Ukraine's non-profit organizations in Belgium are finding that they are vital players in determining their country's future. How Europe now responds to Russian aggression and the current crisis will be paramount in determining what will happen to Ukraine.
These non-profit organizations in Belgium promote Ukraine across civil sectors – media, government and the general public. Many have formed over the past year in the understanding that Europe’s perception of Ukraine will have a major effect on how the EU will set its Ukraine policy. These organizations act as Europe’s window into Ukraine.
Bridge EU-Ukraine
Bridge EU-Ukraine, an international non-profit organization, has a 25-person staff and offices in Brussels, Berlin, Strasbourg and Kyiv. It aims at promoting Ukrainian interests on an international level.
“Belgian society is not indifferent to Ukraine,” says Natalia Sevidova, head of Bridge EU-Ukraine. “It’s very active and responsive. It gathers funds, medication, and humanitarian aid to the war front that is sent through our community.” Sevidova says that the Illovaysk tragedy, in which hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers were slaughtered, was an eye-opener for many Belgians.
Sevidova says that the most active Belgian citizens are the younger generation or the elderly who have memories of World War II. These activists directly helped influence important policy positions of the Council of Europe on Ukraine, she says.
Promote Ukraine
Marta Barandiy, the director of Promote Ukraine, tries to promote whatever has to do with Ukraine, whether it is culture, language or the civil society. “Ukrainians needs to be known by Belgians and by Europeans,” she says.
Promote Ukraine was established in May 2014 due to the lack of information in Belgium about the Euromaidan Revolution and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Since its establishment, the organization has organized some 20 rallies and events and assisted in raising more than 100,000 euros in donations for Ukrainian soldiers. Promote Ukraine is registered as an official lobbyist with the European Parliament.
Brussels Policy Center
Called the Ukrainian Think Tanks Liaison Office in Brussels, the non-profit group has an office in the Belgian capital where it promotes Ukraine’s European integration. The organization acts as a hub for Ukraine’s major think tanks in order to provide expertise and knowledge for policymakers and diplomats in Ukraine. So far the NGO works with 20 organizations, including such think tanks as the Center for Political and Legal Reforms, DiXi Group and Europe without Barriers.
“These are the best think tanks in Ukraine,” says Olena Prystayko, the executive director of Ukrainian Think Tanks Liaison. The organization was launched in March 2014. However, the original initiative was developed in autumn 2013, when Ukraine’s then-president Viktor Yanukovych did not sign the EU association agreement. Now the NGO’s goal is to act as a catalyst for the EU’s association agreement with Ukraine and then to ensure its proper implementation until Ukraine becomes an EU member, Prystayko says.
Ukrainian Think Tank Liason targets EU government officials, diplomats, other NGO’s and journalists in Europe. But its main goal is to cultivate EU public understanding of Ukraine. “In the end it is up to them to decide whether Ukraine becomes a member of the EU.”
Kyiv Post staff writer Olena Gordiienko can be reached at [email protected] and Ilya Timtchenko can be reached at [email protected].
