Since the 2014 Euromaiden revolution, civil society in Ukraine has experienced a significant growth and development. Not only have many Ukrainians left the country due to the unstable political situation in Eastern Ukraine. But the number of civil society organizations (CSOs) in-country and outside Ukraine has increased, as has their level of engagement in public affairs. CSOs and Ukraine's diaspora have been instrumental in advocating for reforms and participating in decision-making processes, particularly in the areas of anti-corruption, human rights, and rule of law.

Ukraine's war against Russia is a national and international effort. Ukrainians, dispersed across the world, stand together and have been able to mobilize media, governments and local civil society in their host countries to act rapidly to the Russian invasion in February 2022. This includes organizations working in the areas of health, education, and social welfare, as well as those focused on the rights of women, children, and minority groups.

Despite the significant progress made by civil society in Ukraine, the organizations face challenges. These include a lack of resources, limited access to funding, and limited trust from institutional humanitarian actors.

Nevertheless, diaspora and civil society in Ukraine remain resilient and continue to play a critical role in promoting positive change and advancing the well-being of the population.

As DEMAC - Diaspora Emergency Action & Coordination, we have since 2020 mapped and interacted with 91 Ukrainian diaspora organizations globally. After the launch of the Russian offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, we scaled-up our operational response with a Diaspora Liaison Officer in Ukraine and an Emergency Response Officer in Denmark. The goal: To support Ukrainian diaspora organizations in coordinating aid assistance with local NGOs and institutional humanitarian actors and creating a network for collaboration.

Currently, we engage closely with 20 Ukrainian diaspora organizations in Europe, Canada and the U.S., 15 local NGOs, as well as the Food Security, Health, Shelter & Protection Cluster in Ukraine.

How we support civil society in and outside Ukraine:

We engage and support Ukrainian diaspora (DOs) and local civil society networks in four ways since February 2022:

1. Conducting research & advocacy through Real-time Review, Snapshots and Panel discussions
2. Facilitating operational support by finding lost goods, clearing customs, etc.
3. Strengthening diasporas capacities through workshops, trainings and networking events
4. Improving coordination through regular cluster and diaspora meetings, humanitarian updates and a Telegram channel  

Linking to humanitarian clusters in Ukraine

DEMAC links diaspora organizations with clusters and local NGOs, international organizations and local authorities – basically any relevant actor present in the coordination system in Ukraine. 

"Since most of the diaspora networks are made up of volunteers that are working very hard to assist the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, many of the organizations do not have much time to attend cluster meetings. For this reason, we at DEMAC, provide them with a weekly summary of the meetings, especially on the status of humanitarian needs for their planning purposes," states Dina Volynets, Diaspora Liaison Officer in Ukraine.  

Diaspora organizations have been proven to provide highly valuable assistance in times of crises through rapid and significant monetary and aid support to local NGOs on the ground and with direct provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations. Indeed, during the first month of the war in Ukraine, most of the international funding was channeled to the UN or other international actors, while local NGOs and civil society actors received very little direct funding.  

Nevertheless, Ukrainian diaspora organizations in host countries were able to mobilize quickly to fundraise. Within the first 5 days of the war, they raised more than USD 10.8 million. And they were quick to release funds to local NGOs or provide assistance on the ground themselves.