Since the full-scale Russian invasion on February 2022, Ukrainian organisations abroad have taken on an increasingly important role in supporting their country. With women and children making up the majority of recent exiles, women's groups have a particular part to play in winning support for Ukraine – as well as making sure its cultural identity survives.

More than 100 Ukrainian women living in 23 countries gathered in Portugal at the end of September for a conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine, as well as on preserving identity and combating disinformation.

The Ukrainian Women of the World in Action conference, from 25 to 27 September, saw women descend on Lisbon from around the world, from Belgium to the United States.

Brought together by the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organisations (WFUWO), the groups to which they belong existed long before the war. The WFUWO was created in 1948, and the National Union of Ukrainian Women in the US was founded more than 100 years ago.

But the Russian invasion has seen these organisations come into their own, as the diaspora of Ukrainians – now including those exiled by the war – has grown to an estimated 25 million. Women and children make up the majority of those who have left the country since 2022.

This new diaspora is also notably well-qualified. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 76 percent of women who have fled Ukraine hold a higher education qualification. Many had careers and held skilled jobs in their country.

Now, after several years spent abroad, they have gained further skills and experience: they speak at least one foreign language, are familiar with the way their host country operates and have built their own networks there – all of which represents significant human capital for the future reconstruction of Ukraine.

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According to Mariana Yevsyukova, representative of the WFUWO to the United Nations, this rebuilding does not necessarily require a return to Ukraine – Ukrainian men and women who choose to remain abroad can still be a valuable resource for their country.

“These people have knowledge, skills and experience. They speak the language and understand the culture of the countries in which they live. And it is this invaluable experience that we need today to improve our country and move it forward,” she says.

In practical terms, this experience can be useful in several ways: drawing attention to the situation in Ukraine as well as its culture and history, establishing contacts with local businesses or institutions, supporting projects and sharing the professional lessons they have learned in other countries.

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The question of preserving the Ukrainian identity of children who are growing up abroad was also on the agenda at the Lisbon conference – with the premise that rebuilding a country is about more than rebuilding roads, schools and homes, it's about who it is being rebuilt for.

Ukrainian women's organisations abroad are running Ukrainian schools, language classes and the passing on of culture and traditions. The aim is not to prevent these children from integrating into their host country, but to enable them to do so without losing their connection to Ukraine, allowing them to play a part in its future – wherever they are in the world.