The power of solidarity: Milan hosts the 2nd International Volunteer Summit “Unity” (Yednist)

On 18 June 2026, in the very heart of Milan, at the official seat of the Regional Council of Lombardy (Consiglio Regione Lombardia), a major institutional event took place — the 2nd International Volunteer Summit “Unity” (Yednist). It brought together public authorities, the diplomatic corps, international organisations, and volunteer and civil-society groups from Ukraine and many other countries, giving them a real forum for coordinating their work.

The Summit showed a new level of cooperation between states, with traditional diplomacy closely intertwined with citizen diplomacy and a large-scale volunteer movement, all working to bring a just peace and the reconstruction of Ukraine closer.

Official opening and welcome addresses

The Summit brought together leading political and civic figures from Ukraine and Italy. On the Ukrainian side, the event was opened with a welcome address by Oleksandr Korniienko, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Participants were also welcomed by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Italian Republic, Ihor Brusylo, and by the event’s key Italian co-organisers: Milan city councillor Francesco Rocca and Chiara Valcepina (Regional Councillor of Lombardy).

Keynote addresses were also delivered by:

• Paun Rohovei, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Moldova;
• Oleksandra Matviichuk, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, prominent Ukrainian human rights defender and head of the Center for Civil Liberties;
• Carlo Ferrari, civil servant and diplomat, former director of the Trade Development Office at the Embassy of Italy in Ukraine, who has spent many years building economic bridges between the two countries;
• Valerii Zub, co-organiser of the Summit, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, co-chair of the cross-party parliamentary group “Support for the Volunteer Movement in the Verkhovna Rada” and chair of the subcommittee on oncology;
• Heorhii Mazurashu, co-organiser of the Summit, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, co-chair of the cross-party parliamentary group “Protection of the Wounded, Combatants and War Veterans…”;
• Anatolii Ostapenko, co-organiser of the Summit, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, chair of the subcommittee on the social protection of veterans’ rights;
• Olena Chernetska, coordinator of the flagship educational project “100×100: Bridges of Education” (founded by CNAUI) and co-organiser of the event;
• Larysa Levchun, President of the National Congress of Ukrainian Associations in Italy (CNAUI), co-organiser of the Summit on the Italian side;
• Oksana Tkachuk (Trapani), President of the Associazione “Regala un Sorriso-UKR APS”, co-organiser of the Summit on the Italian side;
• Irene Khajalia, honorary doctor of Oxford and Harvard, honorary professor at Cambridge (Georgia);
• Rena Faradzheva, founder of the Association of Ukrainian Psychologists in Benelux, director of the Antwerp office of NAKKKiM (Ukraine’s National Academy of Culture and Arts Management), founder of Fami Fund and ambassador of the Institute of Women’s Citizen Diplomacy;
• Tetiana Pototska, founder of the NGO “Tetiana Pototska – Warriors of Light”, volunteer, philanthropist and general partner of the Summit;
• Pavlo Koshka, SPOC GT4, UVRC coordinator (Brussels);
• Anna Fesenko, psychologist, Vice-President of the Association of Ukrainian Psychologists in Benelux;
• Mariam Lambert, co-founder and CEO of TJE Emile foundation (Netherlands).

The Summit programme: expert panel discussions

The Summit’s work was organised into four thematic sessions, each addressing the most pressing humanitarian and social challenges of today.

Panel 1: Volunteering as the foundation of Ukraine’s civic resilience

The discussion focused on humanitarian diplomacy and international solidarity as the foundation of the state’s ability to endure.

• Speakers: Olena Prysiazhniuk, Vira Lytvynenko (NGO “Heart Outside”), Olha Fabitska (President of the NGO “International Diplomatic Alliance”, editor-in-chief of “Ambasador” magazine), Klaus Ståhlberg (CEO of Earnan, Belgium), Ivanna Khodos (Founder & CEO of R.I.W.E.), Ivanna Tlumatska (head of the “New Start for Ukraine” platform), Halyna Kulbachynska (member of the Ratne Settlement Council), Yuliia Propadysta (association “Regala un Sorriso-UKR APS”), Oleksandr Roitburg (Honoured Economist of Ukraine, Odesa’s ambassador to Slovakia), Zhanna Cherneha (President of SUPPORTUACHILDREN APS), Nataliia Shmarova (PhD in psychology), Alina Susak (department director at the International Institute of Women’s Citizen Diplomacy in Belgium).

Panel 2: The Ukrainian diaspora and humanitarian projects abroad

Participants presented successful examples of cooperation between Ukraine and the wider world, with particular attention to rehabilitation and cultural diplomacy.

