Oleksandra Matviichuk

Human Rights Lawyer, Head of Centre for Civil Liberties, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Ukraine

The Restoration of Dignity – Dramatic Times can Reveal the Best in Us

Highlights from this session:

Oleksandra Matviichuk, a human rights lawyer from Ukraine, shares about the atrocities of the Russian invasion and the resilience of the Ukrainian people. She describes the brutal reality of war, efforts to document war crimes, and the vital role of women in Ukrainian society, contrasting it with the limited roles in other countries. She highlights the need for justice, healing, and a global movement to prevent future conflicts, emphasizing the power of empathy and solidarity. She also speaks about the Pocket Project's trauma relief efforts in Ukraine and the importance of increasing self-care knowledge and collective activities to transform pain into energy, reflecting a shared commitment to justice and healing.

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Oleksandra Matviichuk

Oleksandra Matviichuk is a human rights activist and civil society leader based in Ukraine. She heads the non-profit organization Centre for Civil Liberties and is a campaigner for democratic reforms in Ukraine and the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) region.

Amongst other distinctions, Oleksandra has been awarded with Ukraine’s Woman of Courage (2017) by the United States Embassy in Kyiv and the Right Livelihood Award (2022) for “working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today.” She was honored as one of the BBC 100 Women in December 2022. The Centre for Civil Liberties was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with Ales Bialiatski and Russian organization Memorial. This was the first Nobel Prize awarded to a Ukrainian citizen or organization.

Aleksandra Hirszfeld