, and Marianna Onufryk, expert of the EUROSCOPE project at ANTS.
“Many of our defenders, who are defending Ukraine in the Armed Forces and are wounded, deserve full and effective interaction in society. That is why it is our duty to take care of removing barriers to employment for people with disabilities right now. Ukraine should become a space of opportunities to ensure the realisation of all the talents of citizens, especially those who took the risk of losing their lives, giving us the right to build the state,” said Hanna Hopko, Chairman of the Board of the Network for the Protection of National Interests “ANTS”.
The event will be held at Ukrinform. It will start on 1 May at 10:00. To participate in the event, you need to register: https://forms.gle/JPGjHHnkAsTLesqq8. Participants will also be able to watch the panel discussions and ask questions to the speakers online. The event will be accompanied by sign language interpretation.
The project is funded by the MATRA Programme with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine.
The discussions will be moderated by Uliana Pcholkina, board member of the Active Rehabilitation Group, chairman of the Board of the League of the Strong, and Marianna Onufryk, expert of the EUROSCOPE project at ANTS.