The full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 placed immense responsibilities on the women of Ukraine. From joining the armed forces, fundraising, volunteering at humanitarian NGOs, to sustaining local communities and family businesses. Very often, this is in addition to their role as primary caretaker for their families.  The recently concluded Alliance of Her Ukraine Class 2025 (31 July – 12 October 2025) is a training program designed to significantly strengthen women’s participation and leadership in the nation's political and civic life.

Taking into account that elections are not possible under martial law in Ukraine, the program focused on providing participants with a meaningful leadership toolkit necessary to not only win elections in the future, but to already lead now. The program targeted ambitious members of liberal political parties and movements, representatives of NGOs, and local government officials. The training consisted of three intensive sessions, both in offline and online formats, each with its own focus:

Participants defined their own values and political mission. This session featured inspiring speeches of Beata Jurik (Progresívne Slovensko, Slovakia) and Corina Atanasiu (USR, Romania), alongside Ukrainian experts talking on strategic communication and personal brand. Participants had the opportunity to create empathy maps of their target audience and practiced writing short, clear messages to reach them.

This session was dedicated to practical skills: international advocacy (featuring Violetta Pashutina, European Liberal Forum), and creating their own campaigns. Ukrainian alumnae of the AOH East and Southeast Europe Academy greatly supported group work during this session.

The final session included a meeting with a Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, Inna Sovsun (Golos party), working with teams and building a thinking environment as an approach that helps leaders ensure every voice on the team is heard and valued. An in-depth discussion about conflicts and methods of resolving them, both within a team and in politics, left no one indifferent.

The Alliance of Her Ukraine Class 2025 program was rounded off with a traditional exam speech, a manifesto to the world, and a promise to herself to thrive, to occupy the space, to lead, and succeed.