The social documentary photo project Ukrainian women "Power & resilience" by photographer Oksana Lytvynenko, was presented with a photo
exhibition and an engaging panel discussion at the Ukrainian Library in Reading.
The event, held at the historic Ukrainian Centre, brought together several of the projects
participants as speakers to address pressing social and educational challenges facing the
community. The centre, managed by a Ukrainians who emigrated after WWII and home to a
library of over 1,000 Ukrainian books, provided a meaningful backdrop for the discussion.
The panel, featuring women with deep connections to education, publishing, and community
projects, engaged in a broad discussion addressing key challenges in preserving Ukrainian
language and cultural identity within the UK.
exhibition and an engaging panel discussion at the Ukrainian Library in Reading.
The event, held at the historic Ukrainian Centre, brought together several of the projects
participants as speakers to address pressing social and educational challenges facing the
community. The centre, managed by a Ukrainians who emigrated after WWII and home to a
library of over 1,000 Ukrainian books, provided a meaningful backdrop for the discussion.
The panel, featuring women with deep connections to education, publishing, and community
projects, engaged in a broad discussion addressing key challenges in preserving Ukrainian
language and cultural identity within the UK.
The speakers at the event, who also shared their own stories, were:
Olga Manmar – Educator, owner of a consulting agency
Kateryna Polonska, a representative from the Bebook project – English books for
Ukrainian libraries
Olha Silaeva – Ambassador of Ukrainian history, founder of Vydavnyctvo O
Dasha Nepochatova – Co-founder of Creative Women Publishing, PhD student at the
University of Oxford, President of the Ukrainian Society at the University of Oxford
Dr. Nataliia Hrytsiuk – PhD, Research fellow and founder of a course on
entrepreneurship for Ukrainians at UCL, presented her grandmother’s book.
Olga Manmar – Educator, owner of a consulting agency
Kateryna Polonska, a representative from the Bebook project – English books for
Ukrainian libraries
Olha Silaeva – Ambassador of Ukrainian history, founder of Vydavnyctvo O
Dasha Nepochatova – Co-founder of Creative Women Publishing, PhD student at the
University of Oxford, President of the Ukrainian Society at the University of Oxford
Dr. Nataliia Hrytsiuk – PhD, Research fellow and founder of a course on
entrepreneurship for Ukrainians at UCL, presented her grandmother’s book.
The event successfully highlighted the project's mission to unite people, provide mutual
support, and create a platform for dialogue. "In their stories, the women raised important
social issues that affected them" - said photographer Oksana Lytvynenko. "This project
became a platform for discussion, finding solutions, and also about acceptance and moving
forward regardless of everything"
support, and create a platform for dialogue. "In their stories, the women raised important
social issues that affected them" - said photographer Oksana Lytvynenko. "This project
became a platform for discussion, finding solutions, and also about acceptance and moving
forward regardless of everything"
"Ukrainian women. Power & Resilience is a social documentary photoproject exploring the
lives of Ukrainian women abroad. The project, set to feature 100 women from various
regions of Ukraine, consists of a series of black-and-white portraits, each accompanied by the
women's personal story. It captures a range of emotions, from pain and longing to joy and
hope.
lives of Ukrainian women abroad. The project, set to feature 100 women from various
regions of Ukraine, consists of a series of black-and-white portraits, each accompanied by the
women's personal story. It captures a range of emotions, from pain and longing to joy and
hope.
The project aims to create a dialogue for three audiences:
1. For Ukrainian women abroad: To help them feel seen, understood, and validated in
their experiences.
2. For the international community: To show the reality and complex emotions
"behind the daily smiles"
3. For Ukrainians at home: To convey that life abroad is often a challenging journey
with its own set of struggles.
1. For Ukrainian women abroad: To help them feel seen, understood, and validated in
their experiences.
2. For the international community: To show the reality and complex emotions
"behind the daily smiles"
3. For Ukrainians at home: To convey that life abroad is often a challenging journey
with its own set of struggles.
