The Ukrainian diaspora has been actively involved in the humanitarian response in Ukraine since 2014. Since the Russian Federation declared war on Ukraine in February 2022, many more Ukrainians have left their country of heritage. Hundreds of new formal or informal associations around the world have been established with one goal: To support fellow Ukrainians affected by the conflict.

Who is the Ukrainian diaspora?

Estimates count the Ukrainian diaspora between 12-20 million worldwide. Currently more than 8 million Ukrainians are registered as refugees in Europe alone, according to UNHCR (January 2023). The largest community of Ukrainians outside Ukraine is based in Russia, followed by Canada and USA. There are more than 1.000 Ukrainian diaspora organizations registered globally. Before the Euromaiden Revolution in 2014, most of them were involved in cultural community events, but shifted their activities swiftly to humanitarian response. In 2018 they sent more than USD 14 billion in remittances back to Ukraine, equalling 9.3% of the country's GDP. 

DEMAC and the Ukrainian diaspora

Since 2020, DEMAC has mapped and interacted with 91 Ukrainian Diaspora Organizations globally. After the launch of the Russian offensive in Ukraine on 24 February 2022, DEMAC scaled-up its operational response with a Diaspora Liaison Officer in Ukraine and an Emergency Response Officer in Denmark. The aim: To support Ukrainian diaspora organizations in coordinating aid assistance with local NGOs and institutional humanitarian actors and creating a network for collaboration.

How DEMAC supports civil society in and outside Ukraine:

We, at DEMAC, 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  

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.

DEMAC’s localized response to the Ukraine crisis, including a Diaspora Liaison Officer in Ukraine, led to increased coordination and communication between diaspora organizations, local NGOs and the institutional humanitarian system.

Diaspora networks are often volunteer-based and lack resources to participate actively in humanitarian response meetings. DEMAC fills this gap and provides tailored support such as linking diasporas to local authorities & clarifying the Cluster procedures, while remaining agile in responding to the needs of the diaspora.

"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.  

Success Story United Help Ukraine, USA

United Help Ukraine is a volunteer-based Ukrainian diaspora organization in Maryland. Through DEMAC’s weekly online coordination meetings they connected with the diaspora network 4myUkraine, who implements on the ground. United Help Ukraine issued a USD 22k grant to 4myUkraine. Since August 2022, their volunteers distributed food items for residents in the region of Kyiv, as well as 3.100 food sets for residents in Bucha, Irpin and Gostomel.

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