• Speakers: Tamara Markelova (editor-in-chief of “ZHINKA” magazine), Carlo Ferrari, Andrea “Velit” (volunteer and serviceman of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces), Andrea Aliseani (Liberi e Oltre movement), Giorgio Provinciali (Italian war reporter), Anna Teslia (CNAUI Culture Department), Olha Knyhnytska (CNAUI’s “Pro_Shkolu” project), Oksana Rohova (Vice-President of CNAUI, President of Uniti per l’Ucraina APS-ETS), Larysa Stefanyshyn (head of the NGO “Families of Heroes of Ivano-Frankivsk”, adviser to the head of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Military Administration), Liudmyla Hlan (director of the Prosthetics Training Centre LLC), Nataliia Choban (founder of the “CORP32” charitable foundation), Svitlana Holovchuk (founder of the “Passarinho” brand, folk-art craftswoman).

Panel 3: Parliamentary support and the role of Volunteer Councils

The focus was on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine’s programmes supporting volunteers and on building structured, lasting cooperation.

• Speakers: Vitalii Tarasenko (Secretary General of the League of Ukrainian Football Teams in Europe), Anna Kryzhanivska (secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Digital Transformation), Viktor Tyrkalo (President of the NGO “League for the Development of Science”), Kateryna Kotsiubivska (state enterprise “Information and Computing Centre of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine”), Larysa Tsepukh (head of the “For a Blossoming Ukraine” charitable foundation), Oksana Sokolyk (secretary of the Volunteer Council at the Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration), Andrii Kulikovskyi (deputy head of the Volunteer Council, drone pilot instructor), Liudmyla Zotova (lawyer, assistant to MP H. Vatsak), Tetiana Choban (founder of the NGO “Pillar of Dignity”), Oleksandr Roitburg, Zhanna Kush (“Caritas Volyn” charitable foundation), Judith Cushman Du (Global Head of Veteran Reintegration, Texas, USA).

Panel 4: Protecting the rights of children, women, service members and internally displaced people

The discussion centred on a practical exchange of experience in psychological support, veteran reintegration and the protection of vulnerable groups.

• Speakers: Kateryna Balinska (founder of the Bauer school, Ice Group), Iryna Sidanich (Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, professor at the University of Educational Management of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine), Iryna Verihina (President of the NGO “International Community ‘UKRAINKY’”), Ihor Shumik (civic activist), Olha Drozd (head of the NGO “Women’s Support”), Halyna Dudar (psychologist and psychoanalyst), Viktoriia Shevchenko (philanthropist, London), Polina Piatnytsia (NGO “Further Together”), Anton Vakulenko (Montessori teacher), Viacheslav Suprun (director of the Institute of Management and Psychology of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine), Yuliia Volodymyrivna Katsianova de Reine (founder of the NEO7 International Centre in Saudi Arabia, the VoléeYu fashion house and the MARS community).

Who took part, and the Summit’s special mission

The Summit was truly global, with experts from Ukraine, Italy, Poland, Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, Moldova, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United States taking part.

A special place among the participants belonged to the mothers of the defenders of the Azov Regiment. Raised once again on the international stage, their voices drew the attention of the European public and of diplomats to the critical issue of freeing Ukrainian prisoners of war and bringing our heroes home as soon as possible.

Thanks to our partners

Holding a Summit of this international standing was made possible by well-coordinated teamwork.

We extend our deep and sincere gratitude to the organisers on the Ukrainian side

• Ms Liudmyla Onufryiese;
• the International Youth Academy of European Diplomacy;
• the International Institute of Ukrainian Women’s Citizen Diplomacy in Belgium;
• the cross-party parliamentary group “Support for the Volunteer Movement in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine” (co-chair Valerii Zub);
• the cross-party parliamentary group “Protection of the Wounded, Combatants and War Veterans and Their Families” in the Verkhovna Rada (co-chairs Heorhii Mazurashu and Anatolii Ostapenko);
• personally, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Oleksandr Korniienko, for his institutional support of the event, and Ms Tetiana Stefiuk, for her wide-ranging help and cooperation.

We sincerely thank our partners and co-organisers on the Italian side:

• the Municipality of Milan (Comune di Milano), and personally councillor Francesco Rocca;
• the Regional Council of Lombardy (Consiglio Regione Lombardia), and personally councillor Chiara Valcepina;
• Larysa Levchun, President of the National Congress of Ukrainian Associations in Italy, and the whole dedicated CNAUI team;
• the President of the association “Regala un Sorriso-UKR APS”, Oksana Tkachuk Trapani, for her extraordinary hospitality, support and contribution to building international unity;
• Nataliia Malykh, head of the CNAUI Department of Strategic Communications, for her clear coordination of the delegation.

Together we continue to strengthen international unity, grow the volunteer movement and steadily bring a just peace for Ukraine closer!