On July 18, 2025, a national online event titled “Joining Our Efforts — We Make the Strong Stronger” took place. The event marked the beginning of the second phase of the project “Reintegration of War Veterans through the Creation of Educational Opportunities: One plus One” and brought together over a hundred veterans, their family members, as well as representatives of civic and international organizations working in the field of veteran policy and support. The event was held within the framework of DVV International’s project in Ukraine with support from the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.
The event's program included a project presentation and an overview of opportunities offered through partner organizations — such as training courses, business grants, consultations, retreats, and other forms of support. A separate session was dedicated to discussing successful reintegration practices for veterans and their families, along with feedback from participants of the project’s first phase (a summary of Phase I is available in a video).
Opening remarks were delivered by Celina Hübner, representative of the German Embassy in Kyiv; Levan Kvatchadze, Regional Director of DVV International in Ukraine and Moldova; and Oleg Smirnov, Director of DVV International's Representative Office in Ukraine. The project manager, Iryna Tirel, presented the project and its key areas of activity. Representatives from several partner organizations also spoke about the specific opportunities available to the project's target audience.
The project is supported by 10 educational centers across Ukraine:
- NGO Podillia-Socium Centre, Vinnytsia
- NGO CE – Network of Education Centres, Lviv
- NGO Adult Education Centre “Pershyi” ("First"), Melitopol/Zaporizhzhia
- NGO Adult Learning and Education Centre "South", Mykolaiv
- NGO “Cossack Alarm”, Nikopol
- NGO Adult Education Centre of Poltava Region, Poltava
- NGO Lifelong Learning Centre, Sumy
- CF “Public Resources and Initiatives”, Chernivtsi
- NGO “Parity Center for Equal Opportunities”, Zhytomyr
The second part of the event featured a discussion on successful reintegration practices for veterans and their families in Ukraine, with contributions from representatives of key organizations: NGO “Space of Opportunities”, NGO “Principle”, and NGO “Free People Employment Center”. The event was moderated by Ostap Stasiv, a veteran, social entrepreneur, civil society activist, and Head of the NGO “Open University of Maidan”.
During her speech, Celina Hübner emphasized: “Veterans don’t need charity — they need opportunity. Education is the most powerful investment society can make in their reintegration. By learning the best practices from around the world and ensuring the access, we don’t just help veterans start a new life — we help them thrive in it.” Giving veterans and their families the chance to improve their lives, realize themselves in new roles, and receive support every step of the way — this is the goal we are moving toward together with our partners.
We sincerely thank everyone who joined our event. You can access the event materials via the link. Stay tuned for updates about the project “Reintegration of War Veterans through the Creation of Educational Opportunities: One plus One” on its Facebook and Instagram pages